Hello AEA365ers! My name is Scott Chaplowe, and I have been working in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) for over a decade, (currently with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, IFRC). My work involves not only doing M&E myself, but helping others to understand and support it. Whether with communities, project teams, CEOs or donors, the more stakeholders understand M&E, the more capable they are to become involved in, own and sustain useful M&E practice. This post shares some Rad Resources for individual and organizational learning and capacity development for M&E (and interrelated processes, such as needs assessment and project/program design).
Rad Resource #1:
This year, Brad Cousins and I published the book, M&E Training: A Systematic Approach (Sage Publications, 464 pages). It bridges theoretical concepts with practical, hands-on guidance for M&E training.
The book features 99 training activities that can be tailored to different needs and contexts – whether a single training workshop or longer-term training program for beginners, professionals, organizations or communities.
But successful training is more than effective facilitation, so we also include chapters on training analysis, design, development, and evaluation, as well as other key concepts, such as adult learning and e-learning.
An underlying premise of the book is that M&E training can be delivered in an enjoyable and meaningful way that engages learners, helping to demystify M&E so it can be better understood, appreciated and used. We also stress that M&E training does not occur in isolation, but should be planned as part of a larger system, with careful attention different factors that can enable or hinder training transfer.
In addition to Sage’s website, you can learn more about the book by watching our Short Video About the Book, and at www.ScottChaplowe.com, where you can also find Two Free Chapters from the book.
Rad Resource #2:
Following the momentum of our book, I want to share a Resource Webpage for M&E Practice, Learning and Training. It is a “rad resource for rad resources,” with over 150 hand-picked resources we came across in the preparation of our book, from guidelines and websites to communities of practice and listservs. Concise descriptions introduce each resource, and most are hyperlinked and available for free online.
Rad Resource #3:
The Logical Bridge Game is one of the earliest and most successful active learning activities I used to make M&E training more fun. This blog provides a lesson plan that can be adapted to different audiences and learning needs.
Rad Resource #4:
If you are attending the AEA Evaluation 2016 conference in October, you may be interested in the 1.5-hour session (2381) I will be presenting on Wednesday afternoon (Oct 26, 4:30-6:00 PM) on Analysis Tools and Guidance for M&E Training.
Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org . aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators.