This document summarizes research conducted in Myanmar on the impact of accountability mechanisms on humanitarian and development program quality. The research used mixed quantitative and qualitative methods, including scorecards and discussions, to evaluate accountability and participation in programs run by Save the Children. Key findings include:
- Accountability to communities was seen as strong, with informal face-to-face mechanisms preferred over formal complaint systems.
- Participation, especially of community groups and children, strengthened program relevance by allowing input on targeting and design.
- Providing information and enabling participation and feedback also promoted community ownership and trust, contributing to program effectiveness and sustainability.
- Some evidence accountability improved efficiency, but less than for other quality criteria.
-
The purpose of the research is to collect evidence of the contribution of accountability mechanisms to programme quality. It is anticipated that the methodology designed as part of the research will be replicable and it will be made available to agencies to apply to their own programmes. The findings will contribute to the evidence base for the value (or not) of introducing accountability mechanisms in projects and will also support agency messages on the importance of continuing to support accountability mechanisms in their projects. The research will also seek to outline good practice across the sector and make recommendations for how accountability mechanisms can be improved.
The research question that will guide the action research and determine the methodology is as follows; 'does an effective accountability mechanism which provides information to affected communities, facilitates their participation in programme design and implementation and offers a means for communities to feedback and/or complain contribute to the quality of a humanitarian or development programme.'
In order to test and advance the hypothesis a review of available documents will seek to identify pre-existing evidence which will be supplemented by qualitative research in 2 case study countries (Kenya and Myanmar).
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The purpose of the research is to collect evidence of the contribution of accountability mechanisms to programme quality. It is anticipated that the methodology designed as part of the research will be replicable and it will be made available to agencies to apply to their own programmes. The findings will contribute to the evidence base for the value (or not) of introducing accountability mechanisms in projects and will also support agency messages on the importance of continuing to support accountability mechanisms in their projects. The research will also seek to outline good practice across the sector and make recommendations for how accountability mechanisms can be improved.
The research question that will guide the action research and determine the methodology is as follows; 'does an effective accountability mechanism which provides information to affected communities, facilitates their participation in programme design and implementation and offers a means for communities to feedback and/or complain contribute to the quality of a humanitarian or development programme.'
In order to test and advance the hypothesis a review of available documents will seek to identify pre-existing evidence which will be supplemented by qualitative research in 2 case study countries (Kenya and Myanmar).
Searching for outcomes in rural Tanzania: Harvesting directly from those infl...John Mauremootoo
The benefits and challenges of using Outcome Harvesting to evaluate a short-term intervention are explored using the example of an 18 month social change project supported by the UK Department for International Development in Tanzania. The project was that was highly ambitious: it sought to influence changes in gender attitudes and behaviour of the general public in Tanzania. Challenges included the lack of outcome indications in project document and the lack of knowledge of outcomes among project personnel. Outcome Harvesting was adapted to allow the harvesting of outcomes using focus groups of those the project sought to influence directly. The concept of ‘proto-outcome’ was used for suggestions of attitude changes that may lead ultimately to behaviour changes. Substantiation of outcomes involved not only third parties but direct observation. The resulting descriptions of outcomes and the evaluation findings proved valuable for learning in the organisation, Search for Common Ground.
Outcome Mapping for Planning Evaluations in American K-12 Urban Education: Po...T. Lee
This presentation shares how and why outcome mapping processes and principles enriched an internal self-evaluation process that was grounded in participatory action research methods toward deliberative democratic curriculum evaluation.
This report represents the final evaluation of a four year project titled Reintegrating Nepalese child domestic workers with their families which focused on reintegrating Nepalese child domestic workers living with employers, strengthening families to prevent child separation through income generating support, and invigorating local child protection mechanisms to promote child protection in areas of operation. The project, which began in 2011, has been principally funded by Comic Relief through a grant of £642,302 to UK-based NGO EveryChild, and has been implemented by Nepalese NGO CWISH (Children and Women in Social Services and Human Rights) and three district partners: FOWEP (Kavre); MANK (Sindhupalchowk); SYS (Ramechhap). The evaluation was undertaken by a team of two independent consultants, supported by CWISH and EveryChild staff.
Professor Elizabeth Waters, Coordinating Editor of the Cochrane Public Health Review Group & Melbourne School of Population Health, University of Melbourne
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Many theories and models have been used to guide health and development communication work . This PowerPoint presentation provides more detailed background on the theories and models leading to Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC).
Dear Kathleen Flowers,
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OF AN ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT FOR COMMUNITY-BASED LEARNING”, has been
accepted for presentation at the 16th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Education to
be held from January 4 to January 7, 2018 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The decision to accept your submission was based on a peer review process.
Multi-strand initiatives: using theory of change evaluationsfairnesseducation
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There are many examples of evidence-informed decision making (EIDM) among public health professionals and organizations in Canada. However, there are limited mechanisms in place to facilitate the sharing of these stories within the public health community. The National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools (NCCMT) seeks to address this gap with an interactive, peer-led webinar series featuring a collection of EIDM success stories in public health.
These success stories will illustrate what EIDM in public health practice, programs and policy looks like across the country.
Join us to engage with public health practitioners across Canada as they share their success stories of using or implementing EIDM in the real world. Learn about the strategies and tools used by presenters to improve the use of evidence.
Building a cultural foundation for EIDM: An evaluative thinking communications campaign
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Testing integrated knowledge translation processes to improve the participation of children with disabilities in leisure activities in British Columbia
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Closing session: using a digital student voice platform to shape the student ...Jisc
Speaker: Anish Bagga, CEO, Unitu.
How can the authenticity and representativity of the student voice allow Universities to shape the student experience more effectively? Traditional mechanisms of collecting student feedback are limited. They provide a single snapshot of time, there is filtering and dilution of issues passing through the system and there is difficulty in closing the feedback loop.
UCL, Swansea University, University of Greenwich and others now use Unitu, an online student voice platform. Unitu, a Jisc summer of student innovation project, enables students to post and comment about issues anonymously. Student reps to escalate the feedback to the appropriate staff in their department and Departmental staff are able to engage with the feedback in real time. As a result, changes can be made to the student experience faster and more reliably based upon the authentic student voice.
This presentation explores two case studies from UCL and Swansea University, outlining their journey of implementing Unitu, the student and staff (positive and negative) experiences of using Unitu, what has and hasn’t worked and the impact it has had in shaping the student experience.
Leveraging Technology to Build Positive and Effective Teacher/Family Relation...RethinkFirst
Communicating effectively with parents and care-providers is a core responsibility for special educators. As teachers we know that students will achieve best outcomes when educators and families work together. The beginning of the school year is a great time to set-up your communication practices that will lead to quality relationship building throughout the year.
This session will share ideas and resources for using technology to more effectively engage and communicate with parents and care-providers. From the simplest text message to the use of asynchronous video analysis – together we will learn how to leverage technology to get connected.
GWT International Conference 2022 - Practice that transforms intergenerationa...Alison Clyde
Dr Shannon Jarrott, Ohio State University, USA shared a model of intergenerational practice informed by theory and tested over decades of community-based collaborative research with intergenerational practitioners, participants, and scholars.
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Community Engagement and Dialogue to Change strategies can lead to many positive changes in your community. However, direct impacts can be tough to track. Ripple Effects Mapping (REM) allows you, along with local leaders and others in your community, to assess impacts from your Dialogue to
Change efforts. It allows you to visually document the impacts your efforts have had on individuals, on your community, and on institutions and systems over time. These are tips for rolling out a Ripple Effects Mapping process:
Evaluating a community media approach to promote nutrition in NigerJSI
A presentation from the SBCC Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 2016, presented by Peggy Koniz-Booher.
The collaboration was established between SPRING/Digital Green and 3 USAID/Niger programs - REGIS-ER (NCBA CLUSA), LAHIA (Save the Children) & Sawki (Mercy Corps)
Focused on the development and dissemination of 10 videos by community facilitators working with 4 distinct groups in each participating village.
The presentation covers the approach to community video and lessons learned from the activities.
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This presentation was delivered at IAFOR’s Asian Conference on Education and International Development (ACEID) 2017 in Kobe, Japan.
Presentation abstract:
Community-based participatory research (CBPR) in an education context equitably involves teachers, pupils, community members, organisational representatives and researchers, with a commitment to sharing power and resources and drawing on the unique strengths that each partner brings. The aim through this approach is to increase knowledge and understanding of a given phenomenon and integrate the knowledge gained into interventions, policy and social change to improve the health and quality of life of those in the school community. Sightsavers, a disability-focused iNGO, has been implementing a community-based participatory research approach (CBPR) within its education and social inclusion research in the global South. This paper describes the CBPR methodology, how it works within international development, and its impact on Sightsavers interventions in schools. Specific reference will be made to working with teachers as peer researchers – including those with disabilities, training material for peer researchers, CBPR ethical principles, and community analysis of data.
Professor Elizabeth Waters, Coordinating Editor of the Cochrane Public Health Review Group & Melbourne School of Population Health, University of Melbourne
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Many theories and models have been used to guide health and development communication work . This PowerPoint presentation provides more detailed background on the theories and models leading to Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC).
Dear Kathleen Flowers,
Congratulations! The Hawaii International Conference on Education is pleased to inform you that your submission, “CONSORTIAL COLLABORATION AND THE CREATION
OF AN ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT FOR COMMUNITY-BASED LEARNING”, has been
accepted for presentation at the 16th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Education to
be held from January 4 to January 7, 2018 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The decision to accept your submission was based on a peer review process.
Multi-strand initiatives: using theory of change evaluationsfairnesseducation
Multi-strand initiatives: using theory of change evaluations
Karen Laing and Liz Todd, Newcastle University
Alan Dyson, Kirstin Kerr, and Michael Wigelsworth, Manchester University
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These success stories will illustrate what EIDM in public health practice, programs and policy looks like across the country.
Join us to engage with public health practitioners across Canada as they share their success stories of using or implementing EIDM in the real world. Learn about the strategies and tools used by presenters to improve the use of evidence.
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Kristin Beaton, Huron County Health Unit
In an effort to build evaluation and evidence-informed decision making capacity, Huron County Health Unit has implemented several strategies to encourage evaluative thinking. Learn more about how this health unit built a learning organizational culture.
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To improve policies on physical activity promotion for people with disabilities, this team undertook a project to bridge the evidence to policy gap. Learn more about how a community forum and policy dialogue were used to help bridge this gap and inform policymakers about evidence.
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Speaker: Anish Bagga, CEO, Unitu.
How can the authenticity and representativity of the student voice allow Universities to shape the student experience more effectively? Traditional mechanisms of collecting student feedback are limited. They provide a single snapshot of time, there is filtering and dilution of issues passing through the system and there is difficulty in closing the feedback loop.
UCL, Swansea University, University of Greenwich and others now use Unitu, an online student voice platform. Unitu, a Jisc summer of student innovation project, enables students to post and comment about issues anonymously. Student reps to escalate the feedback to the appropriate staff in their department and Departmental staff are able to engage with the feedback in real time. As a result, changes can be made to the student experience faster and more reliably based upon the authentic student voice.
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Communicating effectively with parents and care-providers is a core responsibility for special educators. As teachers we know that students will achieve best outcomes when educators and families work together. The beginning of the school year is a great time to set-up your communication practices that will lead to quality relationship building throughout the year.
This session will share ideas and resources for using technology to more effectively engage and communicate with parents and care-providers. From the simplest text message to the use of asynchronous video analysis – together we will learn how to leverage technology to get connected.
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Community Engagement and Dialogue to Change strategies can lead to many positive changes in your community. However, direct impacts can be tough to track. Ripple Effects Mapping (REM) allows you, along with local leaders and others in your community, to assess impacts from your Dialogue to
Change efforts. It allows you to visually document the impacts your efforts have had on individuals, on your community, and on institutions and systems over time. These are tips for rolling out a Ripple Effects Mapping process:
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A presentation from the SBCC Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 2016, presented by Peggy Koniz-Booher.
The collaboration was established between SPRING/Digital Green and 3 USAID/Niger programs - REGIS-ER (NCBA CLUSA), LAHIA (Save the Children) & Sawki (Mercy Corps)
Focused on the development and dissemination of 10 videos by community facilitators working with 4 distinct groups in each participating village.
The presentation covers the approach to community video and lessons learned from the activities.
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This presentation was delivered at IAFOR’s Asian Conference on Education and International Development (ACEID) 2017 in Kobe, Japan.
Presentation abstract:
Community-based participatory research (CBPR) in an education context equitably involves teachers, pupils, community members, organisational representatives and researchers, with a commitment to sharing power and resources and drawing on the unique strengths that each partner brings. The aim through this approach is to increase knowledge and understanding of a given phenomenon and integrate the knowledge gained into interventions, policy and social change to improve the health and quality of life of those in the school community. Sightsavers, a disability-focused iNGO, has been implementing a community-based participatory research approach (CBPR) within its education and social inclusion research in the global South. This paper describes the CBPR methodology, how it works within international development, and its impact on Sightsavers interventions in schools. Specific reference will be made to working with teachers as peer researchers – including those with disabilities, training material for peer researchers, CBPR ethical principles, and community analysis of data.
Opportunities for local people to hold NGO’s to account for their actions have improved in recent years, but there has been little evidence to suggest that they can actually influence the quality and results of aid itself - until now.
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Matthew Brazier HMI, National Lead (Looked-after children) gave this presentation at the 'Evidence of effectiveness' a regional workshop for IROs on 5 December 2015.
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Today, RD4C is continuing this work with self-guided training. Based on the tutorials offered to UNICEF staff in early 2022, these slides are a resource for organizations seeking to understand ways to operationalize the RD4C principles and implement the RD4C tools.
Issue 2: Effectiveness of Mentoring Program Practices.
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Accountability impact research - results from the myanmar case study
1. Accountability Research
Myanmar case study
Discussion on interim findings with Save the Children in Myanmar
Andy Featherstone, 19 March 2013
2. Accountability research – why?
The purpose of the research is to collect evidence of the
impact of accountability mechanisms on programme quality
There is an assumption that the introduction of accountability
mechanisms leads to more effective projects but little
evidence exists (Ref. synthesis paper developed from
evidence submitted by the HAP peer learning group)
We understand effective projects to be those that are
relevant, effective, efficient and sustainable in line with the
DAC Criteria.
Research question - In what ways does an effective
accountability mechanism which provides information to
affected communities, facilitates their participation in
programme design and implementation and offers a means for
communities to feedback and/or complain contribute to the
quality of a humanitarian or development programme.
4. The approach
A methodology was developed which mixed quantitative
and qualitative participatory tools and was used
consistently throughout the research
Scorecards and opinion ranking exercises were used to
describe accountability mechanisms and as entry points
to wider discussions about their contribution to project
quality
All of the exercises were translated into the Myanmar
language and the discussions were facilitated
Each community meeting lasted between 1.5 – 2.5 hours
5. Itinerary
Date Activity
Day 1 Travel from Yangon to Mandalay
Travel from Mandalay to Meiktila
Orientation and meeting with SCI staff
Day 2 Field Visit to Lat Pan Khar Kough (Meiktila)
3 x group consultations
Day 3 Field Visit to Yae Cho (Meiktila)
3 x group coonsultations
Day 4 Field Visit to Nat Gyi Kone (Meiktila)
3 x group consultations
Day 5 Travel from Meiktila to Kyaukpadaung
Field Visit to Zay Kone (Kyaukpadaung)
3 x group consultations
Day 6 Field Visit to Yone (Kyaukpadaung)
2 x group consultation
Day 7 Return to Yangon
6. Programme profile
Non-formal education, child
protection and early childhood
care and development
programmes
Within the breadth of the
programme, a participatory
approach exists for CBO problem
identification, targeting and
selection
Formal complaints response
mechanism (CRM) in 3 villages;
additional informal mechanisms
across all villages
SCI programme for between 2- and
7-years
7. Participation
Total men = 63
Total women = 75
Total boys = 44
Total girls = 47
Total participants = 229
Discussions were held in mixed groups of 10-25
people. 3 meetings were held in each village
each day (women, men, children). Results of
the methods were disaggregated by gender.
There was a bias towards the inclusion of
children‟s group & CBO members. Non-members
were omitted from most of the meetings
8. Lessons about the methodology
The methodology worked well with all groups (esp.
children) and engagement was good across each of the
communities
Strong facilitation (as opposed to translation alone) was
key to getting good results
The methods used produced quantitative data but
qualitative follow-up discussions were of greatest value
to the research
The children‟s meetings went extremely well and often
revealed a level of understanding about the research
topic that was equal to if not greater than the adults
9. FUNCTIONING OF THE ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM
Findings – Accountability I
Accountability to project participants was
routinely considered strong across all villages
(including counterfactuals)
Informal mechanisms (particularly face-to-
face) often favoured over formal CRM
mechanism for complaints.
“We prefer face-to-face meetings as this avoids
misunderstandings and when we can‟t use this method we will
use the phone”
Feedback from Save the Children generally
takes between 1-2 days and 1-2 weeks
depending on the mechanism used
10. FUNCTIONING OF THE ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM
Findings – Accountability II
Participation felt to be strong particularly
amongst active CBO members and children‟s
groups
The rich („not interested‟) and extremely
poor („no time‟) were considered to be those
who had least access to/involvement in
information, participation and feedback.
Those who couldn‟t attend village meetings
(elderly, disabled and „outliers‟) also tended
to miss out
“Those who have the most insecure livelihoods cannot
participate in the programme as they do not have time to
attend the meetings and get involved”
12. CONTRIBUTION OF ACCOUNTABILITY TO PROJECT QUALITY
Relevance
Relevance: Fairly consistent feedback about
participation strengthening the relevance of
the project (targeting and project selection)
“If we weren‟t involved [in the implementation] the project
could not be successful as it wouldn‟t meet children‟s needs”
“This is „our‟ project because we can decide what our
priorities are. SC discusses these with us and we decide”
“We can request what we need as we have a good relationship
and are an equal partner. This makes the project more
relevant to our needs”
“If children cannot point out mistakes or activities that aren‟t
relevant then interest would be low as it would feel wrong and
children wouldn‟t want to waste their time”
13. CONTRIBUTION OF ACCOUNTABILITY TO PROJECT QUALITY
Effectiveness & Sustainability
Effectiveness & sustainability: Provision of
information promotes knowledge of the
programme and participation in it;
participation and ability to feedback ensure
that community voice is heard and promotes
ownership and trust
“The decision-making process is important as it brings
ownership of the people which will continue beyond the
project lifespan”
“People were initially nervous of sending their children to the
training…but we were reassured by the information we
received from Save the Children which helped us to trust
them”
14. CONTRIBUTION OF ACCOUNTABILITY TO PROJECT QUALITY
Efficiency
Efficiency: Much less evidence of contribution
than for other DAC criteria. The best example
came from the Save the Children area office;
“We formed a training task force after the village complained
that they were overloaded as they had received 3 different
trainings on the same subject. This led to the creation of a
single training programme. This has saved time and increased
efficiency”
15. CONTRIBUTION OF ACCOUNTABILITY TO PROJECT QUALITY
Impact
Impact: Some good examples that go beyond
project-based outcomes
“[As a community] we used to make decisions in a top-down way;
participation was very new but it has been welcome. We did not
know how to decide together so this is a lesson which we have
learnt together. We have found that it reduces conflict.”
The village has a children‟s health system which we contribute to
in case of emergency but we often make poor decisions. After
seeing how the SC programme worked we decided to have a formal
decision-making process so there was transparency in how we
made our decisions. This is a lesson we learnt from Save the
Children (paraphrased)
“In this monestary there is an annual ceremony where money is
given to the monks. Previously we didn‟t know how this was used
but starting in 2009 we agreed to keep account of the money and
keep a record of the balance [in the same way as for SCI projects]”
16. Issues for the research
Despite the lack of a formal CRM no significant difference
was found in people‟s perceptions of SCI‟s accountability
to them – largely as a result of the strong relationship
which exists (face-to-face contact was preferred)
Implications for the use of the HAP benchmark for longer-
term programming – a mature relationship based on strong
participation may be more important than access to
formal feedback mechanisms
Both the case studies (Kenya & Myanmar) were selected in
part because of the strong accountability to project
participants. This has yielded good results
The counterfactuals have worked less well. There would
be value in commissioning a case study where
participation is weak and/or where the accountability
mechanisms are poor (humanitarian case study?)