Monitoring, evaluation and learning blogs

How to get the most out of dialogue

A new IIED-commissioned review seeks to deepen understanding of what makes effective dialogue and why

Is SDG evaluation just business as usual?

Stefano D'Errico outlines four steps that should be considered in the design of an effective evaluative process for the Sustainable Development Goals

Invisiblising cities: the obsession with national statistics and international comparisons

David Satterthwaite discusses the vast gaps in city data, and explains why planning, governing and servicing cities calls for data that is broken down into city and sub-city level

Towards better assessment of adaptation results

How can countries align their climate adaptation assessment mechanisms with other frameworks? Barry Smith highlights opportunities for achieving effective adaptation monitoring and evaluation

Evaluating change can be challenging; it starts with quality data collection

NGOs are increasingly being asked to report on the impact of their work, and good monitoring and evaluation is key. Conservation Through Public Health, a Ugandan NGO, has some lessons to share with other small NGOs and – spoiler alert – it all begins with good data

Addressing the political and technical challenges of measuring adaptation

Susannah Fisher outlines the challenges that need to be addressed in order to effectively measure progress on adaptation as part of the first global stocktake in 2023

More haste less speed? Taking time to learn

Some recent experiences have led Rosalind Goodrich to reflect on the importance of allowing time for learning

Assessing adaptation and development progress

Countries need to know whether their efforts to adapt to climate change are working. The first in a new series of webinars discussed approaches that can help governments assess their progress

Global to local: supporting cities to meet the New Urban Agenda

The New Urban Agenda sets ambitious sustainability objectives for cities of all sizes. At the 9th World Urban Forum, IIED worked with local governments on how to deliver against the wide-ranging goals. Alexandra Norodom reflects on the power of inclusive processes

Evaluations, reviews and assessments are key to embedding the SDGs

How can we embed the Sustainable Development Goals into development processes to reach the tipping point that we desperately need for dealing with the big challenges of our time? This blog by Stefano D'Errico follows up a joint UNICEF/EVALSDGs webinar in New York

Monitoring and evaluation in a local context

Assessing how climate change adaptation and development investments can strengthen local people's resilience to climate extremes

How to measure a global goal for adaptation?

Climate negotiators are discussing how to set a global goal for climate change adaptation. It's important for the negotiators learn from experiences and evidence gained at country level – so they can develop a goal that reflects differing national realities

How do we measure adaptation?

How do we effectively measure and enhance adaptation? Saleemul Huq looks at possible answers which will be discussed at the 9th International Conference on Community Based Adaptation (CBA9)

Paper outlines framework to monitor and evaluate social learning approaches

A framework on how to monitor and evaluate social learning approaches while identifying in which contexts social learning works best, and where it is not useful, is now available

Recognising the concerns of women and girls can improve the effectiveness of climate change adaptation

Including the perspectives and experiences of women and girls in monitoring and evaluation can lead to better outcomes for climate change adaptation measures, IIED research has found

Social learning event features case studies from around the world

A social learning event held in June featured case studies from across the world. Participants agreed to further strengthen and more thoroughly evaluate the social learning aspects of their work

Which factors are key for successful social learning?

A workshop organised by IIED helped put the final touches on a forthcoming monitoring and evaluation framework, summarising key factors that influence social learning processes

How do we best create long-term impact that matters to smallholder farmers?

We need a plan. A plan that will guide us towards achieving real impact for smallholders around the world

Monitoring and evaluation in Mozambique shows how to link local and national climate adaptation

The prize of better climate adaptation awaits nations that can evaluate their efforts at both national and local levels, so evidence from each scale can inform future plans and actions, say Simon Anderson, Irene Karani and Melq Gomes.

Nepal: Measuring resilience to climate change from the community up

Effective monitoring and evaluation of changes in community resilience that arise from both development and climate change resilience, can help Nepal can make smart moves to protect its people, says Susannah Fisher.

Will Payments for Watershed Services fuel the protection of ecosystem services?

It’s easier to prevent pollution harnessing the forces of nature than to clean up the mess with costly technology. Is there a solution at hand?

How do we tell whether climate change adaptation is making headway?

IIED and its partners are developing tailored frameworks to help developing countries evaluate their climate adaptation investments.

Taking the long view on adaptation

The impacts of climate change do not happen overnight but play out over decades. Funders looking to support people to adapt to those impacts must take the long view and accept that their investments may not provide measurable outcomes for ten years or more.

Would you like to be my partner?

The UN reports have yet to provide a clear overview of the progress made and for many of us directly involved in the business of creating credible partnerships the daily routine oscillates between excitement and frustration.

How can we measure adaptation: monitoring and evaluation as an entry point?