Outcome Mapping Thinking and Practices for Systems Change
Outcome Mapping (OM) is an approach to evaluative thinking and practice, arising from a holistic and interconnected understanding about development and social change.
Outcome Mapping (OM) is an approach to evaluative thinking and practice, arising from a holistic and interconnected understanding about development and social change.
What’s so stimulating about the language of evaluation?
On several recent occasions in meetings about designing evaluation plans for community interventions the terminology about evaluation has almost derailed constructive, creative and innovative conversations about an intervention, and all I keep thinking is “WOW! I am finding this really overwhelming, I can’t imagine how people without a background in evaluation must be feeling when having to make decisions about these things!?”
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We all have moments when we ask ourselves a lot questions about what we're achieving. We wonder how and if the contributions we make individually and collectively are being valued or if they're considered insignificant. Are the resources we committed to produce some sort of change are the right resources? Are we really producing evidence and results that will establish a legacy of positive change? And hey, maybe it’s as simple as “why the heck are we doing this in the first place?”
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Evaluation takes courage and the willingness to change. When everything seems to be going well, it is especially important to take the time to reflect, to ask the tough questions and to be willing to hear inconvenient answers. What if the work you are doing is popular but not achieving its intended outcomes? What if you learn that the good work you are doing is actually increasing vulnerability and stigma for the people it’s intended to help?
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The part of the community change process that gets dropped most often is all that comes after the work is done. We host an event and then don’t do the debrief. We coordinate a year-long community of practice but don’t capture the way the meetings have impacted people. We convene neighbours for a community gathering and work day but don’t share how we did it and why people came.
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