Module 8: Top Tips
- Before designing your M&E system ensure that you are clear about the changes you are trying to achieve - and how social change can be brought about in an enduring way.
- Develop your own, locally appropriate and useful system of M&E, and build this into your advocacy plan – whilst still following general M&E guidance.
- The purpose of M&E is to enable animal welfare organizations to review their advocacy experiences and to use this learning to improve their advocacy work – this means that honesty and transparency should be valued.
- Design a clear and simple monitoring system to ensure that your activities are contributing to your agreed objectives, and to ensure you have a record of any outcomes – intended or unintended.
- The Logframe can be a very valuable tool for summarizing your objectives (see Tool 27).
- When carrying out an evaluation, review outcomes & achievements (or changes), your processes, and lessons learned.
- Develop your indicators carefully to reflect the real value of your advocacy work, including aspects that are important to your organization or coalition/alliance (such as capacity building and relationship development).
- Record and discuss all of your outcomes – both the intended and unintended.
- Assess any relevant changes in the external or policy environment, and think about what your response to these changes should be.