La Plate-forme pour l'agriculture tropicale (TAP)

Outcome Mapping session for the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning System of the TAP-AIS project


On 21 September 2021, the team of the Research and Extension Unit of FAO organized a virtual training session to introduce the Monitoring Evaluation and Learning System of the TAP-AIS project to FAO colleagues from the country offices of Malawi, Pakistan and Rwanda.

After an introduction of the overall approach and phases, the session focused on the Outcome mapping methodology and guided participants on how to organize an Outcome Mapping (OM) session.

OM is a useful tool for assessing impacts of an intervention on actors beyond the primary intended beneficiaries. The OM process starts with the project team describing the anticipated changes in behavior, relationships, or actions among intended beneficiaries, as well as among other individuals or groups that may be influenced by the intervention according to the intervention’s theory of change. Qualitative methods are then used to intentionally monitor changes according to the projected changes. This method seeks to assess contribution (rather than attribution) of an intervention to any observed changes. In the case of a capacity development intervention highly tailored to the needs of a specific organization or of a network of actors, OM might be useful in both defining anticipated changes and tracking those changes.

In the TAP-AIS project, the Outcome Mapping exercise is implemented  after the assessment of agricultural innovation system (AIS) and capacity needs, with a view to consolidate the joint understanding of what the project will achieve and to refine/define/select the possible capacity development activities to implement, ie: which types of bridging events? Which types of coaching or trainings for selected organizations?

During this working session, the Research and Extension Unit team explained how to conduct an outcome mapping session and discussed with the participants the practical aspects of implementation. 

 

More examples on the implementation of OM can be found at: http://outcomemapping.ca/resource/index.php?theme=3&action=search

A video demonstrating how a rural development programme in Madagascar used OM can be found at: http://outcomemapping.ca/resource/resource.php?id=369

 

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