For Socio-Economic Development (SED), the Social Way requires sites to implement a ‘Theory of Change’ approach to planning which should also be considered as part of monitoring and evaluation. The theory of change is an approach that can be applied to projects / interventions to outline the steps required to achieve the desired outcome. As a monitoring and evaluation approach it helps sites to measure not only if a project / intervention is being implemented but if it is working to achieve the desired results. This section only includes detailed discussion of the Theory of Change within the monitoring and evaluation context. However, the application of this approach to planning is included in the section on (see Section 4A).
The monitoring and evaluation framework described in this section should be applied to:
- Risk and impact controls: are we implementing them and are they working to avoid or mitigate the risk/impact?
- projects: does the project achieve the results as planned and is it effective in achieving the expected outcomes and positive impacts?
- Long-term social performance objectives: are we on track to achieve the objectives we set for ourselves?
A number of terms appear consistently in relation to monitoring and evaluation and are defined in Table 1.5.
Table 1.5 Monitoring and evaluation key terms
| Term |
Definition and example |
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Objective
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The aim of the project/risk and impact controls i.e. what are we trying to achieve?
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Target
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A desired and measurable result expected for an indicator at a specific point of time; e.g. increase number of local businesses as registered suppliers by 50% by end of 2020. A target should include an end-point.
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Milestone
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Intermediate results showing progress towards the longer-term objective/targets
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Impact (of Project / Controls)
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Changes attributable to an intervention (e.g. a project or risk / impact controls). Impacts refer to longer-term effects of outcomes on households, communities, and society. Compared to outputs that tend to be pre-defined and can be measured objectively.
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Activities
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Actions undertaken to achieve the objective. For example, the actual delivery of business skills training or the installation of speed-awareness signs.
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Inputs
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Resources, including time, people, finances, information, expertise to deliver activities. For example, the financial cost of developing business skills training, the staff hours allocated to delivering training or the cost of traffic safety signs.
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Outputs
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Direct, measurable results derived from activities. For example, the number of people trained, the number of signs installed.
The direct and immediate results of an intervention’s activities.
These will provide the conditions necessary to achieve the outcome.
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Outcomes
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Observable changes that have occurred and can be directly linked to the intervention (e.g. a Project or control). For example, increased numbers of business registrations or reductions in vehicle speeds through local communities. Outcomes are sometimes viewed as the results of an intervention over a short or medium time period, and impacts as the change over a longer time period. For example, the outcome may be increased numbers of business registrations, and impact may be increased levels of wage income in the local economy.
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Effectiveness
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The extent to which the activity or intervention has met the objective. Demonstrating direct causality with the intervention can be challenging when assessing effectiveness, as other factors typically have had an influence. An effective Project or Risk/Impact control achieved the outcomes and impact that is desired.
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Indicator
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A qualitative or quantitative variable used to measure the inputs, activities, outputs and outcomes etc as a result of the intervention.
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Key Performance Indicator
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Critical indicator of progress towards the intended result.
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Baseline
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The reference point for a situation prior to the intervention (e.g. a Project or control), to be used to define project targets and measure progress/results of the intervention activities.
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Means of verification
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The source of data for the indicators – how the data for the indicator will be collected and calculated in a consistent way.
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