Five Key Ingredients for learning and evaluation in platforms and partnerships
This year, we set ourselves the task of writing down some of the things we’ve learned about evaluating multi-stakeholder platforms and partnerships.
Once we started, we found it difficult to stop.
There was all we’ve seen and observed about why people are interested in learning and evaluation in the first instance: what drives and motivates people to invest in learning systems for platforms and partnerships.
There was what people choose to measure about their platforms and partnerships: all the activities, outputs and outcomes of partnerships, and the indicators that are used to monitor and track these over time.
There was how learning and evaluation take place, including the tools, templates and instruments that are used, as well as how all this information is packaged up and shared with those within and external to a partnership.
And finally, there was who was involved, or could be involved, in building effective learning and evaluation systems for partnerships — and this proved to be a long list in itself.
Standing back from it all, some core features of effective learning and evaluation for platforms and partnerships emerged — these are what we’ve termed 5 Key Ingredients:
1. A culture of inquiry that supports learning
2. A clear and shared vision for change and the MSP’s unique contribution
3. A set of agreed indicators for assessing progress
4. A practical plan for gathering, analysing and using data
5. A clear approach for sharing, reporting and communicating insights
While there’s likely a sequence to using the 5 Key Ingredients, we recognise that MSPs will be at different stages in their learning and evaluation activities. Some will be very early in their experience, while others will have years of gathering data and insights.
On September 8th, we are hosting a webinar where we will explore the 5 Key Ingredients further, as well as hear from those in the field working to evaluate and improve their platforms and partnerships.
Join us by clicking the link below, or signing up here
