"The concept of digital literacy has been defined in numerous ways over the last two decades to incorporate rapid technological changes, its versatility, and to bridge the global digital divide. Most approaches have been technology-centric with an inherent assumption of cultural and political neutra
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lity of new media technologies. There are multiple hurdles in every stage of digital literacy implementation. The lack of solutions such as local language digital interfaces, locally relevant content, digital literacy training, the use of icons and audio excludes a large fraction of illiterate people. In this article, we analyse case studies targeted at under-connected people in sub-Saharan Africa and India that use digital literacy programmes to build knowledge and health literacy, solve societal problems and foster development. In India, we focus on notable initiatives undertaken in the domain of digital literacy for rural populations. In Sub-Saharan Africa, we draw from an original project in Kenya aiming at developing digital literacy for youth from low-income backgrounds. We further focus on Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and Tanzania, where field studies have been conducted on the use of digital technologies by low-literacy people and on how audio and icon-based interfaces and Internet lite standard could help them overcome their limitations. The main objective of this article is to identify key performance indicators (KPIs) in the context of digital literacy skills as one of the pillars for digital inclusion. We will learn how digital literacy programmes can be used to build digital literacy and how KPIs for sustainable development can be established. In the final discussion, we offer lessons learned from the case studies and further recommendation for stakeholders and decision-makers in the field of digital health literacy." (Abstract)
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"Outcome Mapping was developed 20 years ago by the International Development Research Centre and for many in the development sector it has become a staple in planning, monitoring and evaluation toolkits. Countless organisations across the world have applied and adapted Outcome Mapping for their own
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projects and programmes, tailored to their needs and contexts. Every now and then we hear about these applications and, as a community of practitioners, we get to learn from them and improve our own understanding and practice. AGIAMONDO is one such organisation, and Managing Outcomes is its generous contribution to our community, building on over ten years of experience with Outcome Mapping. AGIAMONDO have taken the tools and principles of Outcome Mapping and adapted them to their institutional context, using the elements that work best for them, and offering a number of different tools to complement the original OM tools. While AGIAMONDO have developed this approach for their own projects and those of their partner organisations, Managing Outcomes offers an opportunity for learning and discussion for the Outcome Mapping Learning Community. In particular, Managing Outcomes includes a section on situation analysis which helps lay a clear foundation for project planning and it provides a detailed guide for monitoring, reflection and self-evaluation. Through these additions, AGIAMONDO has distilled many practices and innovations in planning, monitoring and evaluation that have arisen since OM was first developed [...]" (Foreword, page iv)
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"Der Report „Wozu Non-Profit-Journalismus?“ macht sich für eine dritte Säule im Mediensystem stark: Der gemeinnützige Journalismus hält der Krise Antworten entgegen und leistet als Ergänzung zum öffentlich-rechtlichen und privaten Verlagsjournalismus einen Beitrag zur Medienvielfalt. Er is
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t frei von kommerziellen Interessen, sucht die Nähe zu seinen Nutzer*innen und agiert innovativ und lösungsorientiert. Der Report gibt erstmals einen Überblick über die Akteur*innen des gemeinnützigen Journalismus im deutschsprachigen Raum, er enthält Tipps für potenzielle Förderer*innen und nennt Empfehlungen für eine Reform des Gemeinnützigkeitsrechts." (https://rudolf-augstein-stiftung.de´)
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"Participatory M&E is about engaging different stakeholders, especially targeted beneficiaries, in monitoring and evaluation processes. It is done to generate better M&E information and/or to empower stakeholders. It is facilitated through two main approaches. The first is a set of tools and methods
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used to enable effective M&E. The second is the attitudes and behaviour needed to support meaningful participation." (Introduction)
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"Addresses the challenges of conducting program evaluations in real-world contexts where evaluators and their clients face budget and time constraints. The book is organized around the authors’ seven-step model that has been tested in workshops and practice environments to help the evaluation impl
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ementers and managers make the best choices when faced with real world constraints. The Third Edition includes a new chapter on gender equality and women’s empowerment and discussion of digital technology and data science." (Publisher description)
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"Many different tools and methodologies can be used to support advocacy work. Some are designed specifically for monitoring and evaluation (M&E) purposes. Others are designed to support the planning and management of advocacy interventions, but can be used or adapted for M&E purposes. CSOs often emp
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loy several different tools and methodologies over the course of an advocacy intervention." (Introduction)
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"The purpose of this guidance is to clarify the concept of quality in developmental evaluations managed by UNFPA. It is intended to increase the understanding of UNFPA evaluation staff, external evaluation consultants, and those contracted to carry out quality assessment of UNFPA developmental evalu
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ations, of how the principles of developmental evaluation and the UNEG evaluation standards translate into UNFPA evaluation quality assurance and assessment work. This in turn will improve the overall quality of developmental evaluations and support the effective use of evaluative evidence for programming and policy decisions." (Introduction)
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"This book presents five cases that reflect on the experiences of using practices consistent with the 'Evaluating C4D framework' [published by June Lennie and Jo Tacchi in 2013]. Case studies are important to help move from a set of ideal principles to an understanding of how the framework may be op
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erationalized within the actual realities of development institutions, organizations, and communities. The authors of each chapter focus on a few key principles from the framework and contextualize how they interpreted those principles in relation to various methods, models, and projects. As well as showing the usefulness and opportunities, they illustrate the challenges of balancing the various principles as well as real-world practical needs." (Overview of the book, page 10)
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"This paper presents comparative learning from the evaluation of six international development initiatives that applied various forms of Process Tracing. While these initiatives span across diverse contexts and pursued different aims, they are connected by a common thread: all six case studies centr
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e around efforts to influence others - often decision makers and those in power - around aspects such as practices of consultation and inclusion; public policy; and resource allocation. The paper is organized in the following manner. We first explain Process Tracing and review common definitions. Secondly, we consider the potential value added of an explicitly Bayesian approach to Process Tracing. Next, we discuss the six cases where Process Tracing was applied, noting similarities and differences. Then, we explore key practical learning emerging from the cases and insights from the use of different forms of Process Tracing across different programming contexts. These reflections are organized under four meta-themes of participation, Theory of Change, methodological decisions, and mitigating bias. Finally, we present our key recommendations, ending with practical tips, targeted at practitioners and evaluators interested in applying Process Tracing, especially for initiatives falling under the ‘influencing’ umbrella." (Introduction)
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"This guide is meant to serve as a practical resource for funders who want to understand where to start. Informed by feedback from our network, it represents a synthesis of the past seven years of work we’ve done in the impact space, and includes examples of successful media impact evaluation, too
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ls and frameworks for assessment, and the challenges of defining and measuring impact in a rapidly-shifting media landscape. Our years of research have led us to four key insights: 1. There are many different frameworks for measuring media impact for different areas of practice. 2. Funders should be mindful of power dynamics, and thoughtful in determining appropriate impact strategies with their grantees. 3. Digital analytics tools provide a wealth of useful data, but grantees require financial and logistical support in implementing them. 4. There are opportunities for funders to collaborate with each other to share best practices and increase collective impact." (Executive summary)
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"This report brings together disparate terminology, findings and recommendations from the private and public sectors and academia to synthesise a set of five general steps for practitioners when performing impact assessments. Impact assessment (IA) compares a variable of interest after an interventi
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on (e.g. a communication campaign) to what it would it be if that intervention had never happened. Accompanying each of the five steps are examples of how migration communicators can assess the impact of campaigns to, first, change attitudes and, second, change behaviour.
Step 1: Set objectives for the intervention that define what the desired effect is. Ideally, this should (1) meet the SMART criteria of specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timebound; (2) focus on ultimate outcomes, rather than only outputs; (3) avoid a number of common mistakes in setting objectives and (4) carefully consider what the—as specific as possible— target audience is.
Step 2: Identify a measure of the impact(s) that the intervention has as its objective. These should be (1) clearly defined and unambiguous; (2) externally valid (they act reliably if used for other interventions) and (3) internally valid (they measure what they claim to measure). There already exist long-lists of measures (also known as indicators) to choose from.
Step 3: Estimate what would have happened had there been no intervention, known as a ‘counterfactual’. Ideally, but not necessarily, this requires performing a pre-intervention measurement, also known as baseline assessment. However, this is not always possible. This should not dissuade practitioners but instead assumptions of any IA, as discussed below, should be made openly. A long list of methods for measurement, including sampling considerations, are provided.
Step 4: Perform the intervention. This may involve separating a randomised sample into a treatment group(s)—that receives the intervention(s)—and a control group—that does not. If this is not feasible, other forms of counterfactual are possible that ‘construct’ a control group. This section also overviews: (1) types of communication campaigns; (2) the MINDSPACE checklist of behavioural influences for interventions; (3) key recommendations on persuasive interventions from ICMPD’s previous work; (4) recommendations on campaigns deterring irregular migration.
Step 5: Post-intervention measurement and analysis: (1) those receiving the intervention should be measured post-intervention (ideally, as well as, either a genuine or constructed control group); (2) the impact must be calculated: usually the difference in the variable of interest pre- and post-intervention and/or between the treatment and control group; (3) theoretical consideration of why and what aspect of the campaign caused an impact; are the findings likely to be universalizable?; (4) creation (and, in some cases, incorporation) of recommendations based on combination of impact and theoretical considerations." (Executive summary)
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"ICT4D projects are known for having social, economic, and environmental impacts that are difficult to capture. Investments in digital infrastructure and innovation often have high up-front costs with largely medium-to-long-term benefits, not quick, short-term outcomes desired by policy makers. The
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new DIAL Valuing ICT4D Project Impact Toolkit is a practical guide to identifying appropriate valuing impact methodologies to forecast the benefits of planned ICT investments. The toolkit can also be used to evaluate existing digital development activities in low-income countries. It presents five valuation methodologies for ICT4D projects: Cost Effectiveness Analysis, Cost Benefit Analysis, and Social Return on Investment explore the relationship from investment costs through to impact; Multi-Criteria Analysis explores the relationships from activities through to outcomes; Econometrics explores the relationship from activities through to impact. The methodologies considered vary in their application, but they largely explore the relationship between investment costs, related activities and outputs, and the desired change in outcome or impact. Implementing these methodologies can be complex and resource intensive depending on the scope and level of detail desired." (Ictworks.org)
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"Using a randomized encouragement design, we assigned 2,064 people to listen to either 'Ina Mafita' or to a control program (professional soccer matches) each week over the course of two months. Recruitment and engagement were conducted remotely via short message service (short message system [SMS]
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or text message). The results indicate that the radio show 'Ina Mafita' had a positive effect on listeners’ beliefs about the importance of being a role model and a positive but not significant effect on the belief in local committees’ value in reintegrating at-risk youth. Results were more pronounced for high complier subsample and for those who reported liking the show’s story line. The authors found no effect on listeners’ views of kidnap victims. The researchers found no or possibly negative effects on listeners’ value of diversity, however, it must be noted that the show did not explicitly address this theme. Listeners also enjoyed the show and many continued to listen to the show after the incentivized exposure had concluded." (Key findings)
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"These are simple recommendations on the inclusion of data on disability for researchers conducting evidence syntheses and primary studies." (Page 1)
"Spatially and temporally relevant ‘big data’ that does not require data collection in the field has the potential to provide insights into people’s economic, social, behavioural and political lives, and hence could be used in measuring key development outcomes. Big data consists of humangener
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ated data including online searches, social media, citizen reporting or crowdsourced data, process-mediated data such as mobile phone call record details (CRD), commercial transactions data and machine-generated data from satellites, sensors or drones. The primary value of big data is that it is possible to measure outcomes that could not previously be measured using household surveys at the required temporal and spatial scale. The potential of big data to answer causal attribution, however, is still not widely understood, especially in low- and middle-income countries (L&MICs). The report is based on a map of the studies using big data and its objective is to discuss methodological, ethical and practical constraints relating to the use of big data. The systematic map includes impact evaluations (IEs) that use big data to evaluate development outcomes, systematic reviews (SRs) of big data IEs and other measurement studies that innovatively use big data to measure and validate any development outcomes. This study also explores the sectoral and geographical spread of big data's use in international development. This map includes studies written in English and published between 2005 and 2019, regardless of the target country's income level or population's status. We provide detailed breakdowns on the map for different country income classifications, fragile contexts and population characteristics. From the initial list of 17,393 studies we arrived at a final list of 437 studies, which included 48 IEs, 381 measurement studies and 8 SRs." (Executive summary)
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