Over the last eighteen months, inspired by the UN Declaration of the International Year of Evaluation, The Improve Group began to deliberately explore two large issues in evaluation:
- How should evaluation be designed, implemented, and used in complex, multi-stakeholder contexts?
- What roles can and should evaluation play in promoting equity?
In September 2014, our Advisory Board strongly encouraged us to invite others to be our partners as we explore these issues. They pointed us to other bodies of work and resources. Over the course of a few meetings, we learned of a specific methodology, called Outcome Harvesting, and its capabilities in complex contexts. We developed a plan to bring together colleagues from the nonprofit, public, and philanthropic sectors to discuss this method.
Outcome Harvesting uses evidence to understand how results were achieved, and how different programs or organizations contributed to those results. It helps clarify relationships between cause and effect. As I’ve learned more about Outcome Harvesting, I’m particularly excited because it as an interactive approach that potentially can include people who have previously been marginalized.
In a recent discussion on a listserv devoted to Outcome Harvesting and Mapping [registration required], users shared examples of Outcome Harvesting in their work. One user shared how they used case studies in a multi-national organization to determine the pathway between activity and impact. Another shared how they reviewed a project at its midpoint, and constructed indicators focused on gender equity for continued work.
I’m looking forward to learning more about Outcome Harvesting. I hope you’ll be part of our ongoing learning about complexity and equity. If you can, please join us at our event on September 28, where we will learn about the method and practice it using a case study, facilitated by international evaluator Ricardo Wilson-Grau.