Determine whether outputs were received by intended users

A guide for field projects on adaptive strategies

Worksheet Four: Determining reception

Determine whether outputs were received by intended users

The complete evaluation framework

Stage 7

Choose evaluation facilitator and team
Identify output users
Determine whether outputs were received by intended users
Re-examine project mechanics
Determine whether outputs were used
Identify changes linked to outputs
Determine whether changes promote sustainable livelihoods

The next step in the evaluation process is to determine whether or not the outputs have been received by the specific user group. This is the first decision node within the evaluation process.

This information required to make the decision "did the intended users receive the output?" is specific to the context in which the evaluation is taking place. Indicators of successful reception must be determined by the evaluation facilitator in conjunction with the evaluation team. For example, the project may have the objective of transmitting a certain number of policy papers to various decision-makers within one sector of the local government. The evaluation facilitator must be aware of this objective within the transmission stage, and translate it into an indicator to signal successful or unsuccessful transmission. Indicators of transmission may include quantitative measures, for example: number of people attending a popular theater production and number of people receiving pamphlets, among others. These indicators can be checked through various methods, including surveys, interviews and observation.

This stage will conclude with the determination that the outputs were either successfully or unsuccessfully received by the intended user group. If the outputs were successfully received, the process continues with the evaluation of output use.

If the output has not been received by the user group, it is necessary to further explore the process which lead up to the point of transmission and address problems which may have caused it to be unsuccessful. At this stage, the evaluation plays the role of feeding back information to the project designers regarding the effectiveness of the project mechanics. This particular stage of the evaluation is found in the main feedback loop of the framework.

Even though the primary purpose of the framework is to evaluate change resulting from output use, project mechanics were of use to us. In order to evaluate change resulting from output use (not all change occurring within the community) it must first be established that the outputs were (1) successfully transmitted and (2) subsequently used before we consider change and evaluate it against the broader goals of sustainable livelihoods.