IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

It also encompasses an active participation of local population, private sector and Government in moving further from implementation to shared and negotiated outcomes based on analytical discussion based on empirical data rigorously collected.

The Monitoring and Evaluation in Livelihoods and Landscapes will support this process through providing the required methodologies and tools to reflect on it; and by the end of the day generating relevant knowledge about successful and unsuccessful experiences. It is a remarkable opportunity for IUCN to show the value of working in partnership, with common objectives and in a coordinated and critical implementation with partners.

The Livelihoods and Landscapes Monitoring and Evaluation system combines two approaches that reflect the spirit of the Programme:

• Results orientation: the analysis and reflection is focused on identifying and understanding changes in organizations and institutions performance and in mid-scale ecosystem and livelihoods characteristics obtained through LLS interventions. It encompasses changes in the life of the target population and at national level. Processes must produce results (products and outcomes) and lessons about what to do and what to not do.
• Learning and partnership orientation: interventions should generate a value-added for IUCN members, other national and international interventions (e.g. innovative lessons, scale-up of processes, approach to not pursued).

It also has three complementary objectives (Management, Accountability and Learning):

• Adaptive management (through on-going negotiation and local ownership) of the Initiative’s  components - Rural Poverty Reduction, Markets and Incentives, Governance and Transforming Landscapes; in particular, by providing timely feedback to managers.
• Learning at all levels of the Initiative to test the programme hypothesis or assumptions, operational principles and management of the Initiative for the purpose of adaptive management during the life of the Initiative, wider applications within IUCN and the livelihoods-conservation community. This includes capturing and communicating compelling narratives to facilitate change at the national level.
• Accountability for all stakeholders involved, including donors and partners, through a transparent and systematic reporting on the progress and learning (from successful and unsuccessful interventions) of the programme on global and local outcomes.

The Monitoring and Evaluation system operates articulating interventions in a programmatic approach, through three steps:

• Strategic and operational planning: a participatory situational analysis, identification of areas of intervention and consensual selection of baselines and targets as basis for a strategic three years plan that includes baselines and targets (with modeling and visual techniques whenever is possible). This strategic plan (and simultaneous first annual workplan) is the starting point for annual operational plans. The following annual plans may suffer modifications due to the adaptive management.
  Planning documents are frames to establish the “theories of change” proposed. Their implementation could generate significant and relevant changes based on Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) analysis.
• Monitoring, self-evaluation and learning: quarterly analytical meetings with wide participation of partners and local stakeholders and brief reports.
• Independent evaluations: mid-term and final evaluations of the program with emphasis on outcomes achievement and lessons learned.

For more information see  "Livelihoods and Landscapes Strategy Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning System Operational Guide".