Advanced Intentional Design Workshop OM LAB 2014

1. Advanced Intentional Design WorkshopOM LAB 2014 Jan Van Ongevalle, Belgium Heidi Schaeffer, Canada Ziad Moussa, Lebanon September 23, 2014

2. Workshop Objectives The workshop aims at deepeninganunderstandingabout: • How the individual steps of the Intentional Design process can help with a range of uses including for clarifying a theory of change. • Systems thinking tools, engaging boundary partners, nested OM systems, planning for OM – step 0 • How OM tools can be combined with other approaches to add value or nuance in strategy development and identifying monitoring priorities • Using only selected parts of OM, fusing OM and LFA, using tools of theory of change to strengthen intentional design. • How to avoid that the ID becomes too heavy & Tips for writing progress markers and working with strategy maps

3. Agenda (tentative) 9:00 - 9:15 Welcome, Overview of the Day 9:15 - 10:00 Harvest Questions & Experiences . 10:00 – 10:30: Strengthening intentional design as framework for actor centred theory of change (OM usefulness study, using principles and tools from systems thinking ) Break -10:30-10:45 10:45-12:30 Strengthening intentional design as framework for actor centred theory of change (systems thinking continued, engaging boundary partners, preparing for OM, nested OM frameworks) Lunch – 12:30-14:00 14:00-16:30: • Using only parts of OM and combining OM with other approaches (LFA, TOC) • How to avoid that the ID becomes too heavy • Tips on writing progress markers and working with strategy maps

4. 1. The ‘Socratic Wheel’ - harvesting questions/expectations and experiences from participants about the intentional design process

5. 1.1. Socratic Wheel Tool • integrates quantitative and qualitative information, • gathers individual information and perspectives as well as group assessments, • involves participants in assessing and contextualizing the findings as they are created, • is sensitive to cultural differences, • has greater diagnostic rigor than many traditional participatory methods, and can be scaled up for more rigorous analysis, • Adapt for particular evaluation question and context.

7. 1.1. Knowledge of Intentional Design • 1. Vision and Mission • 2. Boundary Partners • 3. Outcome Challenges and Progress Markers • 4. Strategy Maps • 5. Organizational Practices

9. 1.1. Solar Eclipse Game

10. 2. Strengthening the intentional design as a framework for clarifying an actor centred theory of change and for stimulating dialogue and building trust

11. 2.1. OM and systems thinking “No go. The evaluation committee said it doesn’t meet utility specs. They want something linear, stable, controllable, and targeted to reach a pre-set destination. They couldn’t see any use for this.” In Michael Quinn Patton, Developmental Evaluation: Applying Complexity Concepts to Enhance Innovation and Use, Guilford Press, June 2010

12. 2.1. OM and systems thinking Understanding Changes/Evolutions in relationships between the system components

13. 2.1. OM and systems thinking Understanding the appropriateness of the boundaries used to delimit the system

14. 2.1. OM and systems thinking Understanding the appropriateness of the boundaries used to delimit the system

15. 2.1. OM and systems thinking Understanding the appropriateness of the boundaries used to delimit the system

16. 2.1. OM and systems thinking Understanding the appropriateness of the boundaries used to delimit the system

17. 2.1. OM and systems thinking Understanding the appropriateness of the boundaries used to delimit the system

18. 2.1. OM and systems thinking The different perspectives on what changes and how it is changed in the system

19. 2.2. OM and systems thinking • The era of “proven models” is (hopefully) long gone  • The added value of ID is the “clarification of intent” with regards to: • Non linear development (small actions can potentially entail large reactions) • How to STRATEGIZE? How to develop STORIES OF CHANGE? • Dynamic nature of development interactions (interactions within,between and among subsystems is continuous) • Emergent developments re-shape the system EMERGENCE

20. 2.2. OM’s perceived usefulness for dealing with multiple actors and relationships

21. 2.2 The concept of spheres of influence Helps to discuss and clarify expectations, roles and responsibilities of different programme actors. Stimulates conversation and dialogue Building trust How? (What do OM users say - some quotes from OM usefulness study) Do’s and dont’s indirect influence Beneficiary 2 Beneficiary 1 Beneficiary 3 direct influence Boundary partner 2 Boundary partner 1 Boundary partner 3 direct control Implementing team Strategic partners, donors, …

22. 2.2 Quotes from OM effectiveness research • Simple but powerful stakeholder analysis tool that helped them to discuss and clarify expectations, roles and responsibilities of different programme actors. • The stakeholder analysis according to the spheres of influence does not remain a side activity in preparation of the subsequent planning or formulation of the programme. • The OM framework provided programme implementing teams with a ‘language’ to explain the content and the purpose of a programme to programme stakeholders. • “OM helped to clarify expectations of boundary partners in terms of support needed and contributed to programme staff working in a more participatory way with boundary partners” (Eco health programme South East Asia) • “OM has provided a language to explain the programme to programme stakeholders.” (Teacher Education and Vulnerability Programme, VVOB Zimbabwe) • “OM forced everybody to talk about where the programme might go”(Alberta Rural Development Programme)

23. 2.2. Enhancing stakeholder participation in the intentional design Sharing experiences on how to engage boundary partners and other stakeholders in the development of an intentional design: Shift & share and wise crowd approach

24. 2.2. Enhancing stakeholder participation • Boundary partners in conflict • Setting priorities in complex system change • Working with BP’s in government or highly bureaucratic settings • When dealing with large informal international network • Dealing with OM terminology and jargon • When the OM workshop didn’t manage to go to the bottom of things? • ……..?

25. 3. Adapting OM to a programme’s needs and combining OM with other approaches

26. 3.1. Examples of adaptingoutcomemappingto a programme’sneeds • The example of World Solidarity: Planning and monitoringcapacitydevelopment: www.wereldsolidariteit.be • The example of MCNV: usingoutcomemappingforprogrammeevaluation • The example of VVOB Zimbabwe:Linkinglogicalframework and OutcomeMapping

27. 3.1. WorldSolidarity M&E of capacitydevelopment INTENTIONAL DESIGN STEP 1: Vision STEP 2: Mission STEP 3: Boundary Partners STEP 4: Outcome Challenges STEP 5: Progress Markers STEP 6: Strategy Maps STEP 7: Organizational Practices INTENTIONAL DESIGN Partners used outcome challenges and progress markers to plan their own capacity development process. Strategy maps were not used for planning but for visualising exisiting support strategies of the global CSO Outcome journals are used as basis for reflection meetings were progress on outcome challenge and progress markers is discussed. STEP 12: Evaluation Plan EVALUATION PLANNING STEP 8: Monitoring Priorities STEP 9: Outcome Journals STEP 10: Strategy Journal STEP 11: Performance Journal OUTCOME & PERFORMANCE MONITORING Strategy journals were incorporated in the outcome journals.

28. 3.1. MCNV evaluation of healthprogramme INTENTIONAL DESIGN STEP 1: Vision STEP 2: Mission STEP 3: Boundary Partners STEP 4: Outcome Challenges STEP 5: Progress Markers STEP 6: Strategy Maps STEP 7: Organizational Practices INTENTIONAL DESIGN Partner organisations reflected on the achievement of their own outcome challenges Made use of the learning questions of the outcome journal STEP 12: Evaluation Plan EVALUATION PLANNING STEP 8: Monitoring Priorities STEP 9: Outcome Journals STEP 10: Strategy Journal STEP 11: Performance Journal OUTCOME & PERFORMANCE MONITORING

29. 3.1. Vulnerability& TeacherEducationprogramme- VVOB Zimbabwe INTENTIONAL DESIGN STEP 1: Vision STEP 2: Mission STEP 3: Boundary Partners STEP 4: Outcome Challenges STEP 5: Progress Markers STEP 6: Strategy Maps STEP 7: Organizational Practices INTENTIONAL DESIGN Instead used specific objective and key result areas with result indicators STEP 12: Evaluation Plan EVALUATION PLANNING Information from the outcome journals and strategy journals is used to report on result indicators STEP 8: Monitoring Priorities STEP 9: Outcome Journals STEP 10: Strategy Journal STEP 11: Performance Journal OUTCOME & PERFORMANCE MONITORING

30. MSC with lecturers and student teachers 3.1. OM-LFA fusion VVOB Zimbabwe % of the colleges with a detailed staff development plan % of the colleges that organise staff development activities related to OVC at least once every term % of the subjects in which OVC themes have been integrated) Intermediateresult (e.g. staffdevelopment) Boundary partner (e.g. staff devpt. Com.) Coordinate functioning of staff development committee Organise OVC related staff devpt activities for lecturers Assist curriculum development OVC related inservice training for TP mentors

31. 3.1. Example of operational planning with budget for OM-LFA fusion (seealsohandout)

32. 3.2. OM and Theory of change The essence of Theory of Change is linking activities to INTENDED OUTCOMES I am cutting rocks I am building a temple

33. 3.2. OM and Theory of change Theory of Change is often seen as a deeper reflective process and dialogue amongst colleagues and stakeholders that make more explicit people’s underlying assumptions of how and why change might happen as an outcome of the initiative. In the Intentional Design you are actually fleshing out your Theory of Change!! Even better, you are not shooting at the whole wide world, but at your Boundary Partners 

34. 3.2. OM and Theory of change Basic Elements of a Theory of Change

35. 3.2. OM and Theory of change • Can you give examples of where the project or programme is working really well? What is making it work well? (Vision) • What are the long-term changes that need to happen in the target group’s lives? (Mission, Outcome Challenges) • Who and what (groups, structures, systems, relationships, processes, …) need to change? What are the barriers to those changes? (Boundary Partners, Progress Markers) • How does the programme try to influence these changes? (Strategy Maps, Organizational Practices) • How will we know if we have brought about change? (Journals)

36. 3.2. OM and Theory of change Policies and Strategies Measures and Mechanisms Outcomes Goal Outcome Challenges Progress Markers Organizational Practices

37. 4. How to avoid that the ID becomes too heavy & Tips for writing progress markers and working with strategy maps

38. 4.1. Simplifying the Intentional Design: the case of VVOB zimbabwe Two main challenges with the results of the OM workshop: • Seven boundary partners within eleven teacher training colleges accross the country. This gives seventy seven boundary partner groups. • Rather long lists of progress markers and support strategies were developed for each boundary partner during the initial outcome mapping workshops.

39. 4.1. Simplifying the Intentional design: the case of VVOB Zimbabwe The intentional design was adjusted in three major waysto make it more practical. • The variousprogress markers foreachboundary partner werecategorised in major categoriesthathad emergedduring the analysis of the baseline survey. Thisreduced the number of progress markers andalso made the progress markers more comprehensivedescriptions of processbehaviourswhichwereeasierto monitor over time. • The strategymapswererealignedto the programme’sintermediateresultareas. Thisreduced the long lists of strategymapsandremovedoverlapsbetweenidentical support strategiesfor different boundary partners. (seehandout) • Organisationalpracticeswereincluded in the support strategiesand are alignedto a specificintermediateresult area on organisationallearning at the level of the implementingorganisationand the boundary partners.

40. 4.1. Original list of progress markers

41. 4.1. Outcomes of the baseline survey for co-curricular student clubs

42. 4.1. Exercise: simplifying Intentional design (see handout) • You are given the original list of progress markers for the co-curricular student bodies from the VVOB Zimbabwe case. • Task: In groups, simplify the list by clustering the progress markers under the larger progress markers categories that had emerged from the baseline survey results: i.e. 1) functioning of the club; 2) providing services, 3) networking 4) community outreach.

43. 4.2. What Can Patterns of Change Look Like?

44. 4.2. PMs about Changes in Behaviour • Changes in relationships • Changes in actions and interactions • Changes in practices • Changes in Policies • Other?

45. 4.2. A PM Framework • P1 Preparation for the Journey: building Knowledge and Capacity • P2 The owned journey begins: building support, collaboration and networks • P3 The owned journey proceeds: sustained continuous actions. Institutionalization, Policies and/or Culture Change

46. 4.2. Outcome Engineering • Level 1: Knowing that there is a journey to take (P1) • Level 2: Taking the first Steps (P1 level) • Level 3: Investing your own resources (all) • Level 4: Overcoming resistance to the change (all) • Level 5: Identifying with the journey by joining with others with a similar approach (P2 level) • Level 6: Leaving a legacy (now an expert for others) (P3 level).

47. 4.2. 32 sets of progress markers

48. 4.2. P1: Knowledge acquisition processes and practices • ...attending forums where (the project) elaborates about the technology • ...raising questions and issues that (the Project) will address to encourage (the BP’s) uptake of the technology • ...seek out additional information on water and watershed issues from external sources • ...requesting position papers from the relevant departments to solicit input into decisions

49. 4.2. P2: Getting involved, build support & enroll others • ...brokering or developing partnerships with other agencies to take local action • ...establishing mechanisms to share and review work programmes across departments, especially on research projects • ...establishing and expanding the membership base of the national organization in Indonesia • ...organize ‘popular education’ to increase critical thinking of their members

50. 4.2. P3: Owned journey continuous and sustained • ...contribute to the improvement of the methodology internationally to continually make it even more effective • ...generate their own funds and re-invest in (related) community projects • ...developing and putting in place a communication policy guiding how information is shared within the organization