LEAD4innovation Toolkit: A toolkit for small-scale media and communication projects in the Pacific

This toolkit is being developed as part of the Mobilising Media for Sustainable Outcomes in the Pacific Region project.

The toolkit is intended to support small-grant recipients to use a learning-based approach to planning and managing evaluation.

This toolkit is still a work in progress and the authors would greatly appreciate feedback and advice from the evaluation community. In parallel, the authors are working closely with their partners, and will be holding a workshop in the Pacific to further develop the toolkit with potential users of the toolkit.

The authors welcome feedback. They would also be pleased to support any interests in piloting or adapting the toolkit. The toolkit itself is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license in order to encourage such initiatives.

This resource and the following information was contributed to BetterEvaluation by Jessica Noske-Turner.

Authors and their affiliation

This toolkit is being developed as part of the Mobilising Media for Sustainable Outcomes in the Pacific Region project; a partnership between RMIT University and ABC International Development, with funding from the Australian Research Council. The toolkit has been written by Dr Jessica Noske-Turner, Professor Jo Tacchi, Associate Professor Heather Horst, and Mark Eby, with contributions from a range of C4D practitioners from the Pacific Region.

Key features of the LEAD4innovation toolkit

This draft toolkit is intended to support small-grant recipients to use a learning-based approach to planning and managing evaluation. Taking a learning-based approach means thinking about evaluation as the project is designed; we believe this will, in turn, lead to improved project design and better and more useful evaluation. Focusing on learning is especially important when the project idea is new and innovative.

This toolkit has been developed in the context of the the emergence of innovation funding programmes. In particular we have drawn upon work with ABC International Development and PACMAS who offer small-grants for new and innovative projects using media and communication to people and groups located across the Pacific region. PACMAS encouraged applications from people and organisations with little or no experience of developing projects as a way of fostering grassroots participation and innovation. This type of funding is exciting and full of potential, however, the experience of the program demonstrated the importance of building in capacity development for grantees as part of the overall program. The toolkit therefore aims to support evaluation approaches that are proportionate to the size of the grant, draw on culturally appropriate approaches, and be accessible for those new to project management and evaluation.

The main section of the toolkit includes 8 modules using the Rainbow Framework components as the main structure. The toolkit builds upon Lennie and Tacchi’s (2013) book, Evaluating Communication for Development: A Framework for Social Change. Two additional files accompany the toolkit; one is an MS Excel-based tool associated with module 5, and the other is a set of methods cards that are intended to be printed and cut out for use. Importantly, the toolkit also includes a Facilitator’s Guide intended for fund managers to use to help support grant recipients work through the toolkit. We don’t expect the toolkit to work as a stand alone resource, and instead envisage that the facilitation and guidance role will be key to successful use. 

Who is this resource useful for?

As this resource has been developed in the Pacific context, once complete the primary intended users will be C4D practitioners in that region. However, we believe it could be adapted for use across a range of contexts. In particular, we hope that managers of small-grants programs in communication for development and social change might adapt this tool and encourage their grant applicants and recipients to use it as part of their overall capacity strengthening work.

Sources

Noske-Turner, J., & Tacchi, J., & Horst, H., & Eby, M. (2015) LEAD4innovation Toolkit. A toolkit for small-scale media and communication projects in the Pacific. Mobilising Media for Sustainable Outcomes in the Pacific Region project. RMIT University. ABC International Development.