Monitoring and evaluation of peacebuilding: The role of new media

The paper compiles key challenges, opportunities, and lessons for using new media in monitoring and evaluating peacebuilding activities.

It draws on insights from humanitarian and development projects to enhance cross-sectoral learning and improve effectiveness in these complex contexts.

This paper by Költzow (2013) explores the challenges, opportunities, and lessons associated with using new media for monitoring and evaluating peacebuilding activities. It examines experiences from humanitarian and development projects where new media was used for M&E purposes and shares insights from practitioners, including mistakes and lessons learned from pilot projects. The paper aims to inspire cross-sectoral learning and discussion within the peacebuilding community and related fields, promoting openness and transparency about lessons learned. It highlights that while new media is often successfully used for needs assessments and beneficiary communication, its application in peacebuilding M&E is still limited, making peacebuilders latecomers to this trend.

Key content

Key takeaways from the resource include:

1. Monitoring and evaluation of peacebuilding and other fields

• Generic difficulties of M&E: M&E faces generic challenges such as low prioritization, resistance from staff, uncertainty about overall goals, and insufficient capacity to conduct thorough evaluations. These issues are common across development, humanitarian, and peacebuilding sectors.
• Specific difficulties of peacebuilding M&E: Peacebuilding M&E is complicated by a lack of clear definitions, data access issues, and the necessity to navigate complex and dynamic environments. Security concerns, trauma among participants, and the challenge of measuring intangible outcomes like peace further complicate M&E efforts.
• Requirements of Peacebuilding M&E: Effective peacebuilding M&E requires flexible systems that can accommodate inconclusive data and diverse sources. A mix of qualitative and quantitative data, participatory practices, and context-specific indicators are essential to address the unique challenges of peacebuilding contexts.

2. The current landscape of new media for M&E

New media, including mobile phones and social media, are increasingly used for needs assessments and beneficiary communication. Despite their potential, their application in peacebuilding M&E is still limited. The paper discusses the promise of tools like crowdsourcing for crisis mapping and the widespread use of SMS functions.

3. Benefits and challenges of new media use for M&E in other fields

• Benefits: New media can enhance data collection efficiency, enable real-time monitoring, and improve beneficiary engagement. These technologies offer cost-effective solutions for gathering and analyzing data, which can improve the relevance and timeliness of M&E efforts.
• Challenges: Challenges include data security, ethical considerations, and the digital divide. There is a risk of over-reliance on technology, which can overshadow fundamental issues in M&E. Ensuring accurate and representative data collection is critical to avoid skewed results.
• Recapitulation and prospects of using new media for M&E: The paper highlights the need for critical assessments of new media’s potential to address systemic M&E issues. Successful integration of these technologies requires ongoing adaptation and evaluation to ensure they complement traditional methods rather than replace them.

4. Peacebuilding M&E and the potential of new media

New media hold significant promise for improving peacebuilding M&E by facilitating data collection and stakeholder engagement. However, the peacebuilding field must critically assess these technologies and tailor their use to the specific needs and contexts of peacebuilding activities.

Conclusion: Further research and practice needs

The paper concludes that further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of new media in peacebuilding M&E. It encourages practitioners to experiment with these technologies while ensuring ethical standards and adapting to the evolving landscape of peacebuilding. The conclusion provides signposts for future research and practice needs, emphasizing the importance of transparency, local involvement, and cross-sectoral learning.

Annex 4: Case studies

• Case study 1. Analysing data produced as a by-product of communication activities: The UN Global Pulse initiative utilizes big data from daily communication activities for real-time monitoring of population wellbeing and response to global crises. Techniques like data mining help model potential violent conflicts by analyzing sentiments from various data sources including social media and phone traffic, linking technology directly to peacebuilding efforts.
• Case study 2: ACTED’s community vulnerability surveillance and drought preparedness in Uganda: ACTED's projects in Uganda leverage mobile technologies to enhance drought preparedness and vulnerability surveillance. Despite challenges like low participation due to technical and motivational issues, these projects contribute to peacebuilding by securing livelihoods and reducing resource scarcity conflicts in the Karamoja region.
• Case study 3. The REACH mapping tool in Kyrgyzstan: The REACH mapping tool by ACTED in Kyrgyzstan facilitates effective crisis management and peacebuilding through community-based mapping and data collection using mobile and GPS technologies. Despite initial challenges, it has evolved into a robust planning and monitoring tool, enhancing local government capacities and informing policy decisions on conflict and peace.