Measuring Impact (MI)
Measuring Impact was a six-year contract (2012-2018) that aimed to increase USAID’s capacity to design, monitor, evaluate, and improve the impact of global biodiversity conservation and natural resource management programs. Partners Environmental Incentives, Foundations of Success and ICF International worked with the USAID Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and the Environment/Office of Forestry and Biodiversity (E3/FAB) to develop effective performance measures, enhance cross-project learning, foster communication, and build capacity for adaptive management. Measuring Impact 2 will build on MI's success.
Biodiversity conservation and natural resources management are integral to advancing human prosperity and enabling resilience in the world’s most vulnerable populations. USAID policy, including the Biodiversity Policy, calls for more strategic, evidence-based and effective programs. Measuring Impact helped USAID operating units meet this call by providing technical assistance with rigorous and well-informed situation analyses, clearly defined theories of change, and results-based performance indicators. Consistent with USAID Forward reforms and the Agency’s Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting approach, these strategies allowed the Agency to improve outcomes through learning and to articulate how conservation supports good development outcomes across sectors.
The Measuring Impact Approach
Measuring Impact provided technical assistance to USAID Missions that program biodiversity funds to achieve four key results:
1. Build Capacity for Best Practices in Implementing the Program Cycle in USAID Biodiversity Programs
Provide technical assistance to Missions and E3/FAB to:
- Strengthen project design based on sound situation analyses and theories of change
- Improve logical and results frameworks and indicators
- Improve monitoring and evaluation frameworks
- Enhance program management practices & processes
2. Improve Biodiversity Conservation Approaches
Help Missions and E3/FAB improve biodiversity program outcomes through systematic learning to:
- Increase USAID’s understanding of conditions under which different conservation actions are effective
- Improve the use of conservation interventions by capturing and sharing evidence across Missions
- Cultivate good learning practices in biodiversity programs that capture institutional knowledge and increase effectiveness
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3. Build the Evidence Base
Help USAID develop and use evidence to:
- Illuminate linkages between biodiversity and other sectors
- Fill evidence gaps in understanding the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation approaches
- Create access to evidence and analysis
4. Synthesis and Outreach
Strengthen USAID leadership in evidence-based conservation and development programming by:
- Partnering with key USAID operating units to support use of evidence and best practices
- Developing and disseminating tools and technical guidance resources
- Communicating learning and results
Measuring Impact (MI) Project Resources
Threat Rating Worksheet
When designing biodiversity and integrated biodiversity conservation programs, threat identification and ranking is an essential step to help program design teams decide on what threats to address (and why), and assists on determining what strategic approaches to invest in.
Measuring Impact: Six Years of Improving Conservation at USAID
The Measuring Impact final report highlights six years of designing and implementing evidence-based conservation practices at USAID.
Fishing for Food Security: The Importance of Wild Fisheries for Food Security and Nutrition
The Importance of Wild Fisheries for Local Food Security Briefing Book explores the role of fisheries in global development, showcases case studies of USAID fisheries programs, and addresses the importance of fisheries in nine Feed the Future countries – Cambodia, Senegal, Malawi, Kenya, Ghana, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Liberia.
Best Practices for Stakeholder Engagement in Biodiversity Programming
Effectively engaging stakeholders is a core component of successful and sustainable biodiversity conservation programs.
Guía Práctica De Biodiversidad 3: Resumen
Este es un resumen de la Guía Practica 3 que describe la manera en que los equipos de diseño de programas pueden utilizar las cadenas de resultados para articular de una manera clara declaraciones de resultados y desarrollar indicadores para manejar los programas de biodiversidad.
Guía Práctica De Biodiversidad 2: Resumen
Este es un resumen de la Guía Practica 2 que describe la herramienta de cadena de resultados, cómo crear cadenas de resultados y los beneficios de desarrollarlas para apoyar los programas de biodiversidad.
Guía Práctica De Biodiversidad 1: Resumen
Este es un resumen de la Guía Practica 1 que describe que es un modelo de situación y cómo construirlo.
Guía Práctica de Biodiversidad 3: Definición de Resultados e Indicadores para el Monitoreo, la Evaluación y el Aprendizaje en Los Programas de Biodiversidad en USAID
La tercera guía práctica se vale de las cadenas de resultados desarrolladas en la segunda guía y ayuda a identificar los resultados clave para desarrollar declaraciones de resultados e indicadores del desempeño.
Guía Práctica de Biodiversidad 2: Uso de Cadenas de Resultados para representar las Teorías del Cambio en Los Programas de Biodiversidad en USAID
La segunda guía práctica se vale de esta guía para crear modelos de situación para ayudar a los equipos de diseño a desarrollar cadenas de resultados que expresen de una manera clara los resultados esperados y los supuestos detrás de los enfoques estratégicos propuestos que conforman la teoría del cambio del programa.
Guía Práctica de Biodiversidad 1: Desarrollo de Modelos de Situación en Los Programas de Biodiversidad en USAID
La primera guía práctica se enfoca en cómo desarrollar modelos de situación para determinar el contexto del problema de conservación de la biodiversidad que se va a tratar.
Wildlife TRAPS: Revised Monitoring Framework and Midterm Performance Assessment
Wildlife Trafficking Response, Assessment, and Priority Setting (Wildlife TRAPS) was launched in 2013 and is implemented by TRAFFIC, IUCN’s strategic partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Integrating Food Security and Wild Caught Fisheries Management in USAID Programming
Integrating Food Security and Wild Caught Fisheries Management in USAID Programming is an illustrative case example that demonstrates how two adaptive management programming tools—situation models and results chains—can help USAID staff and its partners to better design and implement activities that integrate food security, nutrition, and sustainable management of wild fisheries.
Start-Up Guidance for USAID Biodiversity Activities: Process Overview
Start-Up Guidance for USAID Biodiversity Activities: Process Overview describes the main steps to initiate a new biodiversity or integrated activity, including a theory of change workshop.
Tips for USAID Biodiversity Activity Start-Up (Steps 3-5)
This resource provides recommendations for developing theory of change-based activity work plans and monitoring, evaluation, and learning plans using results chains during activity start-up.
Supplemental Guide 3: Prioritizing and Selecting Strategic Approaches in USAID Biodiversity Programming
This guide supplements Biodiversity How-To Guide 2: Using Results Chains to Depict Theories of Change in USAID Biodiversity Programming.
Evidence in Action, Unit 4: Building the Evidence Base
Unit 4: Building the Evidence Base highlights ways in which evidence can be shared and applied to strengthen biodiversity programs.
Evidence in Action, Unit 3: Generating Evidence
Unit 3: Generating Evidence identifies Program Cycle processes that teams can use to generate credible evidence about the effectiveness of biodiversity programs.
Evidence in Action, Unit 2: Using Evidence
"Unit 2: Using Evidence" focuses on the critical review and use of evidence to increase the effectiveness of biodiversity programs.
Evidence in Action, Unit 1: Understanding an Evidence-Based Approach
"Unit 1: Using an Evidence-Based Approach" provides an introduction to evidence and evidence-based approaches to biodiversity programming in the context of the USAID Program Cycle.
Conservation Enterprises: Using a theory of change approach to synthesize lessons from USAID biodiversity projects
In an effort to increase the understanding of conservation enterprises’ activities and outcomes and to improve the effectiveness of biodiversity programming, this brief synthesizes lessons from past USAID-funded efforts to support conservation enterprises.
