Phase 3. Creating a Shared Vision
What you might see
- Community access and input to the partnership’s evidence bank;
- A clear evidence-based direction for the initiative;
- The shared agenda being used to guide activity and to build understanding about what is working, what isn’t working, and what is needed;
- The development of supporting systems for:
- Reflective processes.
- Data governance and management.
- Shared measurement.
- Planning processes that leverage data and lessons.
- Documentation/recording conventions.
- Agreement about specific goals, targets and measures;
- Formal commitments to share data and engage in mutual learning;
- The collection of data for shared measures (which at this stage are likely to be selected from existing indicators, while in time the initiative may develop its own indicators);
- Partners focusing on the combined impact of different elements of the system, not just their own efforts.
What you can do
- Understand the measurement and learning needs of the partnership and the initiative. What resources (expertise, capacity, systems, etc.) are required? When? How much? For how long?;
- Slowly and iteratively co-develop the Theory of Change for the initiative. This will help with the setting of shared and agreed goals, targets and ways of working;
- Identify your data needs, which will span target setting, performance monitoring, continuous learning, and communication to stakeholders;
- Bring together the elements of measurement and learning into a formal Measurement, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) framework focused on the performance of the 'backbone', the partnership, and the system level impacts of the Collective Impact initiative. The MEL will need to be regularly reviewed and updated;
- Seek formal commitments to resourcing and implementing monitoring, evaluation, learning and shared measurement plans and systems.
Measurement Tools & Resources
See our latest Facilitator Tools
Understand where your initiative is on the Collaborative Change Cycle
This tool will help you to identify:
• Factors that have contributed to the change you seek.
• Evidence demonstrating the contribution.
• The strength of the contribution.
• Identify new means of and opportunities to exercise leadership.
Collaboration for Impact
3. Creating a Shared Vision | 4. Scaling Up | 5. Achieving TransformationDevelopmental Evaluation (DE) can be used to evaluate innovative initiatives in complex, dynamic environments, including a range of fields and international settings. Here is a webinar from the Tamarack Institute featuring M.Q. Patton and Mark Cabaj discussing Developmental Evaluation.
Web link
A 3-part series of downloadable handbooks that walks partners through the process of assessing progress and impact, provides case studies and examples, and sample questions, outcomes and indicators FSG guide for assessing progress and impact with example outcomes and indicators.
A Place-based Evaluation Framework and Toolkit, co-commissioned by the Department of Social Services and Queensland Government Department of Communities, Disability Services and for evaluating place-based delivery approaches. The toolkit has over 80 methods and tool to choose from.
For a really useful explanation on the difference between shared measurement and evaluation, read the following blog.
This website provides tools and seminars about developing a shared measurement framework. FSG has a lot of great resources.
A paper on Theory of Change for complex initiatives aiming at systems change.
This resource provides a framework for considering ethics, privacy and safety when engaging community members in design, research and evaluation activities.
This resource helps collaborators to scope a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) plan for place-based initiatives, drawing on Clear Horizon’s standard MEL planning tools.
This resource helps collaborators to identify and agree upon indicators of success using examples, questions to guide use, and additional resources.
Change Cycle Locator Tool
Take the quick survey to work out where you are on your change journey and access information specific to your needs