Score with your social impact program’s donors!: setting your M&E system up for results-reporting that’s convincing

We’re no longer in school, but certain grades still matter

Positive donor ratings are, understandably, extremely important to my clients, leaders of programs aimed at making a positive social impact all around the world. That’s why I was so psyched when one of my clients recently earned top marks from one of their program’s main donor!

The donor based their rating of the program, in part, on the Final Report that I led the drafting of – and gave it an ‘A’! (The donor of course also conducted their own verification to further validate the evidence-backed claims made in the report.) So, for this article, I thought I’d share a few thoughts about the features of my client’s monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system, and of the Final Report, that I think helped make the report so convincing.

Hopefully the tips will be useful to you as you design or refine your own program’s M&E system, so that it can be set up in a way that helps you write winning program results reports, too!

Overview of my client’s program

The overarching objective of my client’s program was to support a government in its efforts to lead and deliver an effective, more self-financed, and accountable response to climate and humanitarian shocks.

Over its four and a half years, the program team had worked hard to deliver the key results that mattered towards achieving the program’s objective.

• At the level of outputs, the results consisted of drafts of government policies and plans, the (re)activation of intra-governmental collaboration and consultation mechanisms, and the review of organizational setup (including structures, systems, and procedures).
• Turning to outcomes (which represent the level of results that, in my opinion, are of most interest and importance), the program had done an impressive facilitation job to help ensure output adoption and follow-on implementation in ongoing public service delivery.
• There was even some evidence of impact in terms of lives saved and wellbeing promoted, but these results required further validation to determine the extent to which they could be attributed to the program.

As the program came to an end, the Final Report that I was hired to draft needed to reflect those results, backing up all claims of achievement with solid evidence.

I worked in close collaboration with the program team to structure the Final Report, to plan and coordinate the drafting process, and to edit and finalize the draft. It was an intense team effort aimed at providing an honest account, and robust assessment, of the program’s achievements. So, of course, I also shared in the team’s joy when the donor rated the program an ‘A’ based, in part, on the evidence provided in the Final Report.

I’m believe that the following features of my client’s M&E system, and of the Final Report, helped make the report convincing.

Features of my client’s M&E system that facilitated the writing of an evidence-backed program results story

A fit-for-purpose M&E system that was established early in the program’s life cycle

The M&E system that had been set up in the earlier years of the program had all the necessary elements to around which to structure not only implementation but also robust evidence-gathering on results. That made it relatively straightforward to back the program results story in the Final Report with evidence, making it extremely convincing.

An M&E system that was operational throughout program’s life cycle

The program’s M&E system had been operational throughout the overall program period and during each phase of the program cycle. Notably, the program’s theory of change (ToC), which had been updated on a regular basis, was an accurate reflection of the program’s (and its sub-project’s) ambition and strategy. Most importantly, it had been used, along with other M&E tools, to guide program planning and review. This provided a consistent throughline that facilitated coherent storytelling in the Final Report.

The ToC was at the core of the M&E system

If you’re familiar with my content, you know my stance on the ToC’s placement in an M&E system. I’ve said it again and again and again: it belongs at the core. This was the case for my client’s M&E system, which made it straightforward to structure and tell the program results story ‘along the ToC’, as I like to say.

Recap – and then it’s over to you!

Summary of tips that can be drawn from this article

Here’s a summary of tips that can be drawn from this article:

✔️ Ensure that your program’s M&E system, which should be established as early in the program period as possible, is fit for purpose.

✔️ Ensure that your program’s M&E system is operational throughout the overall program period and during each phase of the program cycle.

✔️ Tell the program results story ‘along the ToC’, as I like to say. Doing so naturally helps you plan your story and give it a strong structure.

Bonus tips

✔️ Align the program’s M&E system and, if the program has one, its value-for-money (VfM) (or value-for-investment (VfI)) framework. This just makes sense, and I can’t see how things can be done any differently.

✔️ Tailor program results reports to each subset of your audience, based on a good understanding of their needs, decision-making styles, timelines, and other factors that influence their attention and action.

Over to you to take action!

To really bring this to life, action is needed – so take it! Apply the tips to your social impact program’s M&E (i.e., performance measurement, reporting, and improvement) system, and see how it works for you (and let me know?).

To get further support on your M&E action-taking, explore additional articles on this blog or download our free resources to be guided through the set-up of a fit-for-purpose measurement, reporting, and improvement system – all so that you can showcase and optimize your program’s performance and impact!

Photo credit:

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Suggestion for how to cite this article (using APA 7 style):

Shejavali, K. (2024, June 3). Score with your social impact program’s donors!: setting your M&E system up for results reporting that’s convincing. Blog article. RM3 Consulting. Available at: https://rm3resources.com/blog/score-with-the-donors-of-your-social-impact-program (accessed: [insert the date that you last accessed this article at the link provided]).