When tackling the world’s most pressing challenges – like poverty, climate change, and systemic inequality – traditional monitoring and evaluation (M&E) tools often fall short. Why? Because they’re designed for linear projects with clear cause-and-effect logic, not for the messy, dynamic realities of systems change.
In a world where progress is often defined by numbers, indicators, and rigid frameworks, how do we capture the real value of change—especially when it unfolds in unpredictable, complex environments?
In their thought-provoking article The transformative power of evaluative rubrics, evaluation experts Malene Soenderskov and Savi Mull argue that rubrics offer a vital alternative to conventional monitoring and evaluation tools. Rooted in the realities of systems change, evaluative rubrics go beyond ticking boxes—they embrace nuance, context, and the messy, non-linear paths that lead to meaningful outcomes.
Read The transformative power of evaluation rubrics (pdf)
Here are some of the key takeaways from the article:
✅ Rubrics bridge complexity and learning: They enable organisations to assess change relatively, accounting for context, constraints, and what’s realistically achievable—rather than applying a one-size-fits-all standard.
✅ They complement, not replace, traditional indicators: Rubrics add a critical layer of evaluative judgement that fosters adaptive learning and honest conversations about what success really looks like.
✅ They promote equity and transparency: By recognising diverse starting points and valuing incremental progress, rubrics ensure that all contributions—big or small—are seen and celebrated.
✅ They support stronger partnerships with donors: Rubrics create space for collaborative sense-making, moving beyond compliance to shared understanding and adaptive management.
👉 Download the full article here and discover practical examples, challenges, and insights on integrating rubrics into your measurement and learning practices.
Join our upcoming webinar on evaluation rubrics – a practical, flexible method for assessing progress in complex development programs.
Learn how leading INGOs and foundations are using rubrics to:
✅ Go beyond linear cause-effect models
✅ Track changes in power, narratives, and relationships
✅ Support learning, participation, and adaptive decisions
🗓 June 3, 10:00 AM (UTC +2)
💻 Online | Hosted by StrategyHouse
🔗 Register now: https://www.globalevaluationinitiative.org/event/how-use-evaluation-rubrics-assess-progress-and-contribution-complex-programs-aimed-systems
When tackling the world’s most pressing challenges—like poverty, climate change, and systemic inequality—traditional monitoring and evaluation (M&E) tools often fall short. Why? Because they’re designed for linear projects with clear cause-and-effect logic, not for the messy, dynamic realities of systems change.
In their insightful article, How Evaluation Rubrics Can Help Trace Progress and Results in Complex Programs, Malene Soenderskov and Savi Mull make a powerful case for a different approach: evaluation rubrics.
Read: How evaluation rubrics can help trace progress and results in complex programs
Here’s a glimpse into what you’ll learn:
✅ Why linear M&E models don’t work for systemic change: Rigid indicators and predefined targets can’t capture shifts in power dynamics, cultural narratives, or policy landscapes.
✅ How rubrics enable nuanced, context-sensitive evaluation: By defining criteria, levels of progress, and descriptors, rubrics help organizations assess what good looks like in complex environments—and track progress along a continuum, not just a pass/fail.
✅ The power of participatory learning: Rubrics open space for multiple perspectives, foster dialogue, and support adaptive decision-making—turning compliance reporting into a meaningful learning process.
✅ Real-world examples: From Laudes Foundation to international NGOs, rubrics are helping organizations make sense of complex change and guide strategic adaptations.
👉 Download the full article here and discover practical tools, frameworks, and real-life insights that can help you capture the real value of your work.
Let’s move beyond numbers—and embrace a richer, more honest conversation about progress and impact.
Join our upcoming webinar on evaluation rubrics – a practical, flexible method for assessing progress in complex development programs.
Learn how leading INGOs and foundations are using rubrics to:
✅ Go beyond linear cause-effect models
✅ Track changes in power, narratives, and relationships
✅ Support learning, participation, and adaptive decisions
🗓 June 3, 10:00 AM (UTC +2)
💻 Online | Hosted by StrategyHouse
🔗 Register now: https://www.globalevaluationinitiative.org/event/how-use-evaluation-rubrics-assess-progress-and-contribution-complex-programs-aimed-systems
Civilsamfundets indflydelse er mere end tal. Så lad os anerkende, at de talbaserede metoder ikke er de eneste og måske heller ikke altid de bedste metoder til at dokumentere en sammenhæng mellem civilsamfundets arbejde og dets effekt.
I en tid, hvor bistandskronerne bliver færre, er det vigtigere end nogensinde, at udviklingsorganisationerne kan dokumentere værdien af udviklingsarbejdet. To udviklingskonsulenter giver deres bud på, hvordan monitorering og evaluering af fremtidens komplekse udviklingsprogrammer kan blive bedre.
Listen af krav til ngo’er, der søger støtte hos donorer, er lang og voksende. Det betyder, at nogle ngo’er risikerer at blive fanget af en negativ spiral, hvor de bliver presset til at pynte på rapporteringen for at få støtte. Det er ikke kun organisationernes problem.
Lockdown. Your country visit is cancelled. No-one knows when it will be safe and possible to reschedule. Yet you are still obliged to submit an annual report. Ideally one that demonstrates tangible progress towards outcomes rather than long lists of activities completed. How to deliver when you can’t travel and ‘see for yourself’.
De store og komplekse problemer står i kø i det nye år. Stadig flere fonde og organisationer har derfor fået øjnene op for den systemiske forandring. Men forandring af systemet starter med at tage ansvar for egne handlinger og valg.
More and more organizations turn to Outcome Harvesting to assess and document the results they make. But is Outcome Harvesting that different from previous attempts to understand how and why we contribute to change?
And what happens if one combine Theory of Change for planning with Outcome Harvesting for monitoring and evaluation? This article provides an answer.
Can mobile phones and social media promote respect for workers’ rights in the garment industry?
Since 2017, WageIndicator together with C&A foundation support a project which aims at strengthening transparency of working conditions and stimulating dialogue between employers and employees to improve and align working conditions with legal provisions. Interestingly, the tools to do so were online surveys and disclosure of results on a web-page, www.gajimu.com/garment
In 2019, StrategyHouse.dk worked with C&A Foundation and WageIndicator to assess the preliminary impact of the project, its effectiveness and relevance for workers in the garment industry in Indonesia.
Evaluating the impact of a ‘cloud’ or web-based initiative necessitates a dual focus on the functionality of the social media platforms and their embeddedness with the ‘lived reality’ among garment workers, employers and brands.
To this end, StrategyHouse.dk adopted a two-pronged approach to the evaluation:
The evaluation found that mobile surveying and disclosure through the internet had a strong potential to strengthen workers’ awareness about their rights, mobilise their unions to address issues of violations of the labour law and mobilise employers to comply with the labour law.
The main reasons to the change were that:
Another main finding was that ‘customization’ of surveys and social media platforms to workers’ internet behavior and the time they have available to use facebook or complete a survey, is of vital importance to the success of social media based campaigning. So is the importance to consider workers’ understanding of the questions raised when designing surveys and questionnaires.
Campaigning and surveying through mobile internet therefore could not ‘stand alone’ but should be introduced by facilitators with skills to create a platform for reflection and dialogue among workers completing the survey and with a mandate to assist trade unions communicate and follow-up on survey findings once disclosed on the internet.
These findings were consequently incorporated into the intervention’s second phase.
