Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning: Learning to have impact

CSIRO has developed tools for improving the design, planning and ultimate success of projects, interventions, programs and policies.

CSIRO ensures the science we do contributes to meaningful, appropriate and lasting change for clients, project partners, and stakeholders we work.

Pathways to achieving impact are often not straightforward, complicated by uncertainties, risks, and the unexpected. Learning to navigate these ‘messy’ pathways and contribute to positive change requires tools that can help scientists and those we work with jointly tackle bottlenecks, harness emerging opportunities, and ensure research is fit-for-purpose and impactful.

CSIRO has built on monitoring, evaluation and learning frameworks and tools applied in international development contexts and by philanthropy and social services programs (among others), and adapted them to support scientists better design and deliver impactful projects and programs. These include Theory of Change and associated qualitative and quantitative tools focused on:

• developing partner and stakeholder ownership through a shared vision and understanding of desirable pathways-to-impact
• supporting capacity to pivot when the context changes or new information is sourced, mitigating potential no longer relevant or dead-end pathways
• facilitating reflection and learning from mistakes, so as to design more effective processes, activities and outputs during project and program implementation and in future related initiatives
• recording, demonstrating and celebrating successes.