4th Wheel has received a grant by the Swedish Institute (www.si.se) to design and conduct a workshop on ‘Identifying contextualized indicators to measure the Sustainable Development Goals in India’. The expected results of the workshop are an improved understanding among participants on measuring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and indicator development, and an exchange of knowledge and best practices on assessing the impact of social programmes. It shall focus on orienting participants to innovative research methods, analysis techniques, and using results to strengthen social programmes in India. The day-long workshop will result in open-source documents outlining impact indicators relating to health, education, and skill development programmes in India.
Impact evaluation is a much-talked-about subject among development organisations in India. While the subject is popular, capacity building, knowledge sharing, and training opportunities are scarce. The workshop will be a good platform to discuss challenges, successes, and best practices in impact measurement in the Indian context, and come up with collaborative ways to move forward in achieving the SDGs. Here are five reasons you must attend:
- LEARN how to embed evaluation into programme design and planning
One of the critical drawbacks of impact evaluation in our country is the concept of being an ‘afterthought’. While things are changing, most organisations still conduct evaluations after the programme has concluded or much after the programme has begun. This restricts understanding of ‘why’ and ‘how’ the programme functioned throughout its ‘life cycle’. The workshop will orient participants to the concepts of ‘Theory of Change’ (ToC), ‘Results-Based Management’ while offering practical solutions to building them for your organisation.
- DISCUSS ‘Data for SDGs’ in the Indian context
The heightened importance of data and its availability for measuring and monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) progress is gaining momentum. It is believed that shared goals and metrics among stakeholders will provide a coherent narrative for action, mobilize all actors involved in a particular area, galvanize the community to develop clear strategies for implementation, raise the levels of available finance, and spur innovations and technologies needed to implement them. The workshop shall facilitate discussions on the challenges faced for data generation and offer solutions towards strengthening the availability and sharing of data.
- IMPROVE professional capacities on indicator development
The workshop will host three accomplished knowledge leads from renowned organisations who will share their experiences with impact evaluation and indicator development. Based on their sessions, group work will involve reviewing the global indicator framework developed by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs), with a focus on SDG 3, SDG 4, and SDG 8. Participants will develop/review their ToCs and corresponding indicators, with a focus on recognising causal pathways, assumptions, and contextual factors.
- CONTRIBUTE to develop open-source documents on usable indicators
The one-day workshop will result in three open-source documents defining key impact indicators which must be considered while working on programmes related to Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing, Goal 4: Quality Education, and Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. Each of the three identified SDGs will be analysed in terms of their specific sub-indicators defined by IAEG-SDGs. These shall be good lists of contextualised indicators as proposed by development practitioners and sectoral experts and will promote the idea of effective monitoring and evaluation systems.
- STRENGTHEN your professional network
The workshop will bring together development practitioners involved in planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating social programmes in India. Participants will be invited/selected based on their current professional engagements and interest in the topic. The day is planned with many interactive sessions, icebreakers, and networking opportunities. It would be a great opportunity for you to showcase your organisation’s work, garner innovative ideas and solutions to strengthen your social development efforts, and have considerable opportunities for networking and long-term partnerships.
Get more details of the workshop here and register to attend here.
