Participatory Impact Assessment - Capacity4Dev

Examplesofquantitativeimpactindicators:(increasedmilkconsumptionby
children,incomefromcropsales)
Examplesofqualitativeimpactindicators:(trustconfidencehope,status
participation,security,dignity,socialcohesion,wellbeing)
If the community or participants produce many impact indicators, ask them to prioritize the
indicators using ranking. It is important not to have too many indicators: as with the key
assessment questions, it is better to have a few good indicators than too many poor ones. Try to
limit the number of indicators therefore to no more than five per project activity being assessed.
Changes in coping strategies
Often times during a humanitarian crisis, people will employ a variety of economic or livelihoods
strategies to cope with the effects of a particular shock such as a drought. These strategies,
sometimes called coping mechanisms are often good indicators by which to measure change or
impact. For example during a drought people may sell most of their livestock (usually at a reduced
price) in order to purchase food and cover other priority expenses. Once the situation has improved
and people move into a recovery period, they will often restock by re-investing in livestock assets.
By capturing these changes you can determine whether the situation has improved and to what
extent the project played a role in facilitating this change. To identify these coping strategies,
simply ask people what they did during the period leading up to and during the crisis.
Table 3.1 Examples of Common Coping Strategies
CopingMechanisms
1 Destockingtosaveremaininglivestockandpurchasegrain(earlystagesofdrought)
2 Stresssaleoflivestockatreducedpricesinordertopurchasegrain(laterstagesofdrought)
3 Saleofhouseholdassets(includingroofing,doors,windows,andcookingutensils)inordertopurchasegrain.
4 Migratetootherareasinsearchofbetterpastureforlivestock
5 Increasevegetableproductionforconsumptionandsale
6 Migrationofyoungmentourbanareasaswellastoothercountriesinsearchofemployment
7 Expandoninformalincomegeneratingactivitiessuchasmatweaving,brickmaking,firewoodcollection
8 Increaseproduction/collectionandconsumptionofwildfoods
9 Reducethenumberofmealsconsumed(evendowntoonemealaday)
10 Engageinagriculturalworkinneighboringcommunitieslessaffectedbythedrought,orforwealthierfarmers
11 Participateinfoodforworkprojectsorpublicsafetynetprogram
12 Permanentlymigratetourbanareasandgiveupagropastoralistlivelihoodspractices
For most livelihoods projects, community indicators of project impact will often relate to changes
or improvements in income, food security, health and education. Impact against these indicators as
well as changes in coping strategies can often be broadly captured by looking at changes in income
and food sources, as well as household expenditure. For example, using the strategies from the
table above; in comparison to a normal year, after a poor cereal harvest, one might expect a greater
portion of household food to come from wild foods (strategy #8) relative to cereals. One might
also expect a greater portion of income to come from the sale of household assets (strategy # 3)
relative to other income sources during this period. In terms of household expenditure, after a poor
harvest you might expect a greater proportion of household income to be spent on food to
compensate for the decline in farm production. During a ‘recovery’ period following a drought,
24