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Make Poverty History Campaign Evaluation
Andy Martin, Firetail Limited Bonn, March 2007
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Agenda The Campaign The Evaluation Objectives and Scope Structure
Process Limitations Benefits Outputs Final Thoughts
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MakePovertyHistory
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The 2005 Campaign UK Presidencies of EU & G8 (WTO, UN) Campaign: Aid, Debt, Trade Justice 540 member coalition NGOs, Trades Union, Students Union, Faith groups, UK Voluntary organisations, development education organisations & others NGO-led Year long programme of action White Band Days, Edinburgh Rally (G8), TV, New media, Trade Justice Lobby, WTO (Live8?) Massive public awareness and participation Bigger than anyone anticipated “Everyone knew that 2005 was a massive year for development campaigning in the UK”
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The Evaluation: Objectives and scope
Evaluation questions What progress did the coalition make against its objectives during 2005? What were the strengths and weaknesses of the coalition’s approach and set up? What lessons can be learned for the future? The coalition’s objectives Achieve policy change in the areas of more and better aid, debt relief and trade justice Create an unstoppable momentum for change in 2005 Leave the public committed to further change beyond 2005 Two halves Impact The Policy change achieved The impact of policy change Policy change attributable to the campaign Somewhere in the middle – target focussed and participative Neither journalism nor history Ways of working Coalition Committee structure Resources
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How we did it Governance Interview - based
Commissioned by Co-ordination Team/BOND Independent, external Reporting to Co-ordination Team Interview - based Participative & Anonymous Over 70 in depth interviews Three stream interview programme Internal, External, Local Campaigners Review of internal documentation Key minutes, policy notes, briefing documents Referencing existing quantitative research Long term attitudes work Alongside other MPH evaluations Media (Metrica), New Media (Fairsay)
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Structure of evaluation
1. Progress against objectives 2. Approach & Setup 3. Lessons learned Background External Perceptions Local Campaigners Ways of working Lessons Learned Next Steps Background History Key moments Impact on public, politics and policy Reasons for impact Other observations Achievements Policy change Coalition working Concerns Impact on Unity, mobilisation, decision-making, resolving tensions Review of structures Leadership Managing relationships with others/ Govt/ Public Messages Consolidate/ Sustain in UK Trade Global mobilisation
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Limitations Stated in the evaluation Achieving a representative sample of opinion International impact Review of all communications activity Detailed long term impact on public awareness “Our approach has been deliberately participative. Rather than seek to offer a definite view, we have attempted to present the consensus of internal and external opinion.” On further reflection… Not embedded in process Lack of reference points & metrics Lack of consensus about what the evaluation was for Necessarily short term
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Benefits A focus on content not process An attempt to be relevant
The right approach for a large, fast moving and often informal campaign A neutral, external, target focused view Getting the balance right between breadth and focus Quick turnaround New news An attempt to be relevant Biased towards action, lesson learning and next steps A clear view of our audience (not public or govt) Providing a framework for some of the strategic questions faced by the coalition What was going to happen after MPH Campaigning challenges Effectiveness of activism …but not saying anything people didn’t know …did we change anything?
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Outputs of the evaluation
Public mobilisation Mass awareness and mass participation Parliamentary mobilisation Policy change Achievements on aid and debt. Little on trade. Ways of working Highly decentralised and consensual Good at: Promoting coalition unity, mobilising supporters, harnessing the energy of supporters Not so good at: Resolving tension, taking strategic decisions. Heavy demands on people Four areas of challenge Leadership model Co-ordinating responses Public momentum British campaign “Most lessons to take from the year are definitely positive. The question is how to maintain this now you’re in a different era”
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Final thoughts Content not process Scope Feeding back Next steps
Evaluation was not built into the campaign from the start This may have been impossible & not advantageous Scope There’s never enough time or money Time spent working on scope was vital Feeding back The campaign was ‘received’ rather than signed off The coalition then disbanded Who took responsibility for what happened next? Next steps Were we right to put these in? At least it wasn’t left on the shelf Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Who evaluates the evaluation?
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Judge for yourself BOND website
Campaign Evaluation Media Evaluation New Media Evaluation Verdict statements Policy demands
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