Defining what good looks like and setting indicators
Launching a flagship programme like ASToN is in itself a source of uncertainty. Will the programme work? Will we be able to create a meaningful community of peers or create true change on the ground? Which are the minimum results we can expect? Adding events like COVID-19 to that, uncertainty and disruption increase even more. Delivering the network means juggling between updating our logframe, listening more closely to the cities requests and adjusting our plans to fit their needs.
Setting good indicators helps continuously assess if the network is heading in the right direction. It will likely not be a one-time, linear process, but instead, indica¬tors should be responsive to the reality of the network as it evolves. Indicators can be set at different levels – network, city, project.
Our approach and methods
- Choosing and adapting indicators: Define what good looks like and set corresponding indicators. Adapt them as the network evolves and build a rhythm of reviewing them.
- A place for all indicators: Think about a place where progress across network activities can be easily tracked, against a meaningful set of indicators. One of the key documents of ASToN (2019-2022) is a logframe that sets indicators for all the work delivered – locally by cities, learning as a network, capturing and sharing our knowledge and communicating about our results more broadly.
Lessons learnt from ASToN (2019-2022):
• Set up some indicators with the end in mind – What will you want the future to look like? Set up internal indicators for what you would consider the best possible outcomes from the programme, and check progress against these as well. Right at the beginning of ASToN we set ourselves 2 series of result indicators: a) we’d consider the programme a failure ifthe following things happened… b) we’d raise a glass if the following things happened…
• Keep track of emerging risks – Following the onset of COVID-19, we drafted a risk analysis framework which helped us navigate the uncer- tain situation we found ourselves in and monitor closely the situation on the ground.
• Accept that you might not meet some results – for example, we unfortunately did not meet our target on gender inclusion. The tech environment in most of the participating countries we work with did not allow for our vision on gender equality to be attained. We did focus on pushing to leave no one behind where we could have an impact (ASToN training sessions, meetings, conferences etc).
• Embed an adaptive rhythm for setting good success indicators – At times, cities will not be able to respond to indicators that might have been originally set, and indicators shaped at the begin- ning of the project might not be relevant later in the programme. Adopt a rhythm to setting indica- tors that is responsive to the changes the network goes through and to the direction it takes.
• Update your understanding of what good looks like in response to how the network evolves. Getting into implementation, the definition of cer¬tain objectives and results changed from what they were at the start of the network.
