Monitoring and Evaluation of Climate Change Adaptation: Methodological Approaches

This paper explores methodological approaches that can be used to monitor and evaluate climate change adaptation initiatives at the projects and programme levels. It examines approaches that have been used in other areas of development practice to see what lessons have been learned that can inform the development of monitoring and evaluation frameworks targeted at adaptation. The paper focuses on three methodological challenges related to monitoring and evaluation that are particularly relevant for adaptation: i) assessing attribution, ii) establishing baselines and targets, and iii) dealing with long time horizons. The paper also considers the importance of on-going learning in evaluation and the benefit of applying a comprehensive approach to monitoring and evaluation, building on tested practices from participatory methods and social sciences techniques. Ce rapport analyse les approches methodologiques utilisables pour suivre et evaluer les initiatives d’adaptation au changement climatique mises en oeuvre au niveau des projets ou des programmes. Il examine les approches adoptees dans d’autres domaines d’action en faveur du developpement afin de cerner, parmi les enseignements qui en ont ete tires, ceux qui pourraient eclairer l’elaboration de cadres de suivi et d’evaluation visant l’adaptation. Le rapport met l’accent sur trois enjeux methodologiques du suivi et de l’evaluation qui s’averent particulierement interessants du point de vue de l’adaptation : i) evaluer l’attribution, ii) etablir des niveaux de reference et des objectifs, et iii) travailler avec des horizons temporels lointains. Il aborde egalement l’importance que revet l’apprentissage continu dans l’evaluation, ainsi que l’avantage que presente une approche globale du suivi et de l’evaluation, fondee sur des pratiques eprouvees qui relevent de methodes participatives et de techniques des sciences sociales.

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