title: Monitoring and evaluation to support adaptive co-management: Lessons learned from the Millennium Villages Project.
abstract: This article focuses attention on monitoring and evaluation approaches that will help resource managers to manage for change and uncertainty in adaptive co-management (ACM). ACM is a learning-by-doing approach that aims to build flexible community-based natural resource governance systems through collaborative or otherwise participatory means. We describe the framework for monitoring and evaluation that we developed and applied in ten African countries, which includes fixed indicators and measures for co-management performance monitoring, a process evaluation element, a platform for repeat ecological surveillance, and a longitudinal household survey. We comment on the usefulness of this framework, and its applicability to a wide range of geographic contexts. We then present a four step model to assist managers in applying the framework to specific co-management problems. The model suggests a cascade approach to defining key evaluations questions at a systems, network, individual and synthesis level. We illustrate the application of our model and framework by means of a case study of a co-managed agroforestry program in western Kenya.
authors: Institute for Monitoring and Evaluation, School of Management Studies, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7708, Cape Town, South Africa. Electronic address: s.kaschula@gmail.com.
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: Chapman
authors: Agriculture and Food Security Center, The Earth Institute, Columbia University, Lamont Campus 61 Route 9 W, Lamont Hall, 2G, P.O. Box 1000, Palisades, NY, 10964, USA. Electronic address: csullivan@ei.columbia.edu.
authors: Clare
authors: C
authors: Sullivan
authors: Agriculture and Food Security Center, The Earth Institute, Columbia University, Lamont Campus 61 Route 9 W, Lamont Hall, 2G, P.O. Box 1000, Palisades, NY, 10964, USA. Electronic address: cpalm@ei.columbia.edu.
authors: Cheryl
authors: C
authors: Palm
authors: Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development, The Earth Institute, Columbia University, 535 West 116th Street, New York, NY, 10027, USA. Electronic address: ukhuynh@gmail.com.
authors: Uyen
authors: U
authors: Huynh
authors: World Agroforestry Centre, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, PO Box 30677, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya. Electronic address: willy.diru@millenniumpromise.org.
authors: William
authors: W
authors: Diru
authors: World Agroforestry Centre, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, PO Box 30677, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya. Electronic address: j.masira@cgiar.org.
authors: Jessica
authors: J
authors: Masira
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D016468:Forestry / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007630:Kenya; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012111:Residence Characteristics
keywords: Adaptive co-management; Agroforestry; Community based natural resource management; Millennium Villages Project; Monitoring; Process evaluation; Tree nurseries