Identifying Indicators for Your Climate Resilience Project

Investing in climate resilience projects is crucial, but how do you know if they are truly making a difference? Many climate resilience projects are focused on systems change that is not easily measurable. Selecting appropriate indicators to assess your project’s progress is essential to understanding its impact, showcasing its successes, and informing future efforts.

The U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit and ResilienceMetrics.org offer some guiding questions to get started on identifying indicators for projects. Brainstorming answers to the questions below with project stakeholders, including beneficiaries, will help yield meaningful indicators:

• What is successful adaptation to climate change?

• How would we know if we achieved successful adaptation?

• How do we know if we’re moving in the right direction? How will we know if we’ve gotten off track?

• What qualities would this community or system exhibit if it were well-adapted?

During this brainstorming activity, remember to stay focused on the unique nature of your project. For example, a climate resilience project in Tanzania is using nature-based solutions and ecosystem restoration as a holistic strategy to adapt to climate change - technically referred to as ecosystem-based adaptation - especially in landscapes hosting displaced populations. Project-specific indicators for this project include:

• Capacity of communities and local authorities to conduct ecosystem-based adaptation planning and implement strategies and activities to respond to climate change and variability

• Hectares of forest ecosystem protected and strengthened in response to climate variability and change

• % of beneficiaries eating 3 meals per day

After this brainstorming activity, your list of potential indicators may be long or possibly incomplete. To ensure that your list of indicators is balanced, complete, and focused on what matters for your project, ask yourself these questions recommended by ResilienceMetrics.org:

• Importance of indicators: What do stakeholders really want to know about the state of resilience, the progress made, and the results achieved? This line of inquiry gets to the core interests of those involved.

• Completeness and balance of indicators: Have areas of concern or interests of stakeholders been addressed sufficiently? This line of inquiry gets to the completeness and balance of your indicator set.

• Audience for indicators: Who is most invested in these indicators? Who wants to know and who needs to know? This line of inquiry helps define your audience for an evaluation.

• Use of indicators: How and for what purpose will your indicators ultimately be used? This line of inquiry clarifies your purpose—the reason for developing indicators. 

Need assistance with identifying indicators for your climate resilience project? Shaffer Evaluation Group is interested in partnering on climate resilience grant applications. As your pro bono grant application partner, our team will support you in identifying appropriate indicators and an evaluation design aligned with your project focus and funder requirements. For more information, please visit our website.

Enhancing a Sense of Belonging on Campus for Underrepresented Students: Measuring Outcomes

By: Patricia Moore Shaffer

Principal & CEO

Creating a sense of belonging on campus is crucial for the success and well-being of all students, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds. This post explores strategies to increase a sense of belonging for underrepresented students and discusses the importance of measuring outcomes to assess the effectiveness of these strategies.

Creating Inclusive Spaces

To foster a sense of belonging, it is essential to create inclusive spaces on campus. This can be achieved by establishing affinity groups, cultural centers, or student organizations that cater to the needs and interests of underrepresented students. For example, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Multicultural Student Center provides a safe and welcoming environment for students from diverse backgrounds to connect, share experiences, and celebrate their identities and cultures. By offering these spaces, institutions demonstrate their commitment to inclusivity and provide opportunities for underrepresented students to build a supportive community.

Students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Multicultural Student Center

Mentorship and Support Programs

Mentorship and support programs play a vital role in enhancing a sense of belonging for underrepresented students. Pairing them with faculty, staff, or upperclassmen who share similar backgrounds or experiences can provide guidance, encouragement, and a sense of validation. For instance, the College Navigator Mentorship Program at the University of Arizona supports students of DACA, undocumented, immigrant, and refugee backgrounds to establish a stronger community at the UA.

The program supports students’ and families’ interests in and navigation of college and post-college endeavors, empowers students with their own narratives to navigate their educational experiences, and centers health and wellness, building community, and fostering belonging. By offering these programs, institutions demonstrate their commitment to supporting underrepresented students and help them navigate the challenges they may face.

Curriculum and Representation

Incorporating diverse perspectives and experiences into the curriculum is essential for creating an inclusive learning environment. By including readings, case studies, and examples that reflect the experiences of underrepresented communities, institutions validate the identities and contributions of these students. Additionally, ensuring diverse representation among faculty and staff can also contribute to a sense of belonging. These initiatives help students see themselves reflected in the academic environment and feel valued as members of the campus community.

Measuring Outcomes

Measuring the outcomes of initiatives aimed at increasing a sense of belonging is crucial to assess their effectiveness and make necessary improvements. Some key metrics to consider include:

Retention and Graduation Rates

Tracking the retention and graduation rates of underrepresented students can provide insights into the impact of these initiatives. Higher retention and graduation rates indicate that students feel supported and connected to the campus community.

Student Surveys and Feedback

Conducting regular surveys and seeking feedback from underrepresented students can provide valuable insights into their experiences and perceptions of belonging on campus. This feedback can help identify areas for improvement and guide future initiatives.

Participation and Engagement

Monitoring the participation and engagement of underrepresented students in campus activities, clubs, and organizations can indicate their level of connection and involvement. Increased participation suggests a stronger sense of belonging and integration into the campus community.

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Creating a sense of belonging on campus for underrepresented students is crucial for their success and well-being. By implementing strategies such as creating inclusive spaces, mentorship programs, and diverse representation, institutions can foster a supportive environment. Measuring outcomes through retention rates, student surveys, and participation levels allows institutions to assess the effectiveness of these initiatives and make necessary improvements.

By continuously striving to enhance a sense of belonging, institutions can ensure that underrepresented students feel valued, supported, and empowered to thrive in their college experience.

Decolonizing Evaluation: Conducting Indigenous Program Evaluation

By: Patricia Moore Shaffer

Principal & CEO

Indigenous programs hold immense potential to revitalize communities, languages, and cultural practices. But measuring their success often feels like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole. Western evaluation frameworks, with their emphasis on objectivity, generalizability, and standardized metrics, often clash with Indigenous values and ways of knowing.

There's a growing movement toward grounding evaluation of Indigenous programs in Indigenous values and priorities. Key principles include:

1. Centering relationships

Western evaluation often feels transactional, but Indigenous evaluation prioritizes relationships. Build trust with participants, listen deeply to their needs and aspirations, and involve them throughout the evaluation process. As LaFrance (2010) emphasizes, evaluation should be "for the community, with the community, and by the community."

2. Focusing on holistic well-being

Indigenous evaluation goes beyond numbers and test scores. It considers the program's impact on cultural identity, language revitalization, spiritual well-being, and community cohesion. The Bowman and Archibald (2023) framework offers a helpful guide, encompassing dimensions like cultural revitalization, governance, and relationships.

3. Embracing storytelling

Indigenous knowledge is traditionally passed down through stories. Storytelling methods like focus groups, circles, and visual arts gather rich data that captures the program's nuances and complexities. This aligns with the "strengths-based" approach highlighted in the BCNEIHR toolkit (2023), focusing on what's working rather than deficits.

4. Prioritizing cultural protocols

Respecting cultural protocols is essential. Guidance from Elders and knowledge keepers help ensure evaluation methods are culturally appropriate.

5. Being flexible and adaptable

Indigenous communities are diverse and dynamic. Similarly, evaluators must be prepared to adjust their approach based on the specific program and community context.

By following these principles, we can move away from extractive evaluation practices that benefit outsiders more than the Indigenous communities we engage and serve. Instead, we can build evaluation processes that are culturally grounded, ethical, and truly answer the question: "Is this program making a good life for Indigenous people?"

This is just a starting point, of course! There's so much more to learn and explore in the realm of Indigenous evaluation. But by centering relationships, holistic well-being, and Indigenous ways of knowing, we can reclaim evaluation as a tool that empowers Indigenous communities.

Learn more about Shaffer Evaluation Group's evaluation of indigenous education services and programs by visiting our website.