The past two decades have seen increasing attention into how corrupt exploitation of natural resources is linked to environmental and human rights abuses. In the Great Lakes region, natural resources have often benefitted only select political and business elites and fuelled abuses and conflict.
Therefore, the MacArthur Foundation made a strategic decision to narrow its focus on oil governance and related infrastructure development in the Great Lakes region, beginning with grants in Uganda in 2012 and in Kenya is 2013. The overall Theory of Change is that improved transparency and meaningful participation of citizens in decision-making for the management of oil resources will reduce the potential for conflict in resource-rich areas, while leading to both improved conservation outcomes and human rights.
Our role
Itad established options for appropriate indicators and corresponding monitoring and evaluation methods for MacArthur grantmaking in the area of oil governance in the Great Lakes region. The aim was to produce a simple and feasible M&E framework that can capture progress and learning from the Foundation’s investments in this area. We made recommendations for monitoring and evaluation at both the country and strategy levels.
Our approach
Itad used a basket approach, whereby each individual indicator is used to provide a different perspective, in order to best assess the achievement of set objectives. The methodology includes further developing the Foundation’s Theory of Change, developing the M&E framework and meeting with the grantees to discuss the approach. This complemented the work being undertaken by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) on cataloguing and analysing existing baseline indicators on the impact of the oil sector in Uganda and Kenya.
Contact Abdulkareem Lawal (abdulkareem.lawal@itad.com) if you would like to discuss this project.
Image © Lake Victoria Uganda Photo Credit: Klopferp