Just a quick word from me, Nicoll from The Mission Motor (TMM supports Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning in the animal movement). Thanks Stien, for your balanced and clear thoughts and for asking for our take.
Based on what I read, I would consider this to be a novel and higher-risk intervention. Many of the more common interventions in the animal space could do with more robust data gathering, but a higher-risk/ānovel intervention would warrant an even stronger focus on MEL.
Common data gathering instruments, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, etc. (when asking the right questions), can work well here to gather relevant data. And, saying this with a bit of caution, I donāt think more elaborate MEL tools are needed.
Some of the challenges we foresee are reaching particular groups you might want data on (eg. people who read the campaign materials and donāt actively engage, but could change their attitude or behaviour) and saying something sensible about the overall effect of the campaign. Particularly as it likely impacts another campaign (Veganuary), and because of comparing increased animal welfare through donations vs less animals in factory farming leading net negative lives as a result of less animal consumption.
I think it is possible to overcome these and other challenges, but this might come at too high a cost to still be a responsible use of resources.
To be able to properly comment on credible indicators, Iād love to know the specific Theory of Change, so I wonāt go into that now.
I totally assume FarmKind has done some MEL work already, but if we can be of assistance, weād be happy to help!
Thanks for offering Vasco! Weāll likely take you up on this.
An impact analysis or cost-effectiveness estimate is one of the most asked questions. When talking with the organizations, we however almost always land on gathering data on the project first to inform why a program is generating results (otherwise, a CEA/āCEE isnāt very actionable).
However, I wouldnāt be surprised if we do some in the coming period. Even if the actual number of animal/ādollar isnāt actionable (yet), a CEA/āCEE can be used to identify the most likely drivers for impact. Letās stay in touch!