2 December 2014: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published an Environment Working Paper, titled ‘Monitoring and Evaluation of Climate Change Adaptation: Methodological Approaches,’ which examines methodological approaches that can be used for monitoring and evaluation of climate change adaptation initiatives at the project and programme level.

A product of the OECD Task Team on Climate Change and Development Co-operation, the report was published with financial support from the UK Department for International Development and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

The publication focuses on three monitoring and evaluation challenges in relation to adaptation, namely: assessing attribution; establishing baselines and targets; and dealing with long time horizons. It draws lessons from the approaches used in other areas of development and emphasizes the importance of building on tested practices from participatory methods and social sciences techniques centered around participation and learning. The report concludes that “a meaningful evidence base of effective adaptation interventions” can only be developed by experimenting with these approaches, documenting lessons learned and ensuring dissemination of knowledge.

It cites examples of a microfinance programme conducted by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) in Nigeria, Malawi, Kenya and Haiti, the evaluation of the short and long term changes related to health reforms in China, or the evaluation of the impact of the Nicaraguan conditional cash transfer programme.

The report includes sections on: method selection for monitoring and evaluation of adaptation; measuring attribution of adaptation initiatives; baselines and targets for monitoring and evaluating adaptation; addressing long time horizons; and monitoring and evaluation for accountability and learning. [Publication: Monitoring and Evaluation of Climate Change Adaptation: Methodological Approaches]