27 September 2013: The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) has released a working paper titled ‘Monitoring adaptation to enhance food security: A survey of approaches and best practices,’ which explores current approaches to monitoring and evaluating (M&E) climate change adaptation projects, considering how food security outcomes are being addressed.

The paper documents how M&E can be used be used to create adaptive management and social learning, evaluate projects and move projects toward an outcome-oriented focus. The working paper calls for implementers to: agree on a common framework for clear outcomes, associated with projects; use scenarios to improve planning under uncertainty; use logic models to track progress on the ground; involve learning in M&E at multiple institutional levels; encourage data sharing in adaptation M&E; and ensure that tradeoffs between different goals are explored.

The outcomes of the report are expected to inform forthcoming work by the CCAFS program’s support for Climate Smart Villages. The report was produced by the CCAFS program of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) in collaboration with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). ILRI is also a member of CGIAR. [CCAFS Press Release] [Publication: Monitoring Adaptation to Enhance Food Security: A Survey of Approaches and Best Practices]