GOAL takes an integrated, systems approach to our work, recognising that singular solutions are rarely adequate to deal with the complexity of the challenges faced.
Underpinning this approach is a focus on the development of our learning, monitoring and evaluation activity, using the evidence and data from our programme work to inform our strategy, decision making and contribution to the wider field of humanitarian and development work.
GOAL is committed to having a culture of evidence-based learning and accountability.
We have strong and robust Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning functions at HQ and country levels to support this.
The MEAL function systematically tracks and reports programme results to GOAL and our donors as well as supporting evidence-based strategic planning, innovation and organisational growth and adaption. Our “Plan - Do – Reflect” approach drives programme quality through a mix of result-based and adaptive management. This enables the most effective use of funds to address the challenges facing vulnerable communities.
GOAL also works to ensure programme participant and community accountability is core to organisational programming from planning through implementation and review. As part of our approach to learning and accountability, GOAL publishes a selection of its most important technical approaches, learning documents, reports and evaluations and reports online.
We welcome queries and comments on these or any of our wider work. To get in touch, please email info@goal.ie
CLA for COVID-19
Giving Communities the Power to Fight COVID-19
The Community Led Action (CLA) approach is based on the premise that communities have the power and the agency to stop the spread of COVID-19. It recognises that in every society, communities can and do modify norms, beliefs and behaviours in response to the conditions around them, and that their collective local actions are at the heart of an effective COVID-19 response.
CLA Community Mobilisers (CMs) working in pairs and within their own communities enables small neighbourhood units to do their own appraisal and analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic, its effects and likely future impact if no local action is taken. This helps people understand the urgency and the action they can take to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and to ‘trigger’ a collective desire to develop a Neighbourhood Unit Action Plan.
NIPP
Nutrition Impact and Positive Practice
GOAL designed the Nutrition Impact and Positive Practice (NIPP) approach as a gendered, grass-roots approach, directly tackling a package of the underlying behavioural causes of malnutrition, irrespective of the particular manifestation.
Disaster Resilience
ARC-D Toolkit
The ability of communities within complex systems to anticipate and adapt to risks, and to absorb, respond and recover from shocks and stresses in a timely and effective manner without compromising their long term prospects, ultimately improving their well-being.
INSPIRE
Inclusive Societies Progressing in Resilient Economies
For GOAL climate change is a reality that affects the most vulnerable and disadvantaged population. Its effects on food security, agricultural and forestry economy drive migration to urban areas and cross-border migration, creating a new phenomenon of economic injustice and social discrimination.
GOAL believes that the construction and connection of rural economies with inclusive markets is an opportunity to increase climate resilience, food and nutrition security.
R4S
Resilience for Social Systems
‘R4S’ or Resilience for Social Systems is an approach developed by GOAL for analysing the resilience of socioeconomic systems.
GOAL recognizes that societies are made up of socio-economic systems which service the needs of their populations and that addressing recurrent crises and effectively building resilience requires an integrated systems approach.
R4S is an innovative approach to design and guide interventions which aim to work towards more resilient and inclusive societies using systems thinking and social & behaviour change techniques.
Impact & Learning Evaluations
Evaluation of GOAl’s Integrated Health (IH) Project in Freetown, Sierra Leone (2012-2016)
GOAL Sierra Leone’s integrated Health (IH) Project aimed to contribute towards a decrease in child mortality and morbidity. Despite some progress being made in this area, the west African country continues to have some of the world’s poorest health indicators and is ranked 181st out of 188 countries and territories on the United Nations Human Development Index.
The IH Project focused on systems strengthening and community-level behaviour change, targeting improved maternal and child health, to complement child protection and empowerment interventions.
Supporting the Transition From Humanitarian Crisis Through Recovery to Sustainable Economic Development: South Sudan
South Sudan has continued to face deteriorating food situation coupled with civil conflict and an economic crisis. This has been exacerbated by volatile market conditions with the country experiencing run-away inflation. From 2016 to 2019, GOAL South Sudan and HelpAge International have been implementing a food security and livelihoods project in 16 villages in Agok and Twic state, South Sudan.
The project is estimated to benefit over 3,000 highly vulnerable households, who have been affected the country’s worsening food security crisis. Funding was provided by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Comprehensive Program for Ebola Survivors (CPES) Impact Report, Freetown Sierra Leone, (2016-2018).
In 2015, the President of Sierra Leone instructed various government departments, including the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS), to lead a Comprehensive Program for Ebola Survivors (CPES) following an outbreak of the disease within the country. The Programme’s long-term objective was to improve the wellbeing of approximately 3,500 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) survivors, by providing both basic and specialized healthcare that could be reached by CPES by integrating survivor health care into the national MoHS system.
The plan’s goals were to provide free healthcare for EVD survivors at MoHS facilities by reducing financial, logistical, and psychosocial barriers to treatment, increasing the capacity of existing facilities and systems to provide better care across the health service delivery system, and reduce the risk of EVD resurgence through sexual risk-reduction counselling and access to viral persistence testing.
Addressing the needs of vulnerable groups affected by floods in Blantyre City, Chikwawa District and Nsanje Distric Malawi
Heavy rains hit Malawi on 5th March 2019 which resulted in heavy flooding in the country’s southern region, compounding the existing flood crisis and devastating livelihoods, homes and infrastructure. This led to the government of Malawi declaring a State of Disaster on March 8th. This project, which involved GOAL, HelpAge, Islamic Relief and Malawi Network of Older Persons’ planned to address the lifesaving needs of over 20,000 people across the three areas.
It involved the humanitarian sectors of Protection, Water and Sanitation (WASH), Capacity building, Unconditional cash transfers, Health, Non Food Items (NFI), Shelter and Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL). The planned project was specifically targeted to support vulnerable groups (pregnant and lactating women, older people, people with disabilities and children) who were particularly affected by the crisis.
Nutrition Impact and Positive Practise Evaluation Report, Sudan (2013-2019).
Some 2.4 million children suffer from malnutrition in Sudan, with close to 700,000 of those experiencing the most severe form. GOAL developed the Nutrition Impact and Positive Practise (NIPP) approach in 2012 and has been implementing this programme in Sudan since 2013. The approach has reached over 7,200 direct beneficiaries and an estimated 30,205 immediate indirect beneficiaries in Sudan.
The NIPP approach is a behavioural change programme that engages both male and female caregivers on a wide range of knowledge and behaviours that are identified as contributing to malnutrition in order to instil positive practises in beneficiary’s management of their health and hygiene. The purpose of this evaluation is to assess the impact of the NIPP approach on beneficiaries in North Darfur.
WASH Programme Evaluation and Assessment Against Global Wash Aims Uganda
GOAL’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme in Uganda has transitioned, with the changing context, from emergency to a development and increasingly uses a systems approach to catalyse sustainable access to goods and services. Programming is underpinned by national policy, GOAL WASH strategy and M&E systems.
This report sets out findings of the GOAL Uganda WASH programme (2012 to 2015) covering four districts of Namayingo, Bugiri, Abim and Agago. The main purpose of the evaluation was to obtain substantiated and consistent conclusions that can be used in the decision making of GOAL on its future direction in Uganda, in the rural WASH sector. The evaluation was conducted by a team comprising of an International WASH Consultant, a local social scientist with extensive experience in WASH and GOAL Uganda country programme team members.
Strengthening vulnerable communities post Cyclone Idai through integrated shelter, WASH and protection in Zimbabwe
The purpose of this evaluation was to gather useful evidence that could be used to further improve humanitarian actions in the areas of shelter, WASH and protection. The evaluation consisted of a mixed methods approach, using quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques.
The main findings showed that outcomes surpassed all its intended targets, in the three areas of shelter, WASH, and protection services. The mechanism which allows beneficiaries to communicate their feedback to GOAL, was not very well known however; it was therefore recommended that the support from the Humanitarian Accountability Officer be increased.
The need for further development of a water quality monitoring system to check water safety and ensure sustainability was also recommended.
Elimination of child labour, trafficking and indecent work in Sierra Leone evaluation
The methodology of this evaluation involved a random sampling technique. Key informant interviews were also conducted. Findings revealed progress in many areas;
- The number of children aged between 5-14 years of age engaged in child labour activities had reduced. #
- There was a significant increase of community member aware of media campaigns highlighting trafficking and child labour.
- The number of children aware of where to go for support in the case of abuse, had also increased.
Although findings showed progress in many areas, there is a need for continuous efforts to bring more positive results, such as the increasing number of children supporting their parents or other household members with chores and economic activities.
Evaluation of GOAL Ethiopia’s emergency response for drought-affected and displaced communities in Ethiopia – Somali Region
This evaluation sought to examine the nutrition outcomes and assess GOAL’s performance in its community-based treatment of acute malnutrition (CMAM) which was implemented in several districts of the Somalia region of Ethiopia. The methodology involved a participatory and mixed methods evaluation approach.
The findings showed that the implementation of GOAL’s CMAM approach was appropriate and relevant for the targeted communities. The CMAM programme also strongly backed government initiatives in the pastoralist regions. The programme met and surpassed its targets at stabilization centres, outpatient therapeutic programmes and targeted supplementary feeding programmes.
However, challenges remained within local government, relating to the availability of capacity and resources to run the CMAM programme effectively and independently in the absence of external supports.