NGOs are increasingly recognising that ‘projects’ alone are not going to solve the problems of long-term poverty. Greater democracy, transparency and the work of civil society groups to hold decision-makers accountable are more likely to achieve long term sustainable change for poor people. ActionAid, along with many international agencies, is increasingly refocusing its work to support civil society, strengthen social capital and support excluded groups in their efforts to hold decision-makers accountable. All of this work currently falls beneath the vague banner of `influencing and advocacy work’. But how do we assess the value of this work? Does it really make a difference? This Scoping Study marks the beginning of a large body of work that will be carried out by ActionAid to explore and develop ways in which we can best monitor and evaluate different aspects of this work. This Scoping Study is literally the first step. It sets out to document the various frameworks and approaches that international agencies are using to assess the value of their advocacy work. The report draws on a large body of literature as well as, where possible, on first hand interviews and discussions. The report does not attempt to evaluate the various frameworks. It sets out to draw together a body of knowledge without passing judgement on the merits or demerits of various approaches.
