Are we shifting the temperature of the planet? Evaluating climate change strategies and programs

Abstract Information: This panel will explore the current state of play for the evaluation of climate change projects and strategies. As the social, economic, and environmental implications of climate change become more evident, there is an exponential growth in the interest of social change actors and funders seeking to understand the polycrisis. Within this, there is a pressing need for the global community to understand which interventions, both scientific and social, can actually make the difference in preventing future catastrophes to people and planet. However, evaluation is a relatively new area for the climate community and for many funders expanding work in the climate space. For example: • How to define “success” while balancing tradeoffs between technological advances, effects on natural habitats, and the realities of diverse and unequal experiences for people? • How do we measure and interpret change in a way that is valid and meaningful to both communities, whose lives are directly affected, and funders, who desire to aggregate project-level change into global metrics? To respond to this, the panelists will share their respective experiences supporting grantmaking organizations and project teams in organizations implementing climate change interventions on the ground as these organizations consider how to identify and evaluate their impact on a global problem at a local level. Rhonda Schlangen, an independent learning and evaluation consultant to philanthropic foundations that support advocacy and social change, discusses the growing diversity of climate-related strategies and funders. She reflects on demands for measurement, learning, and evaluation in relation to diverse interventions – ranging from humanitarian, technology, and human rights – and tactics – ranging from scientific research to civil society advocacy. She will discuss the role of evaluators in managing tensions and expectations in order to contribute credible and useful learning about solutions. Anna Amato, an evaluation manager at the World Resources Institute (WRI), a large international “think-do tank” addressing issues of climate change across many geographies and transitions, will share her understanding of the current landscape of evaluations of climate programs, including WRI’s approaches to evaluating several projects around the world. She will discuss best practices from the impact evaluation space that can be applied to climate interventions and special considerations that require adaptation to understanding this complex issue. Jane Davidson of Real Evaluation and Thomaz Chicana of Comea Relevant Evaluations will share the work they have been doing with the Europe-based Laudes Foundation, which has an ambitious industry transformation agenda focused on both climate/environment and equity in three industries. Laudes Foundation is responding to the dual crises of inequality and climate breakdown through synergistic and collaborative efforts in three industries - finance and capital markets, fashion, and the built environment. With such an ambitious agenda to influence complex, coupled global systems, what kind of real-time evaluative approach needs to guide and evaluate emergent change? Laudes’ new measurement and learning system moves away from ‘Key Performance Indicators’ toward a more nuanced, systems change-savvy, rubric-enhanced approach to measuring systemic change, one that can flex as change emerges. The approach is grounded in a systemwide theory of change from which rubrics were developed to track key outcomes and impacts. The magic of Laudes’ new rubric-enhanced system is that it builds a dramatically clearer understanding, from the Boardroom to the grassroots collaborators working on the ground, of how each cluster of initiatives contributes to urgently needed change in equity, social justice, and the climate. Finally, Jane and Thomaz will highlight the Footprint Evaluation work, which seeks to infuse consideration of the environment into evaluations of policies and initiatives that aren't "environmental" but that can potentially impact natural systems - in other words, everything! The Footprint Evaluation initiative is a collaborative effort founded by Andy Rowe, Patricia Rogers, Jane Davidson, and Dugan Fraser. Its aim is to develop practical tools and frameworks to help evaluators and their client organizations include environmental sustainability alongside equity as relevant values in all evaluations, especially those without sustainability objectives. In addition to the creation and curation of tools, frameworks, and approaches for sustainability-inclusive evaluation, Footprint also works alongside organizational partners to help them infuse sustainability into evaluation right across their portfolios. Currently, Andy, Jane, and Thomaz are working alongside DEval to support Colombia's Department of National Planning to do just this. 
 In accordance with the theme of this year’s conference, the panelists will discuss how evaluators working in the climate space can ensure that the voices and perspective of people who have been historically marginalized are amplified through climate strategies and evaluations. Additionally, they will explore ways evaluators can identify the “winners and losers” of climate change, as well as help teams plan for a “just transition” by sharing metrics and methods for measuring progress towards greater equity in jobs, housing, healthcare, and other opportunities that proactively addressing climate change should prioritize. With remaining time, we will open the discussion and invite participants to ask questions and share how they are integrating climate, especially climate justice, into their approaches.