This 31-page guidance document by CARE lays out the most helpful tools and resources for the Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL) process in advocacy and influencing work. You can choose from a range of tools, depending on who you are trying to influence, how you aim to influence and record the effects, and what resources you have to achieve this. 

MEL systems and practices are key in determining the who, what, how and why of social change. In order to unpack these questions, the guide is divided into the following four components: 

Component 1: Define what you want to change and how

This section provides you with a selection of valuable tools to help you set out your objectives for change, and the means to achieve them.

The guide proposes six options for planning advocacy strategies and defining what you want to change and how: a problem tree; stakeholder mapping analysis; an advocacy strategy framework; a theory of change; and a long frame.

Component 2: Describe what happened

This section offers a range of alternatives to assist you in effectively documenting and monitoring the transformations you observe. 

The document lists the following six options to consider when tracking activities: an advocacy and activity tracker; policy issue ratings; bellwether interviews; policymaker ratings; champion scorecards; and progress marker journals.

Component 3: Explain what caused the observed outcomes, and why and how they occurred

Section three provides options for tools to help you understand what caused an outcome. 

These options will help you understand cause and effect, and the evidence behind the observed outcomes: Advocacy and Influencing Impact Reporting (AIIR) tool; outcome harvests; contribution ranking; contribution analysis; process tracing; rapid outcome assessment; and summit workshop. 

Component 4: Reflect on what worked, what didn’t and why, and adapt. 

The final section is about reflection, learning and adaptation. To make sure that advocacy initiatives can adapt to emerging evidence of what works and what doesn’t, it is important to regularly reflect on the tools used.

Overall, CARE’s guidance document provides a variety of valuable tools to consider at different stages of the MEL process in advocacy and influencing work.