Page - (000301) - in Evaluating Climate Change Action for Sustainable Development

Chapter16 EvaluatingClimateChangeAdaptation inPractice:AChild-Centred,Community- BasedProject in thePhilippines JoanneChong,PiaTreichel, andAnnaGero Abstract Whilst theprinciplesofevaluatingclimatechangeadaptationarewidely documented, there aremany challenges in applying these principles in practice to evaluate, improve and learn frommulti-sector, multi-scale andmulti-stakeholder CCA initiativeswithuncertain and future-orientedoutcomes. Thischapterdocumentsa research-evaluationapproachappliedduringa3-year, child-centred, community-basedCCAproject implemented in40barangaysacross four vulnerable provinces in the Philippines. The research aimed to help project implementers to learn fromreal-time feedbackandperspectives fromchildren and their communities and other participants. Researchers from the Institute for Sus- tainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney and practitioners from implementing NGOs Plan International and Save the Children collaborated on translating theory-based and development evaluation techniques into the field. We developed local-level indicators of adaptation, participatory focus group dis- cussion and interview methods, and a guidance document for gathering and analysing evidence against these indicators. Key to the success of this method was its participatory foundations – operationalising theprinciple that sinceultimately adaptation is local, local voices and perspectivesmatter in understanding the impact of a project.Whilst there are limits to the“ideal”evaluationprocess, it ispossible toachieveevaluative rigour in a process that is sensitive to the practical realities and pressures of project imple- mentation. Embedding research and learning within practice – in the inherently uncertaincontextof supportingacommunity toadapt toclimatechange–provided new pathways for realising and sharing learnings to achieve better adaptation outcomes. J.Chong (*) •A.Gero Institute forSustainableFutures,University ofTechnologySydney, Sydney,Australia e-mail: joanne.chong@uts.edu.au;Anna.Gero@uts.edu.au P.Treichel Plan International,Melbourne,Australia e-mail: Pia.Treichel@plan.org.au ©TheAuthor(s) 2017 J.I.Uitto et al. (eds.),EvaluatingClimateChangeAction for Sustainable Development,DOI10.1007/978-3-319-43702-6_16 289