A policy tool for monitoring and evaluation of participation in adaptation projects

Abstract

Climate change and the need for sustainable development have been reflected in a proliferation of climate adaptation interventions, especially in the Global South. However, alongside intensified funding flows aimed at climate change adaptation, increased efforts in planning, monitoring, and evaluating of projects are necessary to avoid ineffective interventions or maladaptive outcomes. Yet, often the analytical tools available to the policy maker do not capture the cognitive and affective processes leading to adaptation decisions. This paper addresses this gap by proposing a conceptual framework for planning, monitoring, and evaluating climate adaptation interventions that draws upon the decision-making literature. The framework enables tracing how extrinsic factors (personal and external environment characteristics) and intrinsic factors (knowledge and attitudes) influence the decision to participate in an intervention and its outcomes. The paper provides detailed guidelines on how to apply the framework and demonstrates its use in an in-depth case study of a tree planting intervention in Ghana.