Making adaptive rigour work - Principles and practices for strengthening monitoring, evaluation and learning for adaptive management - Ramalingam, Wild and Buffardi (2019)

This briefing from the Global Learning for Adaptive Management (GLAM) initiative argues that adaptive programmes can be accountable, rigorous, and high quality in how they use evidence – but this requires rethinking some key assumptions about how they are practised. The paper sets out three key elements of an ‘adaptive rigour’ approach:
(1) strengthening the quality of monitoring, evaluation and learning data and systems; (2)
ensuring appropriate investment in monitoring, evaluation and learning across the programme cycle, and; (3) strengthening capacities and incentives to ensure the effective use of evidence and learning as part of decision-making, leading ultimately to improved effectiveness.