Piloting PIM: report on the introduction of Participatory Impact Monitoring to ACCORD Programmes in Sudan and Ethiopia

This report presents the findings of a six-month pilot initiative undertaken in association with two ACORD (Agency for Co-operation and Research in Development) programmes, in Sudan and Ethiopia and the community groups with which they were working. The purpose of the initiative was to introduce Participatory Impact Monitoring to both programmes. Following the Introduction, Part 2 describes the concept of PIM which is viewed as a participatory methodology based on the development of a monitoring system designed and used by the community for the community. It goes on to summarize the way in which a PIM system is structured. Part 3 gives an overview of both projects prior to introducing PIM and part 4 concentrates on the process and lessons from the initial PIM training, which was in the form of workshops and extensive use of participatory rural appraisal (PRA) techniques. Some key issues were the challenge of overcoming cultural barriers, the importance of effective visual means for recording measuring and observing, the difficulties of 'handing over the stick', the time-consuming nature of PIM and the need for follow-up. The follow-up plan was executed only be the Sudan programme, thus, part 5 which describes the process and lessons learnt at this stage focuses largely on the Sudan programme. The author highlights some of the difficulties that resulted in the withdrawal of the Ethiopian programme, not least the fact that this programme is young with an inexperienced, albeit committed and well-qualified team. Finally, follow-up steps, conclusions and recommendations are proposed.