We are pleased to announce the recipients of our annual Impact Awards.

The Impact Award
The purpose of the Impact Awards is to answer the “why” and “so what” about our work. Above and beyond delivering high quality evaluations, monitoring support, and training, our mission is to advance development effectiveness. We aim to learn from, shape, and improve development programs and policies around the world.

Social Impact introduced the awards in 2016 to intentionally focus staff on the impact of their work. The awards (first, second, and third place) are given to Social Impact teams that provide the most compelling and evidence-based story about the impact of SI projects. To win, the stories, must convey how the work is used by clients and partners and influences development work.

The 2017 Winning Stories in Brief

Improving the Theory of Change under the U-Bridge SMS Activity in Uganda
In the Uganda impact evaluation, our team studied a project that aimed to make local governments more responsive to its citizens through a text messaging service. SI’s recommendations to the implementer and our own initiatives to improve the project improved the SMS platform, dramatically increased the number of participants registered in the service, and increased use of the service. While the evaluation did not find an effect of the program on overall service delivery, our evaluation found that 60% of users reported some improvements in response to their text messages.
Team members: Daniel Sabet and Alison Miranda

Supporting USAID/Zimbabwe Country Development and Cooperation Strategy and Performance Management Plan
SI’s support to USAID/Zimbabwe helped the Mission create a flexible, scenario-based strategy that can adapt to changing political and economic conditions in the country. The inclusion of collaboration, learning, and adapting (CLA) methods strengthened the strategy and provided an example of CLA that can be used by other USAID missions around the world. This project also won USAID’s CLA Case Competition.
Team members: Dennis Marotta, Maribel Diaz, Nicolle Nelson, Adam Reisman, Amanda Satterwhite

Expanding Monitoring and Evaluation Capacity in Global Programs of the State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL/GP)
Embedded with the State Department for 10 months, the SI team provided assessments, trainings, and one-on-one guidance on M&E oversight and strategy to DRL’s Office of Global Programs. The team also worked with DRL grantees to strengthen their capacity to develop and implement M&E plans. SI created a comprehensive M&E Guide, which has been published on DRL’s public website. SI’s support raised the level of M&E knowledge and the ability to operationalize that knowledge, as evidenced by their early adoption and application of the training and materials in DRL’s upcoming grant cycles.
Team Members: Adam Reisman, Monica Gadkari, Isadora de Latour, Colleen Boyle