Choose Your Own Adventure: Options for Adapting the Collaborating, Learning & Adapting (CLA) Maturity Self-assessment Process
By: Amy Leo and Rebecca Askin When it’s time to decide what to give my (Amy’s) kids for dinner, there are two ways to go about it. One approach is to ask them what they want to eat. Their response to this question will likely be something they enjoyed eating in recent memory. (As toddlers,
Evaluation for Learning and Adaptive Management: Connecting the Dots between Developmental Evaluation and CLA
By Monica Matts and Belen Mekonnen Since Headlight’s inception in 2019, we have honed our expertise in a few practice areas, including Developmental Evaluation (DE) and Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA). These two approaches are certainly related and reinforcing, but they are also distinct. What’s the connection between DE and CLA? How are they similar
Organizational Capacity Assessment Process: Part 2
By Yitbarek Woldetensay, Chelsie Kuhn, and Alison Harrell Introduction In Part 1 of this blog series, we described an Organizational Capacity Assessment (OCA), why we conduct an OCA, and how to prepare for the OCA process. In this Part 2 blog post, we will describe how to conduct organizational capacity gap identification (including OCA workshop
Adaptive Action Planning Workshop: the What, Why, and How?
By Esrael Woldeeyesus, SDRM-SI DE Deputy Team Lead, Headlight Consulting Services, LLC. Many institutions conduct or commission studies or facilitate discussions to generate evidence to identify successes and areas for improvement. However, taking recommendations into action can be a challenge for two reasons: (1) some perceive evaluations or studies as just compliance activities and have
What is a Developmental Evaluation? (101 Level)
By Julie Mandolini-Trummel, CLAME Specialist, and Alison Harrell, CLAME Specialist, Headlight Consulting Services, LLC This blog post is the first in a 3-part series on Developmental Evaluations. In Parts II and III of this blog series, we will explore how to identify if a DE is a good fit for your project/activity and how DE
Continuing Your Organizational Learning Journey with CLA
By Georgia Handforth, CLAME Associate, Headlight Consulting Services, LLCand Rebecca Askin, Senior CLAME Specialist, Headlight Consulting Services, LLC This blog is the third and final of a three-part mini-series on organizational learning and the Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) Framework. This is the third and final post of our three-part mini-series on Collaborating, Learning, and
Two Tools for Assessing and Leveling Up CLA in Your Everyday Work
By Georgia Handforth, CLAME Associate, Headlight Consulting Services, LLC This blog is the second of a three-part mini-series on organizational learning and the Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) Framework. Welcome back to our mini-series sharing Headlight’s experiences with Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA)! In the first post in this series, we talked about why CLA is
Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) Practice and Insights at Headlight
By Georgia Handforth, CLAME Associate, Headlight Consulting Services, LLC This blog is the first of a three-part mini-series on organizational learning and the Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) Framework. Here at Headlight—and for many of our partners and peers—we spend our days digging into development work that is evidence-based, systems-aware, and locally-led. While most people
Reflections on Writing a USAID Performance Management Plan
By Maxine Secskas, CLAME Associate, Headlight Consulting Services, LLC This is the second in a 2-part series on USAID Performance Management Plans. This installment in our blog continues the discussion around USAID Performance Management Plans (PMP), begun in our previous post, What is A USAID Performance Management Plan?, which explored the history of PMPs to
What is a USAID Performance Management Plan?
By Maxine Secskas, CLAME Associate, Headlight Consulting Services, LLC This blog post is the first in a 2-part series on USAID Performance Management Plans. This blog post (and a subsequent post reflecting on our recent support in drafting a Performance Management Plan) is intended to inform and offer suggestions from our recent experience for those
