Monitoring and Evaluation at Nina Jo Consulting: Measuring What Truly Matters

Why Focus on Impact?

I joined Nina Jo Consulting because I believe in the power of learning from what we have done in life. It is about developing an understanding, not just of the outcome of a workshop, but of what the impact really is. That is the long-term impact.

That is why we focus so much on monitoring and evaluation (M&E). When we began talking about how this would be embedded within Nina Jo Consulting, we had long discussions and tried to unpack the difference between output, outcome and impact. Output is what we have done. Outcome is that a certain number of people participated and enjoyed it. Impact means we have more resilient, more engaged, more qualified citizens within our country and beyond.

To achieve that impact, we need to understand what matters. Impact is something within monitoring, evaluation and research in general that requires long-term effort. That is why we take the approach of not just documenting for the sake of reporting to funders or schools on attendance numbers.

The Questions That Matter

We want to understand what people want to get out of this. Where do you want to be in five years? In ten years?

To understand the impact of our workshops, we look at questions asked before training begins, during training, and after completion. We also examine questions about how we can learn and improve our practice as a consultancy.

For monitoring and evaluation, we built a framework that explains exactly what our approach is. Everything learners, employees, and school management teams receive from our engagements helps them achieve what they want from the sessions. We also ask the questions that matter and get the answers we need at the end.

From Expectations to Results

Before designing any workshop, we went through a process of identifying the questions we must ask to get the answers we need. Those answers reflect what people who engage with us want to achieve — not today or tomorrow, but in the long run.

In every workshop, we ask these questions at the beginning. We compare responses about expectations, learning, confidence, and skill levels beforehand and afterward. We use this data to plan future workshops and improve our practice. These data sets also inform our detailed reports to employers and school management teams following the conclusion of our engagement. Schools and employers can then see the long-term impact on their communities and workplaces.

Evaluating for Growth

Our workshops may be advertised as "soft skills", but that's not all they are. These are life skills we foster and support. These are not soft skills versus hard skills. One of those life skills we teach and apply in our own practice is "learning". That learning is something we, as Nina Jo Consulting, encourage internally.

Learning happens throughout your life. For learning to be meaningful, it needs to change or improve your current activities and behaviour. This is the basis of our M&E work.

Nina Jo Consulting focuses on monitoring, evaluation and research for learning purposes. M&E in the corporate world and public space often comes down to whether we evaluate for accountability or for growth. We evaluate for growth that serves the individuals who welcome us into their schools and workplaces. It is all about growth: personal, social and professional.

Personal Commitment

This work may not be my full-time job, but it is my full-time passion. I believe in holistic education that cares for the whole child and the whole adult. Education grows as educators learn.

I am an educator who believes research is a practical component of change in everyday life. Nina Jo Consulting represented that for me. I offer my skills in monitoring and evaluation, education and research to contribute to positive change.