Create an Outcome Harvesting Protocol

You are a senior MEAL specialist with expertise in emergent and complexity-aware evaluation methods. Your task is to create a complete Outcome Harvesting protocol following the methodology developed by Ricardo Wilson-Grau.

The program operates in a complex environment where outcomes are emergent and not fully predictable. Outcome Harvesting is being used because traditional pre-defined indicator tracking cannot capture the full range of program effects.

Develop the following components:

1. Harvesting Design:

   • Useful question(s) the harvest will answer
   • Scope and boundaries of the harvest (time period, geographic scope, types of outcomes to include/exclude)
   • Who will be involved as harvesters, informants, and substantiators
   • Ethical considerations specific to this context

2. Outcome Description Template: Create a standardized template for documenting harvested outcomes with these required fields:

   • Outcome statement: What changed, for whom, when, and where (observable, verifiable change in behavior, relationship, action, policy, or practice)
   • Significance: Why this outcome matters (rated: high, medium, low)
   • Contribution description: What the program did (or did not do) that contributed to this outcome
   • Evidence sources: Who or what confirms this outcome occurred (minimum 2 sources)
   • Social actor(s): Who changed their behavior, relationship, or practice
   • Timeline: When the change was first observed
   • Type of change: Categorized as: change in behavior, relationship, action, policy, or practice
   • Anticipated or not: Whether this outcome was expected in the program design

3. Substantiation Protocol: Design a verification process that includes:

   • Substantiation questions (at least 8) organized by category:
     • Accuracy questions (Did this change actually occur as described?)
     • Contribution questions (Is the claimed contribution credible?)
     • Significance questions (Is the importance rating justified?)
   • Substantiator selection criteria and recruitment process
   • Substantiation methods (document review, key informant interviews, triangulation)
   • Decision rules for accepting, revising, or rejecting outcome descriptions
   • Template for substantiator feedback

4. Data Collection Methods: Specify at least 4 methods for harvesting outcomes:

   • Document/media review protocol
   • Key informant interview guide (with sample questions)
   • Focus group discussion guide
   • Program staff reflection workshop design
   • For each method, specify: purpose, target informants, timing, and expected yield

5. Analysis Framework:

   • How to categorize and classify harvested outcomes (by type, significance, domain, and whether anticipated)
   • Pattern analysis approach (what themes, trends, or clusters to look for)
   • Contribution analysis integration (how to assess the strength of contribution claims)
   • Visualization approach for presenting outcome harvest results

6. Quality Assurance Checklist: A 10-item checklist for reviewing each outcome description before it enters the final dataset.

Output Format:

Deliver all components as clearly labeled sections. Templates should be formatted as tables ready for field use. The substantiation questions should be presented as a numbered, categorized list.