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.