RAPID Outcome Mapping Approach (ROMA)

Introduction

Project managers find many complications when handling complex projects in which the environment within policies are made are also tangled. To just roll out a plan and measure predefined indicators could not be enough. ROMA, born from these situations, is an approach to develop policy engagement processes to influence change. It comprises a suite of tools that can be used to improve how organizations and companies diagnose the problem, understand the types of impact their work could have on policy-making, set realistic objectives for policy influence, develop a plan to achieve those objectives, monitor and learn from the progress they are making and reflect this learning back into their work. In other words, it will help to unpack complex problems, analyze stakeholder influence and understand pathways of impact in conditions of uncertainty.

Concepts

Policy

Set of decisions that give rise to specific proposals for action. These decisions can vary from legislation to setting standards, allocating resources between organizations, changing the levels of subsidies or taxes...

Outcome Mapping

It is an approach to planning, monitoring, and evaluation that puts people at the center, defines outcomes as changes in behavior and helps measure contribution to complex change processes. [2]

[2] https://www.outcomemapping.ca/

Background

RAPID

The RAPID (Research and Policy in Development) team is part of the Overseas Development Institute(ODI). Its main focus is to achieve a deeper understanding of the links between projects (mainly research) and policy.

ODI

ODI is an independent think tank on international development and humanitarian issues. Its puerpose is "to inspire and inform policy and practice which lead to the reduction of poverty, the alleviation of suffering and the achievement of sustainable livelihoods in developing countries." [1]

[1] https://www.odi.org/about-odi

Method

Policy processes can be highly political, sometimes involving dense networks of actors and coalitions with competing values and interests. Engaging with policy in these types of environment requires a collaborative approach, and ROMA has been designed specifically to facilitate collaborative engagement.

is also scalable: it can be applied to a small intervention, such as the promotion of research findings during an international event, or to a large multi-year program or campaign to bring about changes in a particular sector. the uptake and use of research-based evidence in policy did not depend just on the quality of the evidence but also on major factors influencing (CEL, explain)

CEL. The political context – political and economic structures and processes, culture, institutional pressures, incremental vs radical change etc. The evidence – credibility, the degree it challenges recieved wisdom, research approaches and methodology, simplicity of message, how it is packaged etc The links between policy and research communities – networks, relationships, power, competing discourses, trust, knowledge etc.

ROMA consists of three main activities, each of which is broken down into a series of steps. ROMA remains an analysis- and workshop-based technique that encourages feedback from teams working on very different issues and in very different contexts, and inspires experimentation with new techniques