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Systems and Capacity: Two Measurement Challenges in Search of Progress

When evaluating development interventions for their contributions to sustained development, it is essential to monitor how systems change over time. Traditional monitoring methods can measure the effects of each discrete intervention, however capturing how those interventions are contributing to strengthening the local system and promoting sustainable results requires monitoring approaches that are grounded in systems thinking and responsive to the complexity of systems dynamics. Presented in a report on a meeting to discuss this topic, USAID has developed and begun to test a framework designed to focus monitoring on five key attributes of systems.

USAID Learning Lab, September, 2015