The Accord Research Alliance Podcast

Kristen Check interviews Alistair Sim, Principle Scientific Advisor, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning, at Compassion International. Innovations for Poverty Action/JPAL(causational attribution): https://www.povertyactionlab.org/person/duflo. Self-assessment tool and group facilitation: http://www.grahambodie.com/ Evidence-based journalism: https://theconversation.com/us Contact Alistair: Alsim@us.ci.org atrsim@gmail.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/alistairsim/

Mary Kay Gugerty discusses her book, The Goldilocks Challenge: Right-Fit Evidence for the Social Sector, with co-host Nathan Mallonee. Professor Gugerty studies nonprofit performance and accountability systems and teaches public policy to master's students at the Evans School of Public Policy at the University of Washington. Topics include: + why we need to be careful about how we use the term "impact" + when an organization should NOT consider doing impact evaluations + what you should do if you aren't doing impact evaluations (and why organizations should prioritize getting robust output and immediate outcome data) + how to apply the CART (credible, actionable, responsible, and transportable) principles to your monitoring & evaluation work + why you need a performance framework (or a theory of change) to make your data actionable + how to know when you have a "right-fit evidence system" Links: The Goldilocks Challenge book: https://www.poverty-action.org/right-fit-evidence/book/the-goldilocks-challenge Right Fit Evidence website: https://www.poverty-action.org/right-fit-evidence Professor Gugerty's website: https://evans.uw.edu/profile/mary-kay-gugerty/ Recommended books: Measuring Social Change by Alnoor Ebrahim: https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=27990 Between Power and Irrelevance: The Future of Transnational NGOs: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/between-power-and-irrelevance-9780190084721?cc=us&lang=en&

Last week (October 5-9), we held our sixth annual (and first virtual) intensive. This year it was all online and focused on the theme of "Cultivating a Christ-Centered, Data-Informed, and Responsive Organization: Listening in your M&E Practice." In this special episode, the steering committee talks with each other about the highlights of the week and what they learned along the way. For more information about the Accord Research Alliance, visit: www.accordnetwork.org/ara If you want to find out more about how to get involved or have ideas for future podcasts, email us at ara@accordnetwork.org. Steering Committee Members on today's call: -Kristen Check, Compassion International (co-chair) -Rodney Green, Compassion International (co-chair) -Nathan Mallonee, Living Water International (co-chair) -David Bronkema, Eastern University -Stephen Offutt, Asbury Theological Seminary -Rebecca Mentzer, HOPE International -Subodh Kumar, Food for the Hungry

In this special episode, we are playing Dr. Olivia Wilkinson's keynote speech from the 2019 Accord Research Intensive as a way to promote the upcoming 2020 Research Intensive. If you haven't registered yet, the deadline is Thursday, October 1. https://accordnetwork.regfox.com/oneaccord-research To watch a video of Olivia's presentation, go to: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7552959

Today one of our co-hosts goes on the other side of the mic. Kristen Check interviews Nathan Mallonee about why your organization should have a Theory of Change. Nathan provides details about the process he led at Living Water for developing a Theory of Change and the lessons learned along the way. You can read Living Water's Theory of Change here: http://livingwater.box.com/toc This podcast was actually recorded in 2019, but this topic is more relevant than ever during Covid-19 as outlined in this article from Better Evaluation: https://www.betterevaluation.org/en/blog/adapting-evaluation-time-covid-19-%E2%80%94-part-2-define Other resources include: Think NPC's Theory of Change in 10 Steps: https://www.thinknpc.org/resource-hub/ten-steps/ DFID's review of Theories of Change: http://www.theoryofchange.org/pdf/DFID_ToC_Review_VogelV7.pdf And you can find out more about Nathan at http://nathanmallonee.com

In this episode, Rodney Green speaks with Dr. Jamie Aten from the Humanitarian Disaster Institute (HDI) about a wide range of inter-connected topics including faith, resilience, and approaches to better understanding and measuring spiritual fortitude in the midst of personal and shared suffering, racial injustice, and the covid-19 pandemic. Resources from HDI on the Measure of Spiritual Fortitude, Leadership Humility, Post-traumatic growth: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331603591_Development_and_Validation_of_a_Measure_of_Spiritual_Fortitude https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341577750_Why_Leader_Humility_is_Vital_to_Effective_Humanitarian_Aid_Leadership_A_Review_of_the_Literature https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309222416_Cultural_Humility_and_Hospital_Safety_Culture https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254320192_Resource_loss_religiousness_health_and_posttraumatic_growth_following_Hurricane_Katrina Dr. Jamie Aten’s book “A Walking Disaster: What Surviving Katrina and Cancer Taught Me about Faith and Resilience”: http://www.jamieaten.com/a-walking-disaster HDI website: https://www.wheaton.edu/academics/academic-centers/humanitarian-disaster-institute/ The conversation between Rodney and Dr. Aten briefly introduces the systemic nature and sin of white supremacy, racism, and racial injustice, and important voices to listen to in order to go deeper can include: Dr. Drew Hart. “Trouble I’ve Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism” https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CF1TR1Y/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 Dr. Ibram Kendi. “How to Be an Antiracist” https://www.ibramxkendi.com/how-to-be-an-antiracist-1 Mark Charles. “Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery” https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07V7ZXT1R/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 Rev. Rene August. “How to Decolonize the Bible” [Webinar On Demand] https://freedomroad.us/freedom-road-institute-for-leadership-justice/decolonizing-the-bible/ Also, “The Aid Sector Must Do More to Tackle its White Supremacy Problem” https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jun/15/the-aid-sector-must-do-more-to-tackle-its-white-supremacy-problem Equitable Evaluation Framework: https://www.equitableeval.org/ee-framework

The ARA podcast is back today talking about (what else?) COVID-19. Nathan Mallonee talks with Rebecca Mentzer and Rodney Green about how different organizations within Accord are responding to COVID-19, especially as it relates to our work to "measure what matters." Resources mentioned in the podcast are available at https://accordnetwork.org/resources/covid-19-resources/ Connect with us through LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4362102/ Special thanks to Daniel Schmidt for producing today's podcast.

Today's podcast was recorded live from the 2019 Accord Research Alliance intensive. It provides a recap and analysis of the day from David Bronkema, Kristen Check, Rodney Green, and Nathan Mallonee. To get connected to the Accord Research Alliance and find out more about next year's intensive, email us at ara@accordnetwork.org.

Dr. Steve Offutt presents on research he and others have conducted on Christian ideas for development, understanding the current theories, networks, and priorities of Accord member organizations.

In advance of the 2019 ARA Research & Spiritual Metrics Intensive, we are sharing several sessions from the 2018 intensive. In this episode, Dr. Laura Shannonhouse gives examples of spiritual metrics used in two studies. Join us at the Accord Research Alliance intensive on September 30, 2019 in Ridgecrest, NC. We will be discussing: “Measuring What’s Difficult: How to Measure ALL That Matters in Christ-Centered Relief, Development & Advocacy”. Register NOW: https://accord-forum.squarespace.com/research-intensive-1 Laura Shannonhouse is Assistant Professor of Counseling and Psychological Services at Georgia State. Laura is also a contributing fellow with the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College.

2018 ARA Spiritual Metrics and Research Intensive panel discussion: "Case Studies of Integrating Development & Faith in Research". Panelists: Kristen Check, Water Mission Rebecca Mentzer, HOPE International Nathan Mallonee, Living Water International Ryan Smedes, FFH Mikaela Cochran, Compassion International Register NOW for the OneAccord Summit!: https://accord-forum.squarespace.com

In advance of the 2019 ARA Research & Spiritual Metrics Intensive, we are sharing several keynote sessions from the 2018 intensive. In this episode, Jean Duff, President of the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities shares with the audience an overview of the faith and development sector, including the main actors, issues of focus, and potential research opportunities with Accord Member organizations. If you haven't registered for the 2019 Intensive, do so here!https://accord-forum.squarespace.com/research-intensive-1 Learn more about JLI here: https://jliflc.com/

Stacy Nam is the Senior Programs & Knowledge Manager at the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities (JLI). In this podcast, Nathan Mallonee (from Living Water International) and Stacy talk about what JLI does, how it can be valuable to Accord members, and how Accord members can participate in the Learning Hubs that JLI facilitates. You can become a member of JLI at www.jliflc.com. Read the Guide to Excellence in Evidence for Faith Groups at https://jliflc.com/guide-excellence-evidence-faith-groups/ Stacy's Book Recommendations: 1. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman 2. Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, and Anna Rosling Rönnlund 3. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

In this episode, Nathan Mallonee catches back up with Luis Noda, VP for Transformational Engagement at Food for the Hungry. In episode 9, Luis talked about how FH was working on developing a document on the theological foundation for their work in relief and development. This document is now available (https://www.fh.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Gods-Story.pdf), so Luis is coming back to discuss how they've been rolling this out and how it's influencing the organization. Luis also provides a book recommendation for the most interesting book he's read this year. Building a Better International NGO by James Crowley & Morgana Ryan https://www.amazon.com/Building-Better-International-NGO-Greater/dp/1565495837

Michael Woolcock has been at the World Bank for 20 years, where he is the Lead Social Scientist in the Development Research Group. For twelve years he has also been a (part-time) Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. As a sociologist, he's written about culture, social development, and social capital. Michael is also on the editorial board for Accord's new journal, Christian Relief, Development, and Advocacy (CRDA). Nathan Mallonee from Living Water International talks with Michael about how he got to the World Bank from Australia, his new book on building state capability, the case for using mixed methods for research, and ideas for papers he'd like to see submitted to the CRDA journal. Here is a link to Michael's new book, Building State Capability: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/building-state-capability-9780198747482?cc=us&lang=en& Here is a link to the call for papers for the CRDA journal: https://crdajournal.org/index.php/crda/announcement Michael's Book Recommendations: ‘Epic Wanderer: David Thompson and the Opening of the West’, by D’Arcy Jenish. A biography of the life of first person to map the western coast of North America, from (what is now) Oregon through to British Columbia, and vast areas inland to Hudson Bay. His maps became the basis for where exactly the border was drawn between the US and Canada along the 49th parallel, and included being the first to traverse (and map) the full length of the Columbia River. Doing all this entailed surviving decades of unimaginably cold winters, crossing the Rocky Mountains on foot endless times, learning some of the languages of indigenous peoples, and doing all manner of complex negotiations – all without ever losing a man. ‘The Tyrannicide Brief: The Story of the Man Who Sent Charles I to the Scaffold’, by Geoffrey Robertson. Incredible account of the first legal team to challenge the divine right of kings, in the 1640s, arguing that no-one was above the law -- when that notion had never before been tested on a head of state, in this case a king (Charles I) whose civil wars had led one in ten Englishmen to their deaths. The lead lawyer, John Cooke, undertook this task knowing full well that it would likely lead to his own death, which it duly did in the most gruesome manner… Makes a bad day for me seem like a stroll in the park… And the justly classic ‘The Hiding Place’, by Corrie Ten Boom. “Give thanks in all things” takes on a whole new meaning after reading this book…