ICS Guide to Monitoring,
Evaluation & Learning
Team Leaders
1
Contents:
Page Title
Page
Number:
What is this Pack for?
3
Terminology/Jargon
4
What is Monitoring Evaluation?
7
How does ICS Measure Change?
8
ICS Theory of Change
8
Theory of Change Diagram
9
Your Role as a Team Leader in the Monitoring and Evaluation Process
10
Using the Monitoring and Evaluation Tools Diagram
11
Using the Monitoring and Evaluation Tools
12
Who Does What in the Completion of In-Country Tools?
16
Appendices:
1. Project Planning Tool (Blank Template)
18
2. Team Planning Tool (Blank Template)
30
3. Mid-Term Report (Blank Template)
34
4. Volunteer Learning Matrix
36
5. International Citizens Service: Volunteer Learning Record
37
6. Supervision Meeting Record
39
7. Team Debrief Tool (Blank Template)
40
8. Team Case Study (Blank Template)
48
9. Individual Debrief Tool (Blank Templates & Guidance)
50
10. Placement Evaluation
51
11. Individual Case Study (Guidance)
52
12. Team Presentation (Guidance)
53
13. Action at Home Planning Tool (Blank Template)
54
14. What’s Next?
55
15. Action at Home Report (Blank Template)
56
16. Global Citizens Case Study (Guidance)
58
17. ICS Case Study Guidelines
59
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This pack is designed to:
1. Introduce you to the concept of monitoring and evaluation in the field of
development.
2. Show you the importance of monitoring and evaluation in your journey as an ICS
Team Leader.
3. Introduce you to the different monitoring and evaluation tools that you will be using
prior to your placement, while on placement, and post-placement.
‘If we are about development and we cannot measure what we are doing,
how can we develop rigorous and effective practice?’
(CDRA 2001)
3
Terminology/Jargon:
As with any sector, in the field of development you will come across certain terms and
jargon that have specific meanings - here is a list which should help you during your journey:
MONITORING
The systematic and continuous assessment of the progress of a piece of work over time which
checks that things are going to plan and enables adjustments to be made in a methodical way.
Monitoring is the foundation upon which everything else rests. Without proper monitoring,
sound evaluation and impact assessment will be impossible.
EVALUATION
The periodic assessment of the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact or sustainability of a
piece of work with respect to its stated objectives.
An evaluation is usually carried out at some significant stage in the piece of work e.g. annually
and at the end of a 12 week project.
CONSORTIUM
A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organisations or
governments (or a combination of these) with the objective of participating in a common
activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal.
The ICS consortium consists of International Service, VSO, Tearfund, Restless Development,
Progressio, Raleigh International. It is run by a central agency; The Hub and funded by DFID.
BENEFICIARY
The individual, group or organisation, whether targeted or not, that benefit, directly or
indirectly, from the implementation of a programme, project or output.
DIRECT BENEFICIARIES
These are people who directly benefit from the work of ICS volunteers – “disadvantaged”
groups/persons (i.e. young people; women and girls; people with disabilities; people living with
HIV/AIDS; and ethnic minorities) and other community members with whom work is undertaken
directly, such as teachers, parents, doctors, staff, community carers and national
volunteers/staff of host partners.
INDIRECT BENEFICIARIES
These are people achieving some benefits from interaction with the direct beneficiaries, for
example: other household members of direct beneficiaries; students benefiting indirectly from a
teacher who has received skills training; community members who are impacted positively by a
policy change facilitated by the ICS programme
STAKEHOLDER
Agencies, organisations, groups or individuals who have a direct or indirect role and interest in
the objectives and implementation of a programme or project and its evaluation.
BASELINE
A Baseline describes the initial situation that the piece of work is aiming to address. It can be
used to assess what progress has been made by providing a basis for ‘before and after’
comparison
4
OBJECTIVES
Description of an overall desired achievement involving a process of change and aimed at
meeting certain needs of identified beneficiaries within a given period of time. A good objective
needs to point towards final outcomes/impact, be measurable, time limited, specific and
practical.
ACTIVITIES
Action taken or work performed to transform inputs into outputs. For example you could ask
what did you do in order to provide the services? We planned, wrote and organised teaching
manuals for English Language
OUTPUTS
Outputs are the specific, direct deliverables of the project ie what do you plan to do/provide?
These are the detailed activities, services and products you actually do or provide. These will
provide the conditions necessary to achieve the Outcome. Here you are effectively measuring
the effort made during the project. For example you could ask yourselves what services did we
provide? 5 English Language Teaching Manuals.
OUTCOME
The Outcome should identify what will change, who will benefit and (for development projects)
how it will contribute to reducing poverty/contribute to the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) or Climate Change. They are all the changes, benefits, learning or other effects that
happen as a result of your activities. Here you are measuring the effectiveness of the project –
the evaluation part! For example you could ask yourselves what changes did our outputs affect
for our users? Teachers at the school were able to provide improved English Language teaching,
leading to better marks and opportunities for the children. This also led to more children
attending the school.
INDICATOR
An Indicator is an observable change or event that provides evidence that something has
happened. A reliable sign, not proof, they are performance measures, which tell us what we are
going to measure not what is to be achieved. Indicators should be specific, usable and clearly
measurable. They are the things you can use to assess whether your expected outcomes have
occurred. This will demonstrate progress towards meeting your aims. For example you could ask
yourself has the number of children in primary schools increased during the project. Have the
exam grades improved in English Language at the school?
IMPACT
The positive and negative longer term effects produced by an intervention (such as the ICS
scheme), both directly and indirectly, intended and unintended.
ICS sectors
CIVIC PARTICIPATION sector
Young people helping to amplify the voice of disadvantaged groups / poor people, and strengthening
the capacity of community groups to control decisions and resources which affect their lives.
ENVIRONMENT sector
Young people supporting communities – especially disadvantaged groups – to respond to climate
change challenges e.g. adapting land use for flood alleviation.
EDUCATION sector
Young people making a positive contribution to improve the delivery of and/or access to basic
5
education services.
HEALTH sector
Young people making a positive contribution to: improve the delivery of and/or access to basic
health - including sexual reproductive health – services; and/or promoting positive health practices
e.g. use of condoms to reduce rates of HIV transmission, hand washing to reduce rates of diarrhoea
etc.
LIVELIHOODS sector
Young people supporting communities – especially disadvantaged groups – to increase economic
opportunities e.g. technical skills development to improve agricultural yields, soft skills development
to improve employability etc.
ICS activities
ACTION RESEARCH
ICS volunteers working with the wider community to gain knowledge through developing strong
information gathering and analytical skills which informs and empowers community members to
take action.
AWARENESS RAISING
ICS volunteers increasing the profile of partners and issues through developing strong motivational,
creativity and campaigning skills which engages key decision-makers and the wider community to
take action.
COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
ICS volunteers contribute to improved community structures and systems through developing strong
project planning skills.
PEER EDUCATION
ICS volunteers engaging other young people in learning and debate through developing strong oral
communication skills and relationship-building which encourages behaviour change and/or action.
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
ICS volunteers develop practical tools for organisations and communities through developing strong
written communication and often IT skills to document best practice and increase knowledgesharing.
TRAINING
ICS volunteers design and facilitate training sessions through developing strong planning and
presentation skills to encourage debate and action on community issues. This can also include
recruiting and developing a pool of trainers in the community for sustainability.
6
What is Monitoring and Evaluation?
Monitoring involves a systematic assessment of projects using a number of tools. It informs
future practices in allowing us to reflect on experiences and to make appropriate changes in
order to meet planned objectives.
Evaluation occurs once a project or phase of the project is completed (in your case, this will
be at the end of the 12 week placement). Here we look at how actual outcomes of projects
fit with planned objectives. We assess the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and
sustainability of projects, as well as the wider impact of the project within the community.
The role of Monitoring and Evaluation at International Service:
Ultimately International Service is accountable to our stakeholders. Our Stakeholders are
our partners and beneficiaries in the field, ICS volunteers and Team Leaders, as well as the
Department for International Development (DfID).
We also need to demonstrate that the work that we do with partner organisations has
maximum positive impacts and outcomes for all beneficiaries. These beneficiaries are the
communities in which we work, and you the volunteers.
What do we gain from Monitoring and Evaluation?
Monitoring and Evaluation is crucial because it is what informs our learning. It allows us to
identify and provide evidence of what is working and what is not working, which then goes
on to inform future planning. By using appropriate tools, we can ensure that the work we
are involved in is worthwhile, effective, efficient and sustainable.
What is the difference between Monitoring and Supervision?
During your placement you will facilitate personal development for volunteers through
regular confidential supervisory meetings with then individually. This is different to
monitoring as it is time that is specifically dedicated to seeing how each volunteer is
personally getting on, rather than the progress they are making on their project as a team.
This gives volunteers the opportunity to reflect on their personal development –what they
are enjoying, what challenges they are facing and what they have learned so far- this can be
both positive and negative aspects of the scheme.
7
How does ICS Measure Change?
The ICS Theory of Change:
The working Theory of Change (ToC) for ICS (Figure 1, Page 10), illustrates how the
consortium expect activities delivered to generate a series of outputs and, in doing so,
contribute to a range of outcomes for volunteers and host communities leading to
development impacts.
This ToC has been generated based on a review of programme documentation, discussions
with DFID and staff from the ICS Hub, and a review of existing literature which has looked at
the effects of similar interventions. Feedback has also been gathered from consortium
members to produce the working draft you see here.
Any ToC is considered to be a continued ‘work in progress’ that can be improved on the
basis of actual data, analysis and the learning that this generates over time. However, as
the ICS ToC is based on nearly two years of experience of the pilot and first year of the
contract, it is considered be a strong base for our M&E systems moving forward.
ICS Monitoring and Evaluation Systems
Our systems are set up to collect data across two broad outcome-strands for ICS that lead
into a third area of impact. The two outcome strands are:


Volunteer development outcomes: personal and social development for UK and incountry volunteers participating in the programme, leading to the creation of
advocates for international development and agents for social change (in their own
communities and beyond) over the long-term.
In-country project outcomes: effects from project work delivered in developing
countries, spanning five key sectors: education, health, livelihoods, environment and
civic participation. Working with local communities (typically through local civil
society networks), agencies will use ICS activities to inspire and equip local people to
drive their own development over the long-term.
These two outcome strands are closely connected with the third main focus of the ICS
programme. In the ToC we describe this as an impact and not an outcome, because it is
unlikely to be clearly measurable in the short time frame of our contract (i.e. before August
2015). This third area is:

Increased active citizenship: because citizenship is a longer term impact, and also
because it is a concept that has traditionally been hard to define clearly, ICS will start
by measuring the clearly defined outputs and outcomes of the action at home phase
of the UK and in-country volunteer journey. This information will combine with the
data around the two outcome strands above to build up a picture of the longer term
impact that the programme has on the volunteers and the communities in which
they remain active.
8
Figure 1: Theory of Change for the ICS Programme
Programme Inputs and Activities
Contract
deliverables
Longer-Term
Outcomes
Short-Term Outcomes
Impacts
£54.6m DFID funding plus £5.4m fundraising income (raised by volunteers)
VOLUNTEER DEVELOPMENT: UKVs and ICVs
Recruitment, selection,
training and pre-placement
support to a diverse range
of UK volunteers
Recruitment, selection,
training and pre-placement
support to in-country
volunteers
Identification of host
communities/projects
which can benefits from
the unique contribution of
young people
In-placement support and
engagement
Post-placement support
and engagement
Management and
coordination
UK volunteers
(UKVs) take part in
ICS
1. UKVs start service
2. UKVs end service
3a. UKVs attend a
Return Volunteer
session
3b. UKVs complete
the Action at Home
phase
Increased
awareness/understanding
of poverty, equality and
development
Confidence and skills
development
Cross-cultural
understanding/perspective
and networks
Inspiration and motivation
to make a difference
In-country
volunteers (ICVs)
take part in ICS
1. ICVs start service
2. ICVs end service
3a. ICVs attend a
Return Volunteer
session
3b. ICVs complete
the Action at Home
phase
Further volunteering and
social action
Creation of advocates for
international and community
development
Increased active
citizenship
Personal responsibility and
transformation
Long-term
economic,
social &
environmental
development
impacts
Progression to employment/
education/training
(UK and
overseas)
Changes in resources,
practice and awareness in
host organisations and
communities
Changes in attitudes /
perceptions towards young
people
Infrastructure development
Behavioural and material
changes in host
organisations and
communities spanning key
sectors of activity
Host communities better
able to support their own
development
IN-COUNTRY PROJECTS: Scale / scope to be determined
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Contributions to
local
development
goals / objectives
Your Role as a Team Leader in the Monitoring and Evaluation Process:
As a Team Leader (both UKVs and ICVs) you should play a key role as facilitator in this
process. Your inputs and oversight will be particularly valuable where you are working for
extended periods of time to supervise consecutive ICS teams, since one team's activities lay
the foundations for another to follow on. As a Team Leader it is important that you feel able
to work with volunteers to ensure they understand how positive outcomes will accrue over
time as multiple activities contribute to a wider project.
However, do note that as Team leaders you are also ICS volunteers as well as facilitators,
and as such your own voices should also be considered part of the inputs into the team
planning and team debrief documents.
Using the Monitoring and Evaluation Tools to Engage Volunteers:
The tools for the ICS M&E process have been designed to monitor and evaluate
achievement at country level related to the different strands in ways, as follows:
1. Volunteer development: the key tool for this strand is the Knowledge, Attitudes &
Practices (KAP) survey which is administered at 3 points in time along the volunteer journey
(immediately after their pre-placement training, at the completion of their in-country
placement and one year later).
2. In-country project outcomes: the tools for this strand are described in the rest of this
guidance pack.
3. Active citizenship: There is also an Action at Home questionnaire that they must complete
six months after the completion of their placements.
The in-country tools have been designed to facilitate the process of engagement and
communication with UK and In-Country Volunteers. As with project staff, the project
planning process should encourage volunteers to be asking the right analytical questions and foster the development of a strong, collective understanding of the way in which we
expect activities delivered in the short-term to bring about positive change over the longerterm.
Note that the KAP surveys and the Action at Home questionnaires can be done directly
online or on paper and uploaded by staff. It is essential that these tools are administered to
both in-country and UK volunteers.
10
Using the Monitoring and Evaluation Tools:
Figure 2: Project timeline
‘Before’
‘During’
Project
plan
‘After’
Project
update
Project
debrief
Volunteer journey timeline
‘Pre-placement’
KAP
1
Project tools
‘Placement’
Team
debrief
Team
plan
Team tools
‘Post-placement’
Individual volunteer
tools
11
KAP
2
Action at
home
survey
KAP
3
Using the Monitoring and Evaluation Tools:
‘BEFORE’
At the inception stage of the project, International Service staff in the UK will work with incountry project staff to complete the Project Planning Tool. This document should clearly
set out:




the context within which the intervention is being proposed;
the rationale for intervening in this particular way;
planned activities and anticipated outputs; and
expected benefits over the medium- to long-term.
Importantly, this document should also clearly explain how we intend to measure change
i.e. whether the expected benefits materialise over time.
ARRIVAL & ORIENTATION
For each team of volunteers the Project Planning Tool should act as the central resource
around which in-country orientation is set up, alongside reviewing any handover notes or
materials produced by previous teams. This will ensure that a volunteers’ understanding of
their role is rooted in a wider understanding of the project and its short, medium and longterm goals.
Working with and through Team Leaders where appropriate, project staff should clearly
explain the results they anticipate producing at all levels (outputs, outcomes and impact),
and their choice of indicators and research methods for tracking change over time. If
volunteers are expected to play a part in collecting this data, the nature of these
requirements should be clearly communicated to them at this time.
This process of review and communication should culminate in completion of the Team
Planning Tool, led by you, the Team Leader with support from project staff.
DURING PLACEMENT
The completed Team Planning Tool should act as a reference document throughout a
team's placement against which to review progress. Many teams find that they have to
adjust their plans upon arrival in a community because the community wants something
different, or what was planned is not logistically possible. This is fine but will need to be
properly recorded at the debrief stage.
Each team meets part-way through their placement to carry out a Mid-Term Report, to
complete this tool it is useful to consider the following questions:

Are the activities described in the Team Planning Tool what is actually being
delivered? Is the team on course to deliver the number of outputs planned? If not,
why not?
12


Are there any new activities that have been developed? If so, how did this come
about? What are the intended outputs / outcomes of these?
What has the team learned so far? How will they incorporate this into the second
half of their placement period
As an agency we complete mid-term review meetings to encourage reflection and sharing of
learning. Though not required to report to DfID on this process, Team Leaders / project staff
are required to keep a record of discussions which will facilitate reflection and inform
completion of the Team Debrief Tool at the end of each team’s placement period.
VOLUNTEER LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
A key principle of the International Citizen Service scheme is that during their placement all
volunteers benefit from a structured approach to personal development and learning.
Within this lifecycle we anticipate five key stages of the personal learning process:
Pre Placement
Training
Induction Training
Volunteer
Development
Post Placement
Evaluation
•Formal training that provides volunteers with the opportunity for
personal preparation for the practical elements of their placement, as
well as the personal challenges and development ahead
•Formal training in-country that prepares the volunteers for the
challenges specific to their placements, as well as working with
people from other cultures and personal experience
•The mapping of opportunities for volunteer development against
their project and the provision of additional opportunities for
volunteers to develop and reflect upon their experience in terms
of culture, development issues, globalisation, environment, etc.
•All volunteers participate in a Reunion Day where they evaluate
their experience on placement and identify how this will inform their
post placement actions and beyond
Alumni Engagement •Ongoing involvement of volunteers in the International Service Alumni,
providing them with the opportunity to continue their learning journey
Within International Service we have processes in place for each of these stages of
volunteer development. We have regularly reviewed the elements of learning in the UK, but
feedback from volunteers within the KAP surveys suggests that we need to review the incountry elements of this process. This is now aided by the introduction of the ICS learning
matrix by the ICS Hub, which is a useful tool to help guide this review and development.
Personal Development in Placement:
Volunteer placements in our ICS programmes must provide volunteers with opportunities
for personal development through a guided process of learning, which helps them to
identify their learning objectives and their achievement. Review of the existing process and
the development of the learning matrix (Appendix 4) lead us to the following:
13
Personal and Task-Related Development:
Volunteers should be supported in their own development with direct reference to their
project placement and the planning of their activities in relation to it. These should
contribute to the objectives for the volunteers during their placement. All principals apply to
both International and In-Country Volunteers.
Intercultural Understanding and Global Perspectives:
Volunteers should continue to be offered the opportunity for reflection, analysis and
synthesis of their experience during placement, in order to provide them with the
opportunity to build a better understanding of local culture and practice. This is intended to
help them achieve personal development in reference to Intercultural Understanding and
Global Perspective elements of the learning matrix.
Group Reflection Sessions:
Our intention is to support the personal learning of ICS volunteers through regular group
reflection sessions. These sessions will provide space for reflection on five key questions
designed to help them to reflect, analyse and synthesise their experience and learning
during placement, as per the ICS Group Reflection Template (Appendix 5)
These Group Reflection Sessions will be held in weeks 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 of the volunteer
placement cycle. These sessions should include both International and In-Country
Volunteers, facilitated by their Team Leader. All volunteers will be provided with the Group
Reflection Template prior to the session so that they can add notes to help them contribute.
At all times volunteers should be encouraged to bring into the discussions relevant
experiences from their placement as evidence to support their reflection. The Team Leaders
should also contribute, as well as recording the issues discussed using the same template.
The record kept by the Team Leader should then be shared with the ICS Programme
Manager in-country and kept on file locally.
The following diagram shows the schedule for the individual supervision and the group
reflection sessions that will take place during a volunteer’s placement:
14
PLACEMENT COMPLETION & DEBRIEF
Upon completion of placement activities, the team should meet to share their experiences
and reflect on the lessons they have learned. As with the orientation session, this should be
led by you as the Team Leader with support from project staff, and should comprise of:
 A review of the original Team Planning Tool: What elements were delivered and
which were not (and why)? Where elements were not delivered, what were they replaced
with (and why)?
 A review of the overall Project Plan: How did the activities delivered contribute to
the Project Plan? Does the team's experience suggest any changes to the Project
Plan?
This process should result in completion of the Team Debrief Tool and Team Case Study as
a full and honest record of the team's experience. Importantly this will require collective
consideration of the extent to which positive change has occurred within the community
and (if relevant) for the local partner organisation. These 'closed' questions (requiring a
scaled response) have been included to prompt debate as part of the reflection process, and
require the whole team to agree a shared, consensus response. If the reflection process
works well, this debate will likely take place on two levels:
i. Firstly, what does this question mean: What do we mean by 'positive change'?
ii. Secondly (having decided what the question means), how should it be answered: Has
'positive change' occurred already or do we expect it to in the near / middle / distant
future?
The team will also need to consult with their local partners to record their views on the
benefits of involvement with the ICS programme.
The volunteers are also required to completed Individual Debrief Tools, Individual Personal
Development Case Studies and a Placement Evaluation
All volunteers including Team Leaders are required to complete these tools individually;
they are an opportunity to reflect on their experience as a volunteer and their personal
development in their journey. Guidance for completing these tools is provided within the
appendices. Volunteers also have a Monitoring and Evaluation pack which explains what is
required of them.
Alongside the reporting done by each team of ICS volunteers, each agency is required to
complete quarterly reporting and annual reporting. The responsibility for pulling the
quarterly reports together rests with central M&E/Programme leads but relies on the
successful completion and submission of all the tools in this guidance pack according to the
timelines illustrated on Page 11.
15
Who does what to complete the ICS in-country tools?
With varying staffing and team leader models in each country, the specific people leading on
the completion of the in-country tools may vary. This template is therefore intended to offer
guidance on who may be best suited to lead on each tool, but can be used to identify the
specific lead within each country. Staff may find it helpful to use this template to confirm
responsibilities across their staff and volunteer teams.
Agency:
Tool
Country:
Guidance
Specific person/people responsible
KAP 1, 2 and 3
UKVs and ICVs with audit checks
by in-country programme
manager
Project plan
In-country Programme Manager
with support from agency ICS
programme and M&E leads
Team plan
UKV and ICV Team Leaders and
volunteers with support from incountry staff
Team debrief
UKV and ICV Team Leaders and
volunteers with support from incountry staff
Project update
In-country Programme Manager
with support from agency ICS
programme and M&E leads
Project debrief
In-country Programme Manager
with support from agency ICS
programme and M&E leads
Action at Home
Survey
UKVs and ICVs with audit checks
by in-country programme
manager
16
Within the following appendices you will find a blank template for each tool along with
some further guidance which you and your programme lead will be using during your ICS
placement. You programme leads will have a completed template for each tool, which you
can use to guide you their completion.
The programme leads also have the full ICS Monitoring and Evaluation Framework and the
Guide to Monitoring and Evaluation at Country Level which gives you more detailed
information and guidance to the Monitoring and Evaluation expected within the ICS
scheme.
17
Appendix 1: Project planning tool
Agency:
Completed by: primary author
Date: DD/MM/YYYY
Project title:
Country:
Programme:
Location(s): local communities / region
Planned start date: DD/MM/YYYY
Planned end date: DD/MM/YYYY
Project-level partner(s): if relevant
Team-level (local) partner(s): if relevant
Sector: [SELECT ONE AS THE PRIMARY FOCUS]
Education
Health
Livelihoods
Environment
Civic participation
Strategic context:
Name of broader strategy document – date / author org
Summary of strategic goals for the country: key issues / target groups / sectoral focus
How does this project fit with / contribute to the wider strategic agenda?
[WORD LIMIT: 500 WORDS]
Links to other non-ICS interventions in-country:
Name of linked (non-ICS) projects / programmes – overview of project activity (with timescales), including planned interaction with other long-term vols / development workers
For each linked project / programme, is the contribution ICS is expected to make:
[PLEASE SELECT ONE]
- Large
[the project / prog would not be viable without ICS]
- Medium [the project / prog would be significantly reduced /different without ICS]
- Small
[the project / prog would essentially look the same without ICS]
18
PROJECT RATIONALE: [SHOULD REFLECT THE ICS PROGRAMME THEORY OF CHANGE]
Why this community?
Demonstrating a need for support:
What are the main issues facing this community?
How will groups of young people on short-term placements add value?
Anticipated short-term outcomes: what positive changes do you expect to generate? [ADD MORE / LESS OUTCOME STATEMENTS AS REQUIRED]
1.
2.
3.
Anticipated longer-term outcomes: [ADD MORE / LESS OUTCOME STATEMENTS AS REQUIRED]
1.
2.
3.
Anticipated impacts: [ADD MORE / LESS OUTCOME STATEMENTS AS REQUIRED]
1.
2.
3.
19
Why this PROJECT-LEVEL partner?
[DELETE IF IRRELEVANT]
Demonstrating partner experience / specialist knowledge:
Why this TEAM-LEVEL (LOCAL) partner?
[DELETE IF IRRELEVANT]
Demonstrating partner experience / specialist knowledge:
Why are they the preferred partner with which to deliver this project?
Why are they the preferred local partner through which to work in this community?
Have you worked with this local partner before? Yes / No
If yes, please summarise this past work (type of activity, dates etc):
Have you worked with this local partner before? Yes / No
If yes, please summarise this past work (type of activity, dates etc):
Demonstrating a need for support: (if applicable)
Demonstrating a need for support: (if applicable)
What are the main issues facing this organisation?
(How) will groups of young people on short-term placements add value to their work?
What are the main issues facing this organisation?
(How) will groups of young people on short-term placements add value to their work?
Anticipated short-term outcomes: what positive changes do you expect to generate? [ADD
MORE / LESS OUTCOME STATEMENTS AS REQUIRED]
Anticipated short-term outcomes: what (if any) positive changes do you expect to generate?
[ADD MORE / LESS OUTCOME STATEMENTS AS REQUIRED]
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.
Anticipated longer-term outcomes:
[ADD MORE / LESS OUTCOME STATEMENTS AS REQUIRED]
Anticipated longer-term outcomes:
[ADD MORE / LESS OUTCOME STATEMENTS AS REQUIRED]
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.
Anticipated impacts:
[ADD MORE / LESS OUTCOME STATEMENTS AS REQUIRED]
Anticipated impacts:
[ADD MORE / LESS OUTCOME STATEMENTS AS REQUIRED]
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.
20
Proposed number of teams: [MINIMUM OF 2]
2/3/4/5/6+
Inputs
INPUTS PAID FOR WITH DFID ICS FUNDS:
Anticipated total number of UKVs / ICVs over the life of
the project
Proposed scheduling of teams:
Team 1.. MM/YYYY – MM/YYYY
Team 2.. MM/YYYY – MM/YYYY
Planned activities
Activities to be delivered:
[SELECT AS APPROPRIATE]
 Peer education
Expected outputs
Number of peer education sessions / hours to be delivered - with
expected number of attendees (by type i.e. % female)
Description
Volunteer supervision:
 Number of Team Leaders (UKVs / ICVs)


Action research
Description
Number of Prog Supervisors (UKVs / ICVs)

Description

In-kind support:
Please describe: type of goods / services provided,
estimated value (if known), timescales
Number of awareness raising events to be delivered - with expected
number of attendees (by type i.e. % female)
Awareness raising
Materials – stationary / events / construction materials
OTHER INPUTS:
Number of action research projects to be carried out - with
expected number of consultees (by type i.e. % female)
Training
Number of training sessions / hours to be delivered - with expected
number of attendees (by type i.e. % female)
Number / type of resources to be developed - with expected reach /
audience (by type i.e. % female)
Description

Other grant / project funding:
Please describe: funder, type of grant, value, activities
to be delivered, timescales

Resource development
Number of infrastructure projects to be completed - with expected
number of beneficiaries (by type i.e. % female)
Description
Number of... please specify
Community infrastructure development
Description

Other(s) – please specify
Description
21
Risks / assumptions for the project [WHAT THINGS NEED TO OCCUR FOR THE PROJECT TO BE A SUCCESS]
For example:
 Weather permits construction of a water gravity feed system
 Political context remains peaceful such that the local environment remains safe for ICS teams
 Group dynamics within ICS teams (particularly UKV - ICV interaction) are cohesive and positive
MEASURING CHANGE [SHOULD REFLECT THE ICS PROGRAMME M&E FRAMEWORK]
FOR THE COMMUNITY
22
Anticipated short-term outcomes: How / when you will
collect evidence to demonstrate achievement of your
short-term outcomes
Anticipated longer-term outcomes: How / when you
will collect evidence to demonstrate achievement of
your longer-term outcomes
Anticipated impacts: How / when you will collect evidence
to demonstrate achievements of your impacts
1. First outcome statement
INDICATORS AS REQUIRED]
 Define Indicator 1...
1. First outcome statement
INDICATORS AS REQUIRED]
 Define Indicator 1...
1. First outcome statement
INDICATORS AS REQUIRED]
 Define Indicator 1...

[ADD MORE / LESS
[ADD MORE / LESS
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Define target
o
Define target
o
Define target
o
Detail baseline position
o
Detail baseline position
o
Detail baseline position

Define Indicator 2...
Define Indicator 2...

Define Indicator 2...
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Define target
o
Define target
o
Define target
o
Detail baseline position
o
Detail baseline position
o
Detail baseline position
2. Second outcome statement
INDICATORS AS REQUIRED]
 Define Indicator 1...

[ADD MORE / LESS
[ADD MORE / LESS
2. Second outcome statement
INDICATORS AS REQUIRED]
 Define Indicator 1...
[ADD MORE / LESS
2. Second outcome statement
INDICATORS AS REQUIRED]
 Define Indicator 1...
[ADD MORE / LESS
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Define target
o
Define target
o
Define target
o
Detail baseline position
o
Detail baseline position
o
Detail baseline position
Define Indicator 2...

Define Indicator 2...

Define Indicator 2...
23
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Define target
o
Define target
o
Define target
o
Detail baseline position
o
Detail baseline position
o
Detail baseline position
FOR THE PROJECT-LEVEL PARTNER
24
Anticipated short-term outcomes: How / when you will
collect evidence to demonstrate achievement of your
short-term outcomes
Anticipated longer-term outcomes: How / when you will
collect evidence to demonstrate achievement of your
longer-term outcomes
1. First outcome statement
INDICATORS AS REQUIRED]
 Define Indicator 1...
1. First outcome statement
INDICATORS AS REQUIRED]
 Define Indicator 1...

[ADD MORE / LESS
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Define target
o
Define target
o
Detail baseline position
o
Detail baseline position

Define Indicator 2...
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Define target
o
Define target
o
Detail baseline position
o
Detail baseline position
[ADD MORE / LESS
2. Second outcome statement
INDICATORS AS REQUIRED]
 Define Indicator 1...
[ADD MORE / LESS
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Define target
o
Define target
o
Detail baseline position
o
Detail baseline position
Define Indicator 2...

Define Indicator 2...
1. First outcome statement [ADD MORE / LESS INDICATORS
AS REQUIRED]
 Define Indicator 1...

Define Indicator 2...
o
2. Second outcome statement
INDICATORS AS REQUIRED]
 Define Indicator 1...

[ADD MORE / LESS
Anticipated impacts: How / when you will collect evidence
to demonstrate achievements of your impacts
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Define target
o
Detail baseline position
Define Indicator 2...
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Define target
o
Detail baseline position
2. Second outcome statement
INDICATORS AS REQUIRED]
 Define Indicator 1...

[ADD MORE / LESS
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Define target
o
Detail baseline position
Define Indicator 2...
o
Detail data collection method(s)
25
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Define target
o
Define target
o
Define target
o
Detail baseline position
o
Detail baseline position
o
Detail baseline position
FOR THE TEAM-LEVEL (LOCAL) PARTNER
26
Anticipated short-term outcomes: How / when you will
collect evidence to demonstrate achievement of your
short-term outcomes
Anticipated longer-term outcomes: How / when you will
collect evidence to demonstrate achievement of your
longer-term outcomes
1. First outcome statement
INDICATORS AS REQUIRED]
 Define Indicator 1...
1. First outcome statement
INDICATORS AS REQUIRED]
 Define Indicator 1...

[ADD MORE / LESS
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Define target
o
Define target
o
Detail baseline position
o
Detail baseline position

Define Indicator 2...
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Define target
o
Define target
o
Detail baseline position
o
Detail baseline position
[ADD MORE / LESS
2. Second outcome statement
INDICATORS AS REQUIRED]
 Define Indicator 1...
[ADD MORE / LESS
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Define target
o
Define target
o
Detail baseline position
o
Detail baseline position
Define Indicator 2...

Define Indicator 2...
1. First outcome statement [ADD MORE / LESS INDICATORS
AS REQUIRED]
 Define Indicator 1...

Define Indicator 2...
o
2. Second outcome statement
INDICATORS AS REQUIRED]
 Define Indicator 1...

[ADD MORE / LESS
Anticpated impacts: How / when you will collect evidence to
demonstrate achievements of your impacts
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Define target
o
Detail baseline position
Define Indicator 2...
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Define target
o
Detail baseline position
2. Second outcome statement
INDICATORS AS REQUIRED]
 Define Indicator 1...

[ADD MORE / LESS
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Define target
o
Detail baseline position
Define Indicator 2...
o
Detail data collection method(s)
27
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Detail data collection method(s)
o
Define target
o
Define target
o
Define target
o
Detail baseline position
o
Detail baseline position
o
Detail baseline position
Reporting milestones for this project: [POSITIONING TO BE SPECIFIED BY AGENCY TO SUIT OVERALL SCHEDULE - NOTE: THE HUB REQUIRE AT LEAST ONE UPDATE PER YEAR]
Project update 1.. MM/YYYY
Project update 2.. MM/YYYY
Project debrief:
MM/YYYY
28
Summary illustration: [PLEASE SUMMARISE PROJECT DETAILS IN THE PPT FILE ATTACHED, THEN PASTE INTO THIS DOCUMENT AS A PICTURE]
29
Appendix 2
Team Planning Tool
Agency:
Staff name:
Date: DD/MM/YYYY
Country:
Project title:
Programme:
Sector:
Education
Health
Livelihoods
Team title:
Environment
Civic participation
Team number (within overall Project plan):
If this team follows previous teams for this project, how will this team's work link to / build on the work on prior project activity?
Open text response
Has this team reviewed the Debrief report (and associated handover notes) produced by the previous team? Yes / No / Not applicable
[DELETE AS APPROPRIATE]
Location: local communities / region
Local partner(s): if relevant
Start date: DD/MM/YYYY
End date: DD/MM/YYYY
UKVs
Number of UKVs: volunteers and Team Leaders
ICVs
Number of ICVs: volunteers and Team Leaders
Accommodation arrangements for UKVs: Host home / Non host home
[DELETE AS APPROPRIATE]
Accommodation arrangements for ICVs: Host home / Non host home
[DELETE AS APPROPRIATE]
30
If non host home, please describe the type of accommodation used - and explain
why a host home is not being used.
If non host home, please describe the type of accommodation used - and explain
why a host home is not being used.
Staff support provided for this team
Open text response – use of Team Leaders / Prog Supervisors / others to supervise and support teams and individual vols
Planned activities
Anticipated outputs
Activities to be delivered:
[SELECT AS APPROPRIATE]
 Peer education
Description
Number of peer education sessions / hours to be delivered - with expected
number of attendees (by type i.e. % female)

Action research
Description
Number of action research projects to be carried out - with expected number of
consultees (by type i.e. % female)

Awareness raising
Description
Number of awareness raising events to be delivered - with expected number of
attendees (by type i.e. % female)

Training
Description
Number of training sessions / hours to be delivered - with expected number of
attendees (by type i.e. % female)

Resource development
Description
Number / type of resources to be developed - with expected reach / audience (by
type i.e. % female)

Community infrastructure development
Description

Other(s) – please specify
Description
Number of infrastructure projects to be completed - with expected number of
beneficiaries (by type i.e. % female)
Number of... please specify
31
Links to other non-ICS projects / programmes locally
Open text response – for example, planned interaction with other long-term volunteers / development workers
32
Expected contributions to project outcomes
Commentary
FOR THE COMMUNITY
Short-term outcomes:
1.
2.
3.
Longer-term outcomes:
1.
2.
3.
Open text response:
-
-
Will this team's activities help to deliver these outcomes? If so, how?
Given the timescales over which these outcomes are expected to accrue, what signs of
positive change should the team be looking out for? How will they know they are on the
right track?
Are the team expected to play a role in data collection to evidence progress in achieving
these outcomes? If so, how / when / where / what?
Impacts:
1.
2.
3.
FOR LOCAL PARTNER ORGANISATIONS
Short-term outcomes:
1.
2.
3.
Longer-term outcomes:
1.
2.
3.
Open text response:
-
-
Will this team's activities help to deliver these outcomes? If so, how?
Given the timescales over which these outcomes are expected to accrue, what signs of
positive change should the team be looking out for? How will they know they are on the
right track?
Are the team expected to play a role in data collection to evidence progress in achieving
these outcomes? If so, how / when / where / what?
Impacts:
1.
2.
3.
33
Appendix 3
Mid-Term Report
Agency:
Staff name:
Date:
Country:
Project title:
Programme:
Sector:
Team title:
Planned activities
Team number (within overall Project plan):
According to the team has this been
achieved?
According to the Team Leader & ICS
Programme Manager has this been achieved?
Activities that have been delivered: (this can be copied from
Team Planning Tool)

Peer education
Brief description
-
Y / N / Partially
Evidenced by:
-
Y / N / Partially
Evidenced by:

Action research
Brief description
-
Y / N / Partially
Evidenced by:
-
Y / N / Partially
Evidenced by:

Awareness raising
Brief description
-
Y / N / Partially
Evidenced by:
-
Y / N / Partially
Evidenced by:
34

Training
Brief description
-
Y / N / Partially
Evidenced by:
-
Y / N / Partially
Evidenced by:

Resource development
Brief description
-
Y / N / Partially
Evidenced by:
-
Y / N / Partially
Evidenced by:

Community infrastructure development
Brief description
-
Y / N / Partially
Evidenced by:
-
Y / N / Partially
Evidenced by:
Please use this space to explain how the team will plan to work towards the completion of the above activities (Where not already
complete)
35
Appendix - 4 Learning Matrix
Personal competences:
Task-related competences:
a) Confidence, self-assurance and self-esteem
b) Self awareness and an ability to learn / reflect
Some placements:
a) Planning & project management skills – organisational skills & time
management
c) Language skills
d) Facilitation skills
e) Presentation skills
f) Event management skills
g) Research & community engagement skills (consultation & awareness raising)
h) Fundraising skills
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
Self management skills – adaptability, independence and resilience
Communication skills – listening and speaking
Leadership skills – assertiveness, decision making and delegation
Coaching skills – motivating and supporting others
Self-motivation – goal setting
Able to work in a team – building relationships, conflict management &
negotiation
Problem solving skills – thinking analytically, solution-seeking in a creative way
and knowing how to overcome obstacles
i)
Budgeting skills
Intercultural understanding:
Development of a global perspective:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
Raised awareness of global development issues, including:
a) Understanding the root causes of poverty / inequality
b) Understanding the purpose of MDGs / development policy
c) Understanding the purpose of NGO interventions
d) Understanding the role of young people in development
e) Understanding the complex linkages between the global north-south
Tolerance, breaking down prejudices, dispelling simplistic / un-informed views
Awareness of own cultural context / characteristics
Awareness of cultural differences and the value of diversity
Empathy – sensitivity to the needs of others
Open-mindedness and a willingness to try new things
Understanding what motivates people of different backgrounds to act as they
do
Inspired to do (more):
a) Motivation – understanding how global development issues affect people around you (feeling inclined to influence and effect change)
b) Empowerment – understanding how you can get involved (feeling able to influence and effect change)
36
Appendix 5: ICS Group Reflection Template
Date
Team
Partners
Volunteer
Name
Question 1
Have you tried or experienced anything new this week? What did you learn
from it?
What has this taught you about the differences between local culture of
the In-Country Volunteers and the culture in the home countries of the
International Volunteers? What do you think are the reasons for these
differences?
Discussion Points
Question 2
What do you think are the root causes of poverty and inequality? Has your
opinion changed? If so, why?
Discussion Points
Question 3
What do you think are the roles of NGOs in development? Has your
opinion changed? If so, why?
Discussion Points
Question 4
What do role do you think young people have in development? Has your
opinion changed? If so, why?
Discussion Points
37
Question 5
What do you think connects people globally? Are these good are bad
things? Has your opinion changed? If so, why?
Discussion Points
38
Appendix 6
Supervision Meeting Record
Supervisor:
Agenda Items
Supervisee:
Date:
Action Points
Summary of Session
Issues to be Carried
Forward to Next
Session
Date of Next
Session
39
Appendix 7
Team Debrief Tool
[SHOULD REFLECT THE TEAM PLAN]
Agency:
Staff name: primary author
Date: DD/MM/YYYY
Country:
Project title:
Programme:
Sector:
Education
Health
Livelihoods
Environment
Civic participation
Team title:
Team number:
Location: local communities / region
Local partner(s): if relevant
Start date: DD/MM/YYYY
End date: DD/MM/YYYY
UKVs
ICVs
Early returns: volunteers and Team Leaders
ICVs not completing the placement: volunteers and Team Leaders
Reasons / context: open text response
Reasons / context: open text response
40
Activities
Activities delivered:
[SELECT AS APPROPRIATE]
 Peer education
Description
Outputs
-
Actual number of peer education sessions delivered, with number / type of
attendees
- if different from Team Plan, please explain
Action research
Description
-
Actual number of action research projects carried out, with number / type of
consultees - if different from Team Plan, please explain
Awareness raising
Description
-
Actual number of awareness raising events delivered, with number / type of
attendees - if different from Team Plan, please explain
Training
Description
-
Actual number of training sessions delivered, with number / type of attendees - if
different from Team Plan, please explain

Resource development
Description
-
Actual number / type of resources developed, with number / type of reach or
audience - if different from Team Plan, please explain

Community infrastructure development
Description
-
Actual number of infrastructure projects completed, with number / type of
beneficiaries - if different from Team Plan, please explain

Other(s) – please specify
Description
-
Actual number of... please specify - if different from Team Plan, please explain



41
Please describe any other (unexpected) results, either positive or negative produced by team activity.
Open text response
Please describe any issues / occurrences that influenced the achievement of results either negatively or positively. What effect did they have and what actions
were taken in response?
Open text response
Contributions to project outcomes
FOR THE COMMUNITY
Short-term outcomes:
1.
2.
3.
Longer-term outcomes:
1.
2.
3.
Impacts:
1.
2.
3.
Commentary
Open text response:
Thinking about the anticipated community
outcomes agreed at the team planning stage,
have the team observed any significant
positive change?
- If so, how has the team contributing
to bringing about this change?
- If not, why not?
Assessment of progress
For community outcomes, how much
progress has the team observed:
[DELETE AS APPROPRIATE]
 Considerable progress
 Some progress
 No progress at this stage - but expected
over the longer term
 No progress at this stage - not expected
over the longer term
Based on the team's experience, do the
community outcomes agreed at the team
planning stage still make sense? If not, why
not and what might be a better alternative?
42
FOR LOCAL PARTNER ORGANISATIONS
Short-term outcomes:
1.
2.
3.
Longer-term outcomes:
1.
2.
3.
Impacts:
1.
2.
3.
Open text response:
Thinking about the anticipated community
outcomes agreed at the team planning stage,
have the team observed any significant
positive change?
- If so, how has the team contributing
to bringing about this change?
- If not, why not?
For local partner outcomes, how much
progress has the team observed:
[DELETE AS APPROPRIATE]
 Considerable progress
 Some progress
 No progress at this stage - but expected
over the longer term
 No progress at this stage - not expected
over the longer term
Based on the team's experience, do the
community outcomes agreed at the team
planning stage still make sense? If not, why
not and what might be a better alternative?
43
Do you think the staff support your team received during your placement enabled you to do your best work? If so, how? If not, why not?
Open text response – use of Team Leaders / Prog Supervisors / others to supervise and support teams and individual vols
Please summarise any lessons learned.
Of all the things you have done to carry out your project work, what has worked particularly well? Open text response
Is there anything you would do differently if you could start your project work over again? Open text response
Do you think your team was able to engage meaningfully with the local community during your placement - via host homes and / or community
projects?
If so, how? If not, why not?
Open text response
44
VIEWS ON OVERALL DEVELOPMENT IMPACT
VOLUNTEER VOICE (UKVs and ICVs) [SHOULD BE A CONSENSUS SCORE - DISCUSSED AND AGREED FOR THE WHOLE TEAM]
[DELETE IF NOT USING LOCAL PARTNERS]
Would you say that your host organisation is better able to support
development / bring about positive change in the local area as a
result of their work with ICS (the work your team has done, as well
as the work of previous teams on this project)?
o Yes, very much
Would you say that ICS activities (the work your team has done, as
well as the work of previous teams on this project) are helping to
support development / bring about positive change in the local
area?
o Yes, very much
o Yes, to some extent
o Yes, to some extent
o No
o No
o Don't know
o Don't know
Commentary: open text response
Commentary: open text response
LOCAL PARTNER ORGANISATION VOICE [SHOULD BE BASED ON HONEST CONSULTATION AND DIALOGUE WITH THE LOCAL PARTNER ORG]
45
[DELETE IF NOT USING LOCAL PARTNERS]
o Would you say that your organisation is better able to
support development / bring about positive change in the
local area as a result of your work with ICS?
[DELETE IF NOT USING LOCAL PARTNERS]
Would you say that ICS activities are helping to support
development / bring about positive change in the local area?
o Yes, very much
o Yes, very much
o Yes, to some extent
o Yes, to some extent
o No
o No
o Don't know
o Don't know
Commentary: open text response
Commentary: open text response
OTHER VOICES: Has the team done any research to gauge the community / other stakeholder groups’ opinion on the value of ICS project activities? If
so, please summarise results.
Open text response
If additional teams will arrive to work on this project in future months, what 3 pieces of information or advice would you like to pass on to them?
1. Open text response
2. Open text response
Open text response
46
If handover documentation has been produced, please upload the file here.
47
Appendix 8
Team Case Study
This case study should be led by the team leader and completed with participation from
the team. This is where you will tell your team’s story about what you’ve been doing
and the impact that’s been made.
Where were you?
Describe the community you were
living & working in.
Who did it affect? Why? How?
This is a good place to introduce your
partner organisation.
Why/how are they working to
address and overcome this problem
in their community?
Is it rural/urban? How big is it?
What’s the region like? Is it
near the coast/mountainous..?
What kind of industry is there,
what sort of jobs do people
do?
Who are the people who live
there?
What were you doing?
What was the main problem or challenge
your team was trying to address?
How did you team contribute to their
work?
Summarise the steps your team took to
address the problem/challenge.
How did you choose and plan your
activities? Did you build on the work of a
previous ICS team?
What kind of work did you do and get
involved in? Who did you work with?
Were there different stages
to your project?
48
The change you made
What were the results of your team’s work?
What did you achieve as a team?
How did people in the
community benefit from your
work?
How is it sustainable / will it be
continued?
What have you learnt from doing
the project?
Remember to include a specific
example of something the team
achieved.
This could be an activity you
organised, or the specific impact
you had on an individual, group,
or organisation.
Use concrete
stats and facts.
How to do your case study
As long as you follow this guidance, it can be done as an article, a slideshow,
a presentation, a film, as interviews, or however you prefer.
Include lots of direct quotes from the people you’ve been working with.
Remember to say who they are, what their role in the community it, and how your
project engaged them.
Let people speak for themselves – on film, on audio, via interview, through quotes in
your piece. This is a unique opportunity to make that happen.
Use pictures that illustrate your story, that show the team at work or show the impact
you’ve had. Remember to get signed permission from people in the photos.
Every member of the team needs a copy of the case study.
It will be useful for your Action at Home back in the UK, and your future portfolios.
Don’t rely on just one member of the team having a copy. Computers have been broken
and entire team case studies/photos/videos have been lost on more than one occasion.
49
Appendix 9
Individual Debrief Tool
In-Country Evaluation and Action at Home Planning
The in-country debrief at the end of your ICS placement is an opportunity to:
1) Evaluate your placement and the ICS programme
2) Reflect upon your personal experience and learning
3) Start planning how you will communicate your about your project and
experience
4) Start planning what to do next in your career
5) Start planning for your action back in the UK
Debriefs are undertaken in a team environment, facilitated by Team Leaders.
The International Service field team will provide support if necessary.
All volunteer feedback will be synthesised and presented at the Returned Volunteer
weekend in York where there will be opportunities to explore your feedback in more
depth.
Your feedback helps us ensure that we provide the best possible support to our
volunteers and our in-country partners. It also helps us support our network of
returned volunteers.
(Volunteers are to keep a copy of their completed debrief forms)
50
Appendix 10
Placement evaluation
Please provide feedback on the following areas. Make your comments brief, clear and
balanced. It is great to get both positive and negative feedback- if you have any
suggestions for how we can make changes please add them to your comments.
Volunteer
name
Country of
placement
Dates of
placement
1.1 Pre-Departure Training
Project
Partner
Team Leader
1.2 In-Country Induction Training
1.3 ICS Project Briefings
1.4 ICS Risk Assessment
1.5 Accommodation & Allowances
1.6 Monitoring & Evaluation
1.7 Supervision & Support
1.8 Other Key Feedback
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Appendix 11
Individual Case Study
This case study is completed by all volunteers as part of their in-country debrief.
This is an opportunity for you to share the story of your personal journey through the ICS
programme, and what you have learnt.
It helps demonstrate what ICS has achieved and helps establish the most effective way of
supporting volunteer learning and development. It also helps you develop a snap-shot of
your own learning which can help with interviews, applications and explaining your
experiences to others.
Start by letting us know:





Your name and where you are from
Which ICS agency you volunteered with
The project title
The country and location of your placement
The project partner you worked with
Your learning
What have you learnt through your ICS experience?
How would you describe yourself before the programme?
How would you describe yourself now?
Did ICS contribute to this change and how?
What’s changed?
Is there anything that you are doing now or plan to do that you weren’t doing
before the programme?
Has ICS impacted on your future plans?
If so, how?
Your story
Is there one memory from your ICS experience that stands out to you?
Please describe it, and explain why it’s important to you.
Provide a personal quote that represents and summarises your story
Include a picture that illustrates your story - a picture of you and/or your team in action,
or something that shows the impact you have had.
Remember to get signed permission from people in the photos to allow their image to
be used.
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Appendix 12
Team Presentation
Communicating your project and experience as a team
Each team must produce a 5 minute presentation about their project.
Putting together a presentation about your project as a whole is useful for several
reasons:
 It helps you build a narrative about what your team did – what you achieved
and learned over the course of your placement
 You can use it in your UK action
 It is a resource you can use in the longer term at talks, activities, events, or
even interviews
 It helps International Service and our partners to communicate about the
work we do together
Guidance for your team presentation
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
The presentation should be about the project, not the team’s personal experiences.
Feature your project partner, what they do, the challenges they face, and the
difference they aim to make within their community / region / country.
Cover how the team went about putting your project together.
Include the main challenges faced by the team, and how you dealt with them.
Highlight 1 or 2 main activities the team undertook during the project.
Address the SO WHAT factor. If you held workshops or a community event, or
trained people in IT skills, or helped your project partner develop a marketing plan –
SO WHAT? What does your project mean for people’s lives, and the work of your
project partner?
Use plain English. You’re probably now used to terms like ‘beneficiary’,
‘mainstreaming’, ‘capacity building’, ‘inclusion’… But your audience is unlikely to be
familiar with development jargon.
All the work you have done it putting together your team impact case study should
make doing your team presentation very easy.
All teams will show their presentations at the Returned Volunteer
weekend
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Appendix 13
Action at Home Planning
In addition to your team presentation, it’s likely that you have produced other materials
during your placement which you can use to communicate about your experience (e.g.
personal blogs, photographs, films, personal diary, audio, team story of change)
You (either alone or with your team) may already have a few ideas about where you
want to share your experience when you return to the UK, and how you could do that.
Use this space to record your ideas for communicating your learning and experience,
and the materials you need to do that. These early ideas will help with planning your
Action at Home, which we will do in detail at your Returned Volunteer event in York.
Your initial plans and the resources you might need for communicating your
experience
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Appendix 14
What Next?
Use this space to detail what your career plans are for your return, for example:
whether you’re planning on returning to education, getting into UK volunteering, or
seeking further experience in the international development sector…
What impact will your ICS experience have on your future?
Other reflections
Use this space if there are other issues that the de-brief form has not given you chance to
feed back on
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Appendix 15
Action at Home Report
This form is to be completed by all volunteers following the completion of their action at
home.
1. Volunteer name:
2. ICS agency:
3. Country of placement:
4. Location of placement (town or region):
5. Month & year placement started:
6. Month & year placement ended:
7. [ ] UK volunteer [ ] In-Country volunteer
8: Where was your action at home held (please give town or district, and country):
9. Please select the sector addressed by the social action. Choose one sector your social
action most focused on:







Education
Health
Livelihoods
Sexual and Reproductive Health
Strengthening Civil Society
Environment
Other
If other please list the sector here:
10. What were the aims of your social action?
 To raise awareness of an issue
 To encourage others to volunteer
 To change people’s behavior
 To involve others in taking action
 To raise funds for a project
 To create a link between individuals/organizations in the UK and another country
 Other
If other please list your aims here:
11. Please describe in brief your social action. Tell us what you planned to do, what actually
happened and what was achieved:
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12. How many people attended/were engaged with your action:
13. Did any community leaders or officials attend your action (e.g. politicians, local
government officials)?
Yes
No
If yes, please give details of who attended, and their position:
14. Did your action receive any media coverage?
Yes
No
If yes, please give the name of the newspaper, radio station or TV station, or a link to the
social media site:
If you used social media how many hits/likes did you receive?
15. How would you estimate the success of your action:
Very
successful
(1)
Successful
(2)
Neutral (3)
Not
successful
(4)
Not at all
successful
(5)





16. Please provide a quote from someone attending the action describing what they learnt
or what they intend to do as a result of your action:
17. Do you plan to continue volunteering at home or have future plans to expand on their
social action? If yes, please give details of your plans here:
18. Do you have any further comments or reflections on your social action?
Thank you for completing the Action at Home Project report
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Appendix 16
Global Citizen Case Study
During each quarter International Service is required to provide a report to DFID. As part of
this we will select one volunteer to complete a Global Citizen Case Study. This will give
further detail about your Action at Home project and the wider impact your ICS placement
has had on you and, if possible, your community. The format is a more detailed version of
the Action at Home Report:
Start by letting us know:




Your name and where you are from
Which ICS agency you volunteered with
The location, country and host partner of your placement
The project title
WHAT DID YOU DO?
Describe your action at home project.
What did you do and how?
What impact do you think your project may have had on your local
community or target audience?
WHY?
Why did you choose this project?
How does your project relate to your ICS experience?
WHAT NEXT
Are there any aspects of your project that you plan to continue?
Are you doing or are you planning to do any volunteering in your
community now that the programme has finished?
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Young people are sometimes accused of not contributing to society.
Following your ICS experience, how would you respond to this statement?
Provide a quote that shows the impact of your Action at Home project. This could be from
someone who has benefitted from the project, attended an event you’ve organised etc.
Remember to give their name, position/role in the community and location.
Include a picture that illustrates your Action at Home project or the impact it has had.
e.g a picture of you carrying out your project or the people you have worked with.
Make sure you ask anyone in the photo to sign a permission form to allow their image to be
used.
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Appendix 17
ICS Case Study Guidelines
Introduction to case studies
Who are case studies for?
DfID, recruitment, inspire young people, media, marketing materials, annual reports,
internal communication, potential donors.
Why do we have case studies?
So that we can show people what we are doing and demonstrate how we are running
programmes effectively and delivering results.
They are a simple and engaging way to share the work that we are doing.
They are a different way of presenting information – sometimes it can be quite a refreshing
change from technical documents.
What makes a good case study
A case study should tell a story. You should start by setting the scene so that the reader
understands the context.
Case studies should be short and to the point. Never repeat yourself and never provide
unnecessary details. Make every word count.
You will have done a lot of different things during your project, but the case study shouldn’t
try and summarise all of this – just choose one really strong example to focus on.
Make sure you find it interesting, engaging and easy to understand. If you don’t think it is,
then why would anyone else?
Dos and Don’ts
Do
Write in short, well structured and easy-to-read sentences
Tell a story. Set the scene so the reader understands the context
Break down your story into clear sections
Choose interesting/powerful quotes that illustrate the point you are trying to make
Provide statistics on the wider issue the work is trying to address if you can find these
Don’t
Guess or – worse- lie! If it didn’t happen, or if you didn’t have any input, don’t pretend that
it/you did!
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Use jargon or acronyms – the reader won’t know what this is!
Repeat yourself
Include too much detail. Make sure that each sentence relates to the overall point you are
trying to make
Some tips for conducting interviews
Interviewing community members may be a good way to gather information for your
case study. If you are carrying out interviews, here are some useful points to bear in
mind:










Start by asking the basic key information : full name, age, location,
role/position in the community
Be clear of what you are hoping to obtain from the interview before you do it.
Make sure you feel you have it before you finish.
Ask the person you are interviewing to explain examples / specific incidents
Ask the person you are interviewing to tell you how they feel
Don’t be afraid of asking the same thing twice – sometimes you need to ask
the same question a few times in a different way to get a good response.
Ask one question at a time
Make the questions simple and straightforward
Avoid questions that will prompt only a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response
Do your best to try to relate to the person you are interviewing. They may
relate to you and open up If they feel they are talking to someone who cares.
If someone stutters, repeats themselves or speaks in jargon, it is fine to sub
edit their words but don’t change the meaning of what they say.
Photos
Please try and include a photo to illustrate your story. This could show the team at
work, or something that shows the impact you’ve had.
Please make sure you get signed permission from anyone in the photo, as we may
want to use it on our website or in publicity materials etc. If the photo includes any
young people under the age of 18, you must get signed permission from their parent,
guardian or teacher. Please use the Photo Consent Form that is available from the
ICS Hub.
You could also include other resources, such as youtube footage, links to blogs or
examples of your work (such as reports or research).
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Photography Consent Form
I give my permission for International Citizen Service (ICS) and its consortium partners 1 to use my photograph and/ or photography and/ or audio visual material in
its promotional materials of all kinds, including but not limited to, marketing literature, media and press materials and briefing papers, websites and social media
sites. In the case of young people under the age of 18, this form should be signed by a parent, guardian or teacher.
(n.b. this form is for use with case studies)
Name
Address
1
Telephone/ email
Date
Signature
VSO, Restless Development, Progressio, Tearfund, Raleigh, and International Service
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