How to Learn During the Program Implementation Phase

We have the money, the staff, and the work plan; what's next?

Hello and welcome to the 13th Edition of #LearnAdaptManage. Thank you to our 3,131 subscribers for joining us on our journey to use #evidence to inform decisions and actions in #internationaldevelopment. ?? Click the subscribe button on the upper right corner to join us!

The 12th Edition examined how we can start building a learning culture during the planning phase of a program. It focused on 3 key activities where learning should be prioritized: 1) Reviewing and revising the Theory of Change (ToC), 2) Hiring Program Staff, and 3) Intervention Design.

In this Edition, we look at opportunities to prioritize learning during the prioritized learning during the implementation phase.

How do we prioritize learning?

I will share 3 key ways that you can prioritize learning during the implementation phase.

1) Create a Program Learning Plan/Agenda

Once you have reviewed and revised your ToC and designed your interventions, then it is time to create a learning plan/Agenda. A learning agenda contains 1) prioritized learning questions, 2) planned activities, and 3) products that facilitate learning and decision-making in a program.

The program learning agenda will support the team in testing the ToC assumptions, assessing if the logical pathways lead to the expected immediate results, and evaluating if the approaches fit the purpose.

If you're interested in creating a learning agenda from scratch, you can find more details in Edition 5 and Edition 6 of the LAM Newsletter.

2) Operationalize your Learning Plan

Creating a learning plan is not operationalizing a learning plan. The team must dedicate the resources required and implement systems to ensure continuous learning throughout the implementation period.

As presented in USAID's Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) framework, the enabling conditions summarize vital aspects to consider, including resources, processes, and culture.

One vital highlight is that psychological safety should be prioritized when creating a learning culture. You can read more about psychological safety in the 8th Edition .

3) Review and Revise the Learning Plan Accordingly

Like any other process, program learning should be evaluated for its effectiveness. One way to achieve this is by reflecting on the current situation, creating a vision for the future, and developing an action plan to reach the desired state.

Glady, there are tools designed to do this specifically! The USAID CLA Maturity Tool is an excellent place to start. In addition to the 'original' toolkit, I recommend reviewing the CLA Maturity Tool for Implementing Partners materials and Options for Adapting the CLA Maturity Self Assessment Process blog.

Thank you for reading this far! Please check out the linked materials and have a bigger picture of what program learning can look like for your program during the planning and implementation phase.

As usual, I love hearing your feedback on the value you are getting from the newsletter and if you would like me to explore any specific topics in future editions!

PS: Do you have a program learning plan? What learning activities do you prioritize in your program?

Florence Randari is an experienced Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) professional who has built effective monitoring and learning systems and processes for programs across East Africa for almost a decade. Her expertise lies in helping teams develop and maintain a learning and adaptive management culture that ultimately leads to tangible improvements in program impact. She is the founder of Learn Adapt Manage (LAM) .