The Outcome Harvesting is an effective methodology to evaluate development projects that seek to cultivate and advance social enterprises within intricate and multifaceted contexts. Amidst the ever-evolving socio-economic, political, and cultural dynamics characterizing complex environments, traditional evaluation approaches often fall short in capturing the nuanced outcomes of such projects. In the paper titled “Using Outcome Harvesting to evaluate socio-economic development and social innovation generated by Social Enterprises in complex areas. The case of BADAEL project in Lebanon” Gabriele Tomei, Associate Professor of General Sociology at the Department of Political Science of the University of Pisa, Linda Terenzi, M&E and Impact Evaluation Unit, and Enrico Testi, Social Economy and Sustainability Management Unit, analyse the experience of the Building Alternative Development Assets and Entrepreneurial Learning (BADAEL) project, through which different SEs have participated to drive social development and social innovation in some fragile areas of Lebanon.
The role of Social enterprises in complex contests
For a long time now, social enterprises have served as strategic engines for fostering inclusive and sustainable development. This role has been particularly emphasized in the context of local development processes in developed countries, in which SEs have been operating as valuable incubators of social innovation, especially during times of economic crisis. Inclusion, development and innovation are the specific coordinates that define the strategic mission of SEs, at the heart of which is their ability to generate a social impact on the territory and within the community.
More recently the proliferation of the entrepreneurial and organizational model of SEs in many developing countries, activating some similar processes to, and in some cases even more significant than, those recorded in developed countries. Indeed, in many developing countries, the widespread weakness of the state, the specific lack of social protection systems and the high consistency of the informal economy (both in terms of number of workers and relevance on Gross Domestic Product) assign to SEs a decisive subsidiary role. Their significance lies not only in the internal production of social capital but also in the specific functioning of strategic support for the development of the territories and communities in which they operate.
Outcome Harvesting
Outcome Harvesting (OH) is generally recognized as a qualitative approach to impact assessment and, more specifically, it is an “evaluation methodology used to identify, describe, verify and analyse the changes brought about through a development intervention”.
This methodology combines two other characteristics that make it particularly flexible and suitable for the evaluation of non-linear programs implemented in complex contexts: (a) it offers the possibility of structuring and quantifying originally qualitative evaluation constructs (stories, perceptions…); (b) it actively involves the project partners and stakeholders, promoting reflexivity and empowerment among them.
By adopting Outcome Harvesting, the study argues that evaluators gain a robust tool to systematically collect, analyse, and interpret the intended and unintended impacts of development initiatives in complex and changing contexts.
Project BADAEL in Lebanon
The BADAEL project was led by Oxfam in partnership with Beyond Reform and Development (BRD), UTOPIA and Association Najdeh, funded by the EU Madad Trust Fund. The project ran from December 2017 to August 2020 in the regions of Lebanon North and Bekaa, involving the cities of Tripoli, Beddawi camp, Nahr eb Bared camp, el Minieh, Koura, Saadnayel and Jebjenine. BADAEL project aims at contributing to social stability and community resilience by engaging community members, individuals and local authorities to: i) strengthen the ability of individuals and communities to engage in innovative and sustainable solutions to unemployment and socio-economic deprivation; ii) promote social entrepreneurship as a mechanism for youth civic engagement and addressing socio-economic needs in vulnerable communities.
The project was executed within a context marked by a multitude of intricacies, encompassing factors such as a fragile governance framework, insufficient fiscal policies, and prevalent instances of corruption and nepotism. Furthermore, the substantial presence of Syrian and Palestinian refugees added an extra layer of difficulty to the pre-existing socio-economic predicaments. Moreover, throughout the project’s implementation, additional external variables posed formidable challenges to the planned course of action. Examples of these include the political turmoil that transpired in October 2019, accompanied by subsequent socio-economic and financial upheavals, volatility in prices, currency devaluation, and the profound socio-health crisis brought about by Covid-19. These unforeseen circumstances necessitated the project management team to devise pragmatic solutions to surmount these emerging hindrances.
The outcome harvesting process focused on highlighting the main results achieved by the project during its implementation period among the various stakeholder categories. Furthermore, it allowed for a more in-depth exploration of the best practices that emerged during the project implementation. In this analysis, various elements for discussion emerged which can be considered as recommendations for the implementation of future projects.