Funders want ‘outcomes’ but we cannot afford an M&E person. What do you actually track when it is just you?
Track three things, well, forever. Not fifteen things badly for one grant cycle.
Pick one output you fully control (sessions held, children enrolled). Pick one outcome that is a genuine proxy for change and that you can measure with a phone (attendance sustained at 6 months, a simple pre/post assessment). Pick one story-level qualitative check (five structured conversations a quarter, same questions each time).
The magic is not the sophistication, it is the consistency. Three years of the same three honest numbers is far more persuasive to a serious funder than a 40-indicator framework you abandoned after one cycle, and they can tell the difference immediately.
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we currently have about 22 indicators and track maybe 4 of them properly. This is both a relief and a reality check. It’s as much a relief as it is a wake-up call
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and cost the measurement into the grant. see the budget thread in #9. If the funder wants outcome data, the funder can fund the collection of it.
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