Ripple Effect Mapping

Ripple Effect Mapping (REM) is a participatory evaluation process that explores the wider impact (ripples) of a planned intervention or change. In traditional evaluation, we often explore whether we did or didn’t achieve the desired outcomes, and these are often linked to quantitative data. REM is more closely related to a qualitative approach that captures the ‘unintended’ consequences of an intervention and which decisions or changes, had the most or least impact on an outcome. It allows us to see connections between our work and capture the ‘ripples’, which may have developed much wider than our original intended consequence.

The REM process can include a wide range of voices, making it more likely that we get a more holistic picture of the impact, and telling a rich story about what has happened for all the people involved.

REM helps you explore the bits of a journey you may not find out about in more traditional evaluation and shape decisions about what to do more, or less, of, in the future.

The session will cover:

• An introduction to the principles that underpin co-evaluation and involvement with the community
• Consider how you ‘close the loop’ and feed information back to the community
• Reflect on traditional evaluation and the opportunities that REM offers
• An outline of the REM process
• Consider how you can use and analyse the data you capture