Course Details

M&E for Climate Change and Environmental Projects Training Course

INTRODUCTION

This essential training course provides comprehensive knowledge and practical skills for designing and implementing robust Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) systems tailored for climate change adaptation, mitigation, and broader environmental projects. Recognizing the unique complexities, long-term horizons, and scientific intricacies involved in these critical interventions, this program equips participants with a systematic understanding of specialized indicators, data collection methodologies, and analytical approaches. Participants will gain deep insights into measuring environmental outcomes, assessing climate resilience, tracking emission reductions, and navigating the challenges of attribution in ecological systems, all crucial for demonstrating impact, ensuring accountability, and informing future climate action. This course is ideal for M&E specialists, environmental program managers, climate change practitioners, researchers, and policymakers in the environmental sector.

TARGET AUDIENCE

This course is specifically designed for professionals involved in planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating projects and programs with climate change or environmental objectives, including:

• M&E Specialists in environmental, climate change, or disaster risk reduction sectors.
• Project and Program Managers for climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives.
• Environmental Scientists and Conservation Practitioners.
• Government officials in environment and climate change ministries.
• NGO staff working on ecological and climate resilience projects.

OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the unique M&E challenges of climate change and environmental projects.
• Identify and design relevant indicators for environmental and climate-related outcomes.
• Select appropriate data collection methods for ecological and climate data.
• Navigate challenges of attribution and contribution in environmental contexts.
• Develop an M&E framework that effectively tracks progress and impact of climate/environmental interventions.

MODULES

Module 1: Understanding M&E in Climate Change and Environmental Contexts

• Define the specific nature and complexities of climate change and environmental projects (e.g., long-term impacts, non-linear changes, ecosystem services).
• Explore the unique M&E challenges in these sectors (e.g., data scarcity, attribution, baseline shifts).
• Understand the global frameworks relevant to M&E (e.g., Paris Agreement, SDGs, CBD targets).
• Discuss the importance of M&E for accountability, learning, and reporting on climate finance.
• Examine case studies of M&E successes and failures in environmental programming.

Module 2: Developing a Theory of Change for Climate/Environmental Projects

• Understand how to articulate a Theory of Change (ToC) for complex climate and environmental interventions.
• Discuss identifying the causal pathways from activities to environmental and socio-economic outcomes.
• Explore how to integrate climate science and ecological principles into the ToC.
• Examine articulating assumptions related to climate variability, policy changes, and community behavior.
• Learn about designing ToCs for both adaptation and mitigation projects.

Module 3: Designing Environmental and Climate Indicators

• Understand the types of indicators relevant to environmental M&E (e.g., biophysical, socio-economic, policy, capacity).
• Discuss specific indicators for climate change adaptation (e.g., resilience, vulnerability reduction).
• Explore indicators for climate change mitigation (e.g., GHG emission reductions, carbon sequestration).
• Examine the use of proxies and indirect indicators when direct measurement is difficult.
• Learn about setting baselines and targets for environmental and climate indicators.

Module 4: Data Collection Methods for Environmental and Climate Data

• Understand specialized data collection methods for environmental parameters (e.g., remote sensing, GIS, sensors).
• Discuss traditional methods adapted for environmental contexts (e.g., ecological surveys, household surveys on resource use).
• Explore participatory methods for collecting local environmental knowledge and perceptions.
• Examine the use of citizen science and community-based monitoring.
• Learn about ensuring data quality and consistency in environmental data collection.

Module 5: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing for M&E

• Understand the fundamental role of GIS in monitoring spatial and temporal environmental changes.
• Discuss how to use satellite imagery and drone data for tracking land cover change, deforestation, and disaster impacts.
• Explore the application of GIS for visualizing project intervention areas and environmental outcomes.
• Examine spatial analysis techniques relevant to environmental M&E (e.g., change detection, hotspot analysis).
• Learn about integrating ground-truthing data with remote sensing.

Module 6: Attribution and Contribution in Environmental Evaluation

• Understand the inherent challenges of attributing environmental changes directly to project interventions.
• Discuss the concept of "contribution analysis" as a practical approach in complex environmental systems.
• Explore methods for accounting for confounding factors and external influences (e.g., climate variability, policy changes).
• Examine the use of counterfactual thinking in environmental evaluation design.
• Learn about triangulating evidence from multiple sources to strengthen causal claims.

Module 7: Reporting and Communicating Environmental M&E Findings

• Understand how to effectively communicate complex environmental M&E findings to diverse audiences.
• Discuss the use of compelling data visualizations, maps, and infographics.
• Explore techniques for translating scientific and technical data into accessible language.
• Examine reporting requirements for climate finance and international environmental agreements.
• Learn about leveraging M&E findings for policy advocacy and public awareness.

Module 8: Adaptive Management and Learning for Climate/Environmental Projects

• Understand the importance of adaptive management in responding to dynamic environmental conditions.
• Discuss how M&E findings inform iterative program adjustments and course correction.
• Explore methods for facilitating learning loops between M&E teams, project implementers, and stakeholders.
• Examine the role of M&E in identifying emerging risks and opportunities in climate action.
• Learn about institutionalizing M&E for long-term learning and sustainable environmental outcomes.

CERTIFICATION

• Upon successful completion of this training, participants will be issued with Macskills Training and Development Institute Certificate

TRAINING VENUE

• Training will be held at Macskills Training Centre. We also tailor make the training upon request at different locations across the world.

AIRPORT PICK UP AND ACCOMMODATION

• Airport pick up and accommodation is arranged upon request

TERMS OF PAYMENT

Payment should be made to Macskills Development Institute bank account before the start of the training and receipts sent to info@macskillsdevelopment.com