I have been working with ICCCAD for the past year since completing my Masters in Development and Emergency Practice from Oxford Brookes University. Many opportunities exist under ICCCAD for visiting researchers to work in and develop an area of expertise that appeals to them. For me, I chose to work for one of ICCCAD’s flagship research programmes, ARCAB (Action Research for Community Adaptation in Bangladesh) based on my interest and past experience in community-based adaptation (CBA).
My time at ICCCAD and ARCAB has been rewarding on many fronts as it has provided me with an opportunity to grow both professionally and personally. This has included supporting the expansion of my skill set, as well as enabling me to work with and learn from highly regarded researchers and practitioners from a diverse range of institutions and organisations. Similarly, my role under ARCAB has evolved over time allowing me to specialise in a much-needed emerging field of expertise, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) for CBA, which has become the focus of my forthcoming PhD. Working with ICCCAD has therefore provided me a great springboard for my career in international development and climate change adaptation, as well as enable me to further build upon my experience of living and working in a least developed country to deepen my understanding of how adaptation theory and practice work in reality.
In addition, focusing on the ARCAB research theme concerning M&E for CBA has provided me the opportunity to support the development of new knowledge that is rapidly gaining international recognition. I have been operationalising the ARCAB M&E for CBA methodology in Bangladesh and also in various countries across Africa for Save the Children International and the United Nations Development Programme. Similarly, I have shared the knowledge that is being generated through these means at national and international levels by presenting latest material at conferences and through webinar forums. The ethos behind ICCCAD and the support network it has provided has therefore fostered my individual development and enabled ownership of my role and responsibilities so I could drive them forward at a pace and through a path compatible with my requirements as well as with those of ICCCAD and ARCAB at large. In sum – more than a worthwhile experience!
Ms. Lucy Faulkner presents the ARCAB M&E for CBA approach – a new participatory, multi-track monitoring and evaluation strategy designed to contribute to current knowledge gaps on how to plan, deliver and measure the effectiveness of community-based adaptation (CBA). The ARCAB M&E for CBA methodology sets M&E adaptation priorities that focus on the needs of the climate vulnerable poor while simultaneously responding to the wider range of stakeholders and scales across and for whom information about effective CBA needs to be generated. CARE’s PMERL methodology forms the first track of this four-tier M&E system, and focuses on community-driven participatory M&E. The ARCAB approach then builds on this with M&E responsive to additional stakeholder information needs. The webinar was held on 17th May 2013 as part of the SEA change series of webinars
