Programme Cooperation Agreement 2014: Final Report for the Period 01 January 2014 to 01 March 2015

4. Attribution of results

While clear causal links – from inputs and activities through outputs to outcomes and impacts – form the basis of project design, the attribution of a particular result tends to become more tenuous along the results chain. GRID-Arendal’s outputs, such as reports and websites, are relatively easy to identify and attribute. Direct linkages to outcomes and impacts are generally harder to establish. One reason for this is the time lag that often exists between the delivery of products and services and the emergence of related outcomes and impacts - especially when the latter depends on decision-making processes. Several of GRID-Arendal’s projects are subject

to these delays along the results chain: the end result of the 2014 West African Continental Shelf submission (see page 25) may well not be known for another 10 years, for example. For the same reason, some of the results that have emerged this year relate to work done before 2014. The Zambia: Atlas of Our Changing Environment is a case in point: its collaborative approach and influence on the public were officially recognised in an award received almost a year after its launch in 2013 (see page 19). In addition, decision-makers rarely make decisions based on a single source of information. Many of GRID- Arendal’s reports are likely to have influenced decisions, but it is rarely possible to prove this connection.

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