Evidence-based Learning Facilitates Participatory Adaptive Management

Feed the Future Cambodia Harvest III (""Harvest III"" or the ""Activity"") is a five-year (2022-2027), USAID Activity that aims to promote sustainable, broad-based economic growth in Cambodia’s agriculture sector. A critical component of the Activity relates to the administration of grants through a diverse network of actors to achieve systems change. With the Activity entering the third year of implementation, understanding the effectiveness of the grants is imperative for ensuring that the Activity can continue to deliver on impact and sustain results after the Activity ends. To deeper understand the broader impact of grantee activities on smallholder farmers, the Activity engaged in an intentional two-part learning exercise at the Activity mid-point to inform work planning for FY2025.

First, the MEL team took stock of its existing technical evidence base to better understand research gaps. Then, the entire Harvest III team engaged in an internal review of a selection of its grantees through intensive field work to hold key informant interviews and focus group discussions with grantees and smallholder farmers. Then the Activity held an external Pause and Reflect that included grantees and USAID to consider the evidence collected, raise new ideas, and coalesce on strategies and adjustments.

The learning exercise fostered team cohesion by highlighting successes, identifying challenges, and refining grant design and evaluation. It demonstrated that an evidence-based Pause and Reflect approach leads to fruitful discussions and enhances organizational effectiveness through participatory adaptive management.