Case Study in using the DCED Standard Advocacy for a Better Business Environment in Nigeria with ENABLE1

9th February 2011

This case shows how results measurement tools can be applied to a business environment advocacy programme. It presents the results chain for a collaboration with a radio station to enhance business programming.

Part 1: Overview of the Programme

ENABLE is a 4.5 year programme funded by DFID and implemented by Adam Smith International and the Springfield Centre. Scheduled to run until March 2013 and currently in its third year, ENABLEs overall objective is to improve the policy and regulatory environment for businesses in Nigeria, through enhancing the effectiveness of advocacy and public-private-dialogue. The programme has four components: 1) Strengthening the advocacy capacity of the Nigerian private sector, as represented by Business Membership Organizations (BMOs). 2) Strengthening the mass media's capacity to report on public policy and regulatory issues, to stimulate informed dialogue. 3) Strengthening government platforms for dialogue and stimulating governments demand for advocacy. 4) Improving access to and supply of legal, policy and regulatory information and research, in order to support evidence-based advocacy and dialogue. ENABLE follows the Marking Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) approach. Advocacy and dialogue are seen as crucial to shaping the business environment (e.g. laws, policies and regulations) which affect the poor, as producers, employees and consumers. ENABLE facilitates systemic changes by building the capacity and incentives of local actors (like BMOs and government) to engage in advocacy and dialogue by themselves (as for BMOs and government), or to supply the support functions2 and rules necessary for the advocacy and dialogue market to work effectively (as for media outlets and research institutions). 3

We thank David Elliott, Justin van Rhyn and Gareth Davies for all of their assistance in preparing this case study. 2 Support functions (Springfield paper: The Operational Guide for the Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) Approach 2008) is a range of functions supporting the core exchange helping the market to develop, learn, adapt and grow including, for example, product development, skills enhancement, R&D, coordination and advocacy. 3 For more information about ENABLE, visit www.Enable-Nigeria.com.

Part 2: ENABLE and results measurement

ENABLE needed to set up a results measurement system that would allow staff to capture these changes at different levels, and consequently results chains have been used since the beginning of the programme. Results chains are used in the first instance as a management tool helping staff to translate analysis into intervention design and tied in to ENABLEs overarching strategic framework. Once the logic about the change process is clear, its a short step to expanding the tool into a measurement framework. For ENABLE, this means ensuring baselines are relevant, indicators are SMART4, targets are realistic and challenging, and responsibilities for measurement are clearly understood, owned and adequately resourced. As a first step to institutionalise results measurement in the programme, staff attended Springfields Making Markets Work training programme in Glasgow, UK which had an elective module on impact assessment for market development programmes. This training has been followed by on-going technical, advisory and backstopping support (through visits and on-the-job learning from ASI, Springfield and the broader pool of consultants working on the programme), and open peer learning processes established through cooperation and oversight arrangements between component managers (for example regular project planning sessions involving more than one portfolio, informal knowledge sharing and brainstorming, joint presentations to project partners and other stakeholders, etc.) At the Purpose Level, ENABLE measures the number and quality of dialogues that the programme triggers; this is useful for reporting, but does not explain how ENABLEs activities generate lasting and sustainable change (i.e. whether local actors are willing and able to continue advocacy and dialogue after the end of the programme). ENABLE therefore needed a system that could explain the series of changes that its activities have triggered, for example around increased capacity of local actors, buy-in from different stakeholders, and changes in profitability of commercial businesses supporting public-private dialogue (such as commercial media outlets). This focus on linking programme activities to impact is stated clearly in ENABLEs impact assessment planning documents: Right from the design phase, ENABLE ensures that: 1. From the outset, every intervention has a clear results framework, setting out how the intervention will contribute to sustainable and systemic change and, ultimately, purpose and goal level impact; and 2. During implementation, managers receive the right information at the right time in order to make informed decisions, which should lead to better decision-making and resourceallocation. Results chains (which ENABLE calls Impact Logics) are at the heart of the programmes approach to results measurement. ENABLE uses results chains to map out the logical sequence by which their activities would trigger change, and ultimately lead to high-level impact. A results chain is drawn for each component of each intervention. The results chains are directly linked to the programmes logframe (drawn with results chains in mind) which allows ENABLE to measure progress against the logframe without creating a conflicting or
4

SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound)

parallel measurement system. ENABLE includes two universal impact indicators, additional jobs and additional income, in all of its results chains. The example on the next page is a results chain from ENABLEs media component. ENABLE views the media as an important channel for advocacy and dialogue in Nigeria. The programme works directly with mass media outlets, to improve their role in facilitating business environment reform. In the example on the next page, ENABLE helps Nigerias Federal Radio Corporation to launch and sustain a radio programme on SME-related issues. All of ENABLEs results chains chart not only show how each intervention will lead to highlevel impact but also illustrate how the intervention will contribute to sustainable and systemic change. In the case of media, this means that any new business programming should become a net revenue earner for the media outlet if it is to become sustainable (for commercial outlets at least). Systemic change also implies replication by other media outlets not directly supported by ENABLE.

Figure 1: Results chain (impact logic) for FRCN Kaduna media intervention
Enterprise level change

ADVOCACY LEVEL (SERVICE

14) Regulation, legislation, enforcement change

OUTCOMES ENABLE BMO activities

13) Increased PPD activities

14) Decision-making of policy makers influenced

Media Relations s

10) BMOs and other PS representatives use new business media as an advocacy tool

11) Agenda setting: BMOs are influenced by new improved programmes to take up new/ increase advocacy activities

12) Direct advocacy influence by media: Media increases direct advocacy activities to government on behalf of its audience

ENABLE Government activities and media relations making Government more responsive to advocacy Specific issues and focus for partnership 7. Two 15 mins+ programmes in Hausa and English. Business programme networked on all FRCN stations (in the north/ nationwide) 6. FRCN Kaduna mgmt. support already secured. Build on this to gain wider FRCN network mgmt. support 9. A. Hausa programme replicated within the station; B. Business programme promoted as a replication within the wider FRCN network 5. Target to be defined with FRCN Kaduna. Sufficient level of advertising should convince the FRCN network to put on air 4. FDGs for the pilot productions & . for every production, before launch of pilot and Hausa progr. 2. Specific HR, skills and equipment challenge to be overcome. Need to analyse team incentives and motivation closely 3.Initital focus on selling within Kaduna to prove pilot and Hausa programmes. Network phase to involve FRCN marketing in Lagos

8) Increased effectiveness of media in advocacy (quantity and quality)

7) Sustained/increased quality & quantity of business programming after support end

MEDIA (SERVICE) OUTPUT

6) Increased and sustained management support for high quality business programming (investment, airtime, HR) without donor input

9) New programmes replicated (copycat/ crowding in)

Enable BMO and research activities, enhancing sources of credible info. 3) Improved/ increased marketing of business programmes

5) Increased profitability of business programmes (advertising)

2) Increased quality of business coverage in pilots - audience/demand led - more in-depth - balanced etc.

4) Increased popularity of programme (audience)

1) Pilot programme launched with key broadcasters

1. Initial pilot: 15 minute business programme for SMEs in English

ACTIVITIES

Initial pilot programme phase: Support to pilot test new formats of business programming Initial focus on a 15 minute programme in English that will be more issue-based investigative, bottom-up and field based

Replication phase: Support to replicate successful; business programming (detailed inputs to be defined) 2-stage replication plan: 1) Developing a sister Hausa language programme, on FRCN Kaduna (with potential to expand length to 30 minutes for each programme?) 2) Promotion of the programme to be carried across the FRCN network (within the north or nationwide)

Results chains are part of ENABLEs regular monitoring. They are used in internal weekly meetings to discuss progress and pinpoint within the logic whether anticipated changes have in fact happened and to take action if necessary. The results chains also help in sharing of information between staff working on different components and in different regions. The results chains are also used to explain their work to donors and partners. A full-time Impact Assessment and Communications Manager supports the programme team, preparing initial drafts of the results chains and sharing them with the individual component managers to be finalised. Overall responsibility for finalising and updating the results chains lies with the individual component managers who own these results chains. These results chains are used extensively by the programme managers to keep an eye on what is being done. The results chains are updated in line with changes in circumstances (internal and external). Once the results chains are drawn, indicators are set for each of the different levels in the results chain. Each box in the results chain has at least one indicator set against it. In the measurement plan, the Means of Verification specifies how information on each of the indicators will be collected. ENABLE uses a range of methods to measure its results. The qualitative methods ENABLE employs include case studies and quality scorecards. These methods are particularly important for programmes such as ENABLE, where the quality of dialogue is a priority. Quantitative methods are used to assess profit margins, outreach, etc. ENABLE faces at least two major challenges in attributing change to its interventions. Firstly, partners are chosen on their merits, their demonstrated commitment and attitude. It would be difficult to establish a representative control group as there is a selection bias. Secondly, since ENABLE seeks to trigger systemic change, other companies of a similar nature may soon copy the target enterprises behaviour, making it even harder to identify a control group. To plausibly demonstrate attribution, ENABLE plans to make case studies and to triangulate information from various sources.