Outcome Mapping
Resource Library

This brief explores the challenges of using bricolage in monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), and how practitioners might overcome them. Drawing on discussions from the OMLC Learning Lab 2025, it examines practical constraints such as time and resources, limitations in methodological knowledge and competencies, resistance to unfamiliar approaches, and difficulties combining methodologies, data and indicators. It considers possible responses, including strengthening collaboration and practitioner capacities, reducing methodological redundancies, building shared understanding among stakeholders, and creating institutional support for adaptive MEL approaches. It also recognises that some challenges, particularly those involving power dynamics, rigid institutional requirements and uncertainty, may not be fully resolved. This series of think pieces explores six learning questions discussed by participants of the OMLC Learning Lab in December 2025. For more details, visit https://www.outcomemapping.org/bricolage.

A case study of the Our Voices Our Futures evaluation, which combined Outcome Harvesting, feminist evaluation principles and realist-informed analysis to capture the breadth of outcomes while adding explanatory depth about how and why change occurred.

A case study of a portfolio evaluation of influencing work that combined Outcome Harvesting, Contribution Analysis, Appreciative Inquiry and realist-informed analysis to identify outcomes, test contribution claims and explain how change occurred across complex contexts.

This brief explores how bricolaged MEL can be designed intentionally. How can practitioners make clear and deliberate choices about what methods and elements to combine, why they are being combined, and how they should be used? It considers what can guide a more structured design process, from values, principles and stakeholder deliberation to purpose, context and methodological choices. It also asks how transparency, operational constraints and appropriate guardrails can help ensure that bricolaged MEL remains flexible while also being credible and robust. This series of think pieces explores six learning questions discussed by participants of the OMLC Learning Lab in December 2025. For more details, visit https://www.outcomemapping.org/bricolage.

A case study of an evaluation in East Africa that built on Outcome Mapping with Outcome Harvesting, a structured youth survey, third-party interviews and participatory sensemaking to create a fit-for-purpose, complexity-responsive MEL design.

The OMLC partnered with SLEvA and EvalYouth Asia to present an introduction to actor-focused methods, focusing on OM and OH. The presentation explains the shared origins, similarities and differences between OM and OH, how you might use them individually, together and with other methods in bricolage. The session was delivered by OMLC Stewards, Simon Hearn and Mariam Smith and moderated by Jigme Sonam, Co-Leader of EvalYouth Asia. Opening remarks were delivered by Prof. Hemanthi Ranasinghe (Council Member of Sri Lanka Evaluation Association and Senior Professor in Forestry & Environmental Science, University of Sri Jayawardenepura, Sri Lanka) and concluded with thanking remarks from Ms. Ana Erika Lareza (Chair of EvalYouth Global Network).

This brief explores what good bricolage looks like. What principles or features make it effective and credible? Identifying these will help us describe what distinguishes thoughtful, intentional bricolage from combinations based on methods we are familiar with, or more ad-hoc mixing. Ultimately, can we develop guidance for what good bricolage means? Does good bricolage need to consider feasibility, time, budget, responsiveness to users, capacities, context, power, and values? This series of think pieces explores six learning questions discussed by participants of the OMLC Learning Lab in December 2025. For more details, visit https://www.outcomemapping.org/bricolage.

This poster was presented by Mahesh Krishnan at the OMLC Learning Lab 2025. Language of Intuition is a triptych of abstract paintings developed as a research finding from Mahesh’s work under the Feminist Innovation in Monitoring and Evaluation (FIME) Small Awards. The research focuses on developing gender-responsive evaluator competencies and resulted in a curriculum framework titled "The Holistic Transformative Evaluator Framework". The paintings were created using an experimental technique introduced through this research, termed the "Pareidolic Tracing Method", rooted in trans indigenous epistemologies. Pareidolia refers to the psychological phenomenon of perceiving patterns and meanings within abstract forms. By engaging with this phenomenon, the method translates research observations, embodied knowledge, and intuitive insights into visual form. Through these works, Mahesh proposes the semiotic interpretation of non-verbal cues, intuition, and affect as critical yet under-recognized competencies for evaluators working in gender and social justice contexts. Mahesh Krishnan (Xe/Xem) FIME (Feminist Innovation in Monitoring & Evaluation) Small Awards Grantee Core Team Member, Gender & Equity Network South Asia (GENSA)

Gill Westhorp introduces Realist Evaluation to participants of the OMLC Learning Lab 2025. This is a recording of a webinar in October 2025 provided in the run up to the Lab to orient participants to different MEL methods and inform useful discussions during the Lab itself. The videos were made public after the Lab. Please note this is not intended as a training.

This brief explores why practitioners are increasingly using methodological bricolage. Many programmes work in complex systems with uncertainty, many actors and perspectives, contributing to complex change processes. In such situations, is using one single method for MEL enough? If not, why not? Understanding what drives people to mix and combine methods helps us explain, justify and communicate these choices to managers, donors, or commissioners, and to argue for the time and resources needed. This series of think pieces explores six learning questions discussed by participants of the OMLC Learning Lab in December 2025. For more details, visit https://www.outcomemapping.org/bricolage.