Financial Disbursement

The indicator measures any increase in the amount of money disbursed (e.g. by a local authority / company / another stakeholder) for addressing a given cause, as a result of the advocacy efforts.

Determine the indicator's value by using the following methodology:

1) Conduct interviews with key informants (incl. budget tracking experts) and review relevant budget documents to:

     a) Identify the amount of money disbursed for addressing the advocated issue before and after your advocacy efforts. Remember that, given their nature, advocacy campaigns tend to be multi-annual, with interim targets reviewed yearly. For example, a three-year campaign can have a target to increase the budget disbursed for addressing a given issue by 60%, aiming for an annual increase of 20%.

     b) Identify the reasons for the change, focusing on the extent to which the advocacy initiative contributed to the change. 

2) To report on the indicator’s value, provide information on how big was the change (in percentages and amount – e.g. year 1 saw a 20% increase, equalling 10,000 USD). Report on an increase only if there is solid evidence that the advocacy efforts contributed to the change.

1) Budget tracking – from the national to the local level - is a complex process. Engage a relevant expert to help you identify and analyse the data.

2) There are myriad influences on budgetary disbursement, so gathering as much information as possible on the reasons for the change observed is critical.

3) There will be time lags involved in tracking disbursement. These lags should be considered when preparing the monitoring and evaluation plan.