Webinar: Outcome Harvesting in Practice: How to Evidence Change You Didn't Plan For

Most evaluation designs decide in advance what success will look like. But in advocacy, systems change, coalition building and social norms work, a programme can meet every output target and still miss the change that mattered most. Outcome Harvesting starts from the other end: what changed, for whom, when — and what part did the programme actually play in it? In this session, Anna Martin (Co-founder and Principal Consultant, Radicle Development) takes the method apart in practice with Sharon Weir (Co-founder and Head of Strategy, 4th Wheel Social Impact). Recorded 1 September 2026 as part of Social Impact Dialogues, 4th Wheel Social Impact's series on impact strategy, MEAL systems, and the methods that move data into decisions. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 00:00 When is Outcome Harvesting the right method — and when is it not? 00:00 What does a good harvest look like in practice 00:00 The outcome statement: what changed, who, when 00:00 Separating contribution from outcome 00:00 Substantiation — making claims checkable 00:00 What to do with the outcomes once you have them 00:00 Audience Q&A 00:00 Closing reflections WHAT YOU WILL TAKE AWAY When Outcome Harvesting fits a programme, and when another method will serve you better How to write an outcome statement that holds up: what changed, who was involved, when Why contribution must be recorded separately from outcome, and what goes wrong when it isn't How to right-size substantiation without over-engineering the process How a collection of outcomes becomes a decision, or a test of your theory of change RESOURCES FROM THE SESSION Slides: https://swiy.co/OHPPT Guidance note: https://swiy.co/OHGuidance GO DEEPER Outcome Harvesting meets Attitude Change: https://www.outcomeharvesting.net/blo... Outcome Harvesting evaluation reports: https://www.outcomeharvesting.net/oh-... Ricardo Wilson-Grau's book, Outcome Harvesting: Principles, Steps, and Evaluation Applications: https://www.outcomeharvesting.net/res... ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Anna Martin is a strategist and complexity coach at Radicle Development. An evaluator and facilitator working on strategic foresight, sensemaking and turning complex evidence into decisions, she has supported UNICEF, the Ford Foundation, GSMA and the World Anti-Doping Agency. Sharon Weir co-founded 4th Wheel Social Impact in 2010 and has designed and led over 150 research and evaluation projects across education, health, livelihoods, water and sanitation, women's empowerment and corporate sustainability. MSc Development Studies, SOAS, University of London. ABOUT 4TH WHEEL SOCIAL IMPACT Founded in 2010, 4th Wheel Social Impact works with funders, NGOs, corporates and government partners across India and South Asia on impact strategy, MEAL systems and evaluation. We build evidence systems that are field-grounded, methodologically rigorous, and useful to the people making decisions. Website: https://www.the4thwheel.com Newsletter: https://4thwheelsocialimpact.substack... LinkedIn:   / the-4th-wheel   Subscribe for more sessions from Social Impact Dialogues. #OutcomeHarvesting #MEAL #MonitoringAndEvaluation #ImpactEvaluation #TheoryOfChange