Monitoring and Evaluation of Participatory Theatre for Change

"Participatory Theatre for Change is a creative approach used with and by communities and groups to collectively research and critically analyse their own situation, develop and perform artistic and cultural content that reflects their reality, and actively engage participants in dialogue, analysis, planning, and action towards positive social transformation."

Participatory Theatre for Change (PTC) has presented challenges for development practitioners, as it can be difficult to assess whether change has in fact taken place, how the change has been produced, whether change is influenced in the most effective way, and what the unintended actions around behaviour might be. This publication from Search for Common Ground and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) outlines specific considerations for incorporating monitoring and evaluation (M&E) from the beginning of the PTC process, offering practical guidance and tools for implementing M&E in PTC programmes or programmes that include participatory theatre. It also highlights considerations and approaches for process and quality monitoring of participatory theatre programmes and practitioners. Specifically, the module includes these sections: M&E Lessons from Designing PTC Programs; Monitoring Reach, Resonance and Response; Process and Quality Monitoring; Evaluation Approaches for Arts-Based Interventions; and Conclusion. Each of these is supported by Annexes with Key Terms and Definitions, as well as copies of core tools for contextualisation and use in PTC programmes.

PTC programming, in line with the above definition, exists on a spectrum of participation; from when theatre troupes (local to the context) visit communities to engage, learn, perform, and facilitate participation by the community in the performance, to when a facilitator works with community members directly to be the actors, create the performance, and engage the broader community audience. For the sake of this module, all programmes along this spectrum are included. IT uses the lens of the 3R Framework to capture different areas of focus for change within PTC: Reach, which aims to capture the inclusiveness of the theatre and participation of key stakeholders; Resonance, which explores the immediate interpretations and reactions of participants, focusing primarily on individual and interpersonal levels of change; and Response, which tracks the process encouraged by the performance, of new awareness leading to action, including corporate advocacy through PTC initiatives such as legislative theatre. There is a fourth "R" that is sometimes considered in this framework, Relevance. Relevance is assessed during evaluation to determine how well the collective performances addressed the identified strategic change from the context/conflict analysis.

Along those lines, the first section focuses on the importance of starting programming for PTC with a context or conflict analysis that looks at systemic social, cultural, and historical dynamics as the basis for determining the focus of the issues to be addressed in the theatre and highlighting areas of sensitivity to be cautious about. It then explains the core underpinning theories and assumptions of change in PTC, moving from theories of change (TOC) to goals/objectives and outcomes that can be tested. TOC for PTC programming are multidimensional, moving from individual emotional engagement and response towards attitudinal, behaviour, and social changes that can culminate in larger social and institutional changes. The 6 core, interrelated ToC underpinning the working definition of the PTC process include:

1. "If the issues present in the community are accurately identified in a collective and participatory manner, then there is added potential for social and behaviour change, because of heightened awareness created through the issue identification process and enhanced resonance of the performance itself to multiple perspectives in the community. (Resonance)
2. If real issues present in the community are expressed through an interactive safe space, then participants can clarify and grow their knowledge, shift their attitudes and beliefs, and experience empathy for how others experience that issue in the community...(Resonance)
3. If individuals are presented with safe spaces to 'practice', experiment with, and experience alternative approaches to a particular behaviour (such as addressing conflict), then they are able to think of new ways to behave and respond to those issue when presented with them in their lives...(Resonance, Response)
4. If practices and behaviours that are rehearsed in the safe spaces are valued and accepted as beneficial by key people or groups in a society, then more people are likely to adopt such behaviours leading to a shift/change in social norms...(Reach, Response)
5. If practices and behaviours that were rehearsed in safe spaces are valued, accepted, and taken up in real life by a critical mass of people in a society, then social norms related to an old behaviour or practice will change...(Reach, Response)
6. If theatre participants are provided access to new information, knowledge, and are empowered to speak about policy issues that impact their community to key government influencers, then community groups will organise collective action and advocate to change laws and/or institutions in their favour...(Response)"

To move a TOC to a usable format for tracking the progress of PTC programming, it is necessary to break it down into the underlying goal and the outcomes and/or outputs that will support that goal. The examples provided in Table 1 of the module, taken from a scenario in which PTC was used in a context where there are internally displaced persons (IDPs), demonstrate how contextualised PTC TOCs can be translated into goals and outcomes for particular activities. Part of this step is also developing the indicators, or what information should be collected to prove or disprove whether desired objectives are being reached. Table 3 outlines the various phases of monitoring along the 3R framework throughout implementation of PTC programming, including sample indicators and tools that are further elaborated on in the corresponding "R" sections beginning on page 20 of the module. As noted in this chapter, as distinct from the context/conflict analysis conducted at the beginning of a PTC programme, community assessment scans enable actors to collect nuanced, community-specific information to make sure each performance is tailored and sensitive. Such a scan can be conducted through quantitative and/or qualitative measures that ensure ample space for community members to share their experience of the issue at hand and what they find to be most relevant to their community. It is also essential to use the scans to determine who the key influencers are: the key people who need to be invited for social or behaviour change to stick in the community where the PTC activities are being conducted. This is where the data collection and performance process intertwine, so it is important to have well-trained members of the team and documentation measures that provide sufficient guidance and structure for reliable information gathering.

The following section explores process monitoring, or the monitoring of how the PTC activities are being implemented and how information is being captured, and quality monitoring, the monitoring and reflection on the artistic quality of the performances and how the actors are developing as artists. Some specific considerations for each are listed, such as: Do no harm - "As an emotional experience, checks and balances must be in place to make sure the performance does not cause participants to walk away with more frustrations, hurt feelings, shame, etc. than they had before they entered the theatre space." Post Activity Reports, Debrief Sessions, and Most Significant Change or other forms of capturing anecdotal evidence can capture the necessary data for monitoring the process of PTC programming and its quality.

Next, the module outlines illustrative evaluation questions (lines of inquiry) that are typical of PTC programmes, as well as showcasing Most Significant Change as an evaluation approach that is particularly suited to PTC programmes. "The principles of evaluation for PTC programs are as follows:

1. Practitioners need to determine when, how, and why an evaluation is carried out in regards to PTC programming,
   • Learning and accountability should be considered as key evaluation purposes;
2. Collaboration between partners and PTC practitioners should be throughout the entire evaluation cycle;
3. Objectives and indicators should be agreed upon from the start by all involved stakeholders;
4. The timing of the evaluation should be utilisation-focused and not just for the sake of completing an evaluation;
5. Participatory evaluation methods should be used whenever possible; and,
6. Evaluation ethics should inform all evaluative practice (clarify evaluation purpose, consent, confidentiality, result sharing, safeguards for participants, etc.)"

In conclusion, it is noted that - from the design phase through to monitoring and beyond - the evaluation process provides the community with more information about changes that have happened and enable those involved in the project to learn about the bigger picture of what worked and did not work beyond the immediacy of the performance space and towards longer-term impacts. It enables informed follow-up activities, as well as learnings that can be shared with the broader field to enhance practice more globally. "Lastly, evaluations provide evidence of the great work participatory theatre does as a nuanced, emotionally connected, and transformative approach to communications for development."