Network Evaluation Tool 1
Contributions Assessment

See also

Introduction to network evaluation tools

Tool 2: Weaver’s Triangle for Networks

Tool 3. Channels of Participation

PDF of this tool

The Contributions Assessment tool enables a network to see what resources it has access to, and how they might be shared, multiplied, or exchanged.

Using this approach it is hoped that members of a network will recognise that they are the real "resource centre" of the network.

The tool covers three areas:

• Guidance for gathering in the range of contributions that network members might make to a network
• The philosophy behind Contributions Assessment
• How to do a Contributions Assessment

Guidance for gathering in the range of contributions that network members might make to a network

A network depends for its life and vitality on the input of members.

Networks tend to grow out of conferences, seminars, conversations, joint projects, where people connect through common agendas and purpose and think that they can offer one another and the wider world something better together than separately.

A secretariat helps to facilitate the exchange and connection between those who participate, and to draw on and circulate the resources of members for the greater good, and towards the achievement of the overall shared aim.

One of the key issues for network projects and for those who coordinate networks is participation. How members participate, why some participate more than others, how to encourage greater participation, how to ‘measure’ participation.

A contributions assessment seeks to add another layer to needs assessment approaches. Most of us working in development and human rights are used to the needs assessment approach, of establishing a base line of project end-user needs before the project starts. You can then evaluate the work against that baseline, seeing if needs have actually been met by the project.

A Contributions Assessment aims to find out what people might contribute. It can then serve as a baseline for assessing if the network enabled its members to contribute over time, and how that contribution gave added value to the network.

The philosophy behind Contributions Assessment

A network thrives on the drive, commitment and passion of its members. It is the combination of diversity (many autonomous institutions and individuals) and a common purpose, which gives a network power and energy. It is thus vital for a network to know what resources its members have and would be prepared to contribute and share. The aim of a contributions assessment is to hook into where the energy lies for the members, and involve people through their passion and drive to make a difference.

• A contributions assessment maps what members believe they can contribute to a network project. We are not talking simply about financial commitment in terms of a grant, but human resources, activities, skills, and energy. Value is placed on the interest and willingness to contribute, not the size or extent of what members can contribute
• A contributions assessment pays attention to power differences, and obstacles to commitment
• A contributions assessment enables the network as a whole to see what resources it can draw on and where it might need to seek extra members or resources
• A contributions assessment enables members to be realistic about what they can commit to – they are asked to think carefully about what such a contribution means for them in terms of time and energy and resources.
• A contributions assessment gives you baseline information against which you can evaluate. It enables you to ask – has the network provided its members with the opportunities they wanted to contribute? Has it enabled them to share in what is already in the pot? Has it enabled them to participate in making a difference?
• Evaluation can be done on how successful the network secretariat or coordinator has been in shifting the resources around the network, and how far the facilitation structures of the network have enabled that exchange to occur.

How to do a Contributions Assessment

• Keep it focused on contributions – we all find it a lot easier to articulate what we might need rather than what we can add. The needs will get articulated in other ways.
• Decide who your contributors are – general membership, donors, steering committees, national network coordinators, secretariat, …
• Be clear about what your network is aiming for – its helpful to have a simple statement or diagram that presents what the network is for, to enable people to see how and where they can contribute (see Weaver’s Triangle for Networks as an example)
• Provide specific examples of contributions – participation in a committee, designing newsletter, organising a conference, doing policy analysis, etc. This will help members to define where their expertise might fit in.
• Ask members to think carefully about what they would like to contribute and how they might deliver it.
• Find out what the secretariat or coordinating function can do to enable people to contribute more effectively.

This is one of three tools developed by Madeline Church from University College London. See Introduction to network evaluation tools for further details.