Step 1 – Case for investment project scoping

In this step, you will:

• Clarify the purpose and scope of the Case for Investment 
• Identify the target audience for your Case for Investment and the affected parties to engage with 
• Establish a workplan and the assessment period

Process

1. Clarify the purpose of the Case for Investment (Tool 1a)

A Case for Investment can serve multiple purposes.  It is important to identify the main purpose to best guide the approach, data collection, and presentation of results. For example, the Case for Investment might be for the following purposes: 

• Fundraising: The Case for Investment could be used to show potential donors the value of their investment, making a compelling case for support or to secure sustainable funding.
• Responding to funder request: When funders ask for evidence of the impact their support might have, the Case for Investment provides detailed insights into how their contributions will lead to significant social and environmental outcomes.
• Expand programs or launch a new initiative: Creating a Case for Investment can help outline the benefits and potential impacts of expanding current programs or starting new ones, aiding in decision-making and resource allocation.
• Accountability: You might be conducting the Case for Investment to demonstrate to community members, local authorities, or funders that the monitoring program is achieving its social and environmental goals.
• Internal decision-making: If the community organization needs to prioritize its activities or budget, the Case for Investment can highlight which aspects of the water monitoring program yield the highest social and environmental return.

Helpful hint

Identify and list the priority areas of your CBWM audience to help clarify the purpose of your Case for Investment. For example, their goal may be to  “improve water quality”, or “gather baseline data”, etc.

2. Create a guiding question for your Case for Investment (Tool 1a)

Once the purpose and audience have been determined, a guiding question can be created. A guiding question frames the evaluation and is the pivotal starting point to reach what truly matters to everyone involved.  It should compel you to look beyond the superficial or day-to-day aspects of your program and open up the evaluation to the important benefits and underlying purpose.

Typically, the Case for Investment is geared towards fundraising from donors, investors and governments who want to see a tangible return on their contributions. To develop a question which outlines the Case for Investment, you may want to showcase a clear value proposition, making a persuasive argument for why the program requires financial support. Typical questions might be:

• “What is the value (e.g., social, cultural, environmental, economic) generated by every dollar invested in the community water monitoring program, and how does this value proposition justify further investment?”
• “Is this community water monitoring program worth the investment or grant?”
• “What is the value of the volunteers’ time and contributions, and of the data generated by the program?”

Not every Case for Investment needs to translate  benefits into dollars and calculate an ROI. Other examples address the actual impact of the program,those that benefit, and the ripple effects to others. For example:

• “To what extent has the community water monitoring program met its social, cultural, and environmental goals?” 
• “How has the community water monitoring program  impacted the lives of community members, the environment, and local governance?”
• “What other parts of our CBWM program story needs to be told?” This could be in regards to other challenges experienced, like funding cutbacks or environmental problems that adversely affected the success of the CBWM efforts. If conditions are worse today, the task could be to show that they would have been even worse if the absence of the CBWM program.

Or perhaps there is an ‘in-between’ question driving the Case for Investment beyond the funding question, using ROI or cost-benefit ratios to help allocate resources more effectively, prioritize certain activities over others, and potentially redesign or phase out less active components. For example:

• “Which components or activities of the community water monitoring program deliver the most significant social and environmental returns relative to their costs, and how can the program be optimized for greater impact?”

Your question should be tailored to the primary objective of the Case for Investment, ensuring that the resulting insights are directly relevant to the intended audience and purpose.

3. Establish the limits or constraints (Tool 1a)

What’s in and out of scope? Clearly defining the scope ensures that the Case for Investment is manageable, relevant, and accurate. The scope is an explicit statement about what is being considered in your Case for Investment evaluation. You may need to think carefully about what is feasible for you to measure and what you would like to be able to improve or communicate. You must  be clear about why you are conducting the analysis,what resources are available, and define the priorities for measurement. Consider the purpose, driving evaluation question, reach, the timeline, resources, and any other constraints or limits. 

Forecast analysis or impact evaluation: If this is your first Case for Investment report it will be less time-consuming to prepare a forecast estimate than to collect data to conduct an evaluative analysis — unless you have the right outcomes data available. In either case, this process will help you to put in place an evaluation framework and monitoring measures so that future evaluations will be on solid ground when they are done. 

Thematic constraints: Perhaps your program has both educational and health components. If resources are limited, you might focus the Case for Investment on just one aspect, such as the health impacts.

Geographic limits: If your community water monitoring program covers three villages along a river, then the evaluation might focus only on one key village, all these villages or may be extended to consider others further downstream.

Evaluation period and timeline: Clearly outline the step-by-step process of your modified methodology, based on this guidebook. Specify the evaluation’s start and end points, including the period of impact for  the Case for Investment (e.g., impacts over the last three years) and the timeline for conducting the evaluation itself (e.g., data collection in June-July,  analysis in August, and report publication by October). 

Resources: Consider the human, financial, and technological resources available for the Case for Investment. Are you doing it alone, or do you have a dedicated team or are volunteers from the community assisting? Depending on the size of the program and ask, the Case for Investment can be managed by one person over several weeks or months, or could receive significantly more resources and maybe involve some outside expertise. What is the budget to cover project costs like data collection, meetings, analysis tools, and report publication? Do you have communication and computing support to apply the tools in this guidebook?

Data collection: Detail how data for the Case for Investment will be gathered, whether through community surveys, focus groups, or reviewing current or past program records. Identify key documents or sources of information such as project budgets and financial statements that can support this work. Considerations of culturally sensitive data, or data that is proprietary to a specific Indigenous community should be made, all while respecting Indigenous data sovereignty by upholding broad and regional frameworks such as the CARE principles and the OCAP®​ principles.

Analysis and reporting: Define the methods and tools you’ll use for analyzing data, and the format in which findings will be shared, be it a detailed report, a presentation, or an interactive webinar for partners and stakeholders.

Other issues: Consider ethical or cultural issues/protocols that need to be identified early.  Are there any big risk factors that might affect this project?

By scoping out the Case for Investment, you will be better prepared and successful in developing an effective evaluation. It is not unusual that you may need to come back and adjust the scope in response to new information. 

Keep data collection focused on your purpose

In the realm of CBWM, it’s crucial to approach data collection with intention and clarity. Experience teaches us that data collection efforts can easily become overwhelming, and information can be gathered without a clear purpose or objective. This guide emphasizes the importance of aligning each data collection activity with a specific goal or concern, ensuring that every piece of data gathered serves a defined need. Equally important is understanding how the data will be utilized, as it helps guide decisions on the level of precision needed, avoiding unnecessary expenses. Strategic data collection focuses on collecting the right data that is tailored to your needs, optimizing resources and enhancing your CBWM program’s effectiveness and efficiency.

4. Identify “Who” (Tool 1b)

Identifying the audience, partners, interested and affected parties is  crucial for the success and impact of your Case for Investment. This includes funding agencies, organizations, or individuals experiencing changes – positive or negative – from your program. The evaluation aims to determine the net value created or destroyed and for whom, whether intentional or unintentional.

Involving every single stakeholder in your analysis can complicate things, so it’s important to understand which stakeholders and partners are most impacted. This ensures that the data and findings are relevant to their needs and concerns.  From local communities relying on the water source to policymakers shaping regulations, each group has  distinct interests and priorities that must be considered. Additionally, involving these parties fosters engagement and support. Engagement methods such as stakeholder and partner interviews, surveys, and community meetings help identify these groups, their concerns, and the best approaches to involve them in the monitoring process. 

Consider who has truly been impacted by  your water monitoring work. As you gather their experiences, you may need to reassess which impacts are most important. If you only focus on a small group of affected people due to limited resources, you might overlook valuable impacts. It is important to make sure that your Case for Investment includes everyone significantly affected by your  efforts.

We can’t know all the affected stakeholders and partners without consulting them, but we must start somewhere. This process helps us refine  our understanding, so be ready to adjust your thoughts on who should be included as you learn more. When engaging with stakeholders and partners, ask if they’ve noticed changes affecting others too, potentially expanding your initial discussions. Be flexible and iterative; if concerned stakeholders emerge part-way through the process, their input should be effectively incorporated. It’s easy to focus on the positive changes you hoped for, especially if you’re aligned with  your CBWM program’s goals. However, all types of outcomes—expected, unexpected, good, and bad—are part of the Case for Investment. Unexpected results can sometimes be positive, such as beneficial changes to habitat of local species. They could also reveal impacts on other projects, such as other restorative or stewardship activities, leading you to reconsider who should be included in your project’s scope. 

Indigenous Peoples and “stakeholder”

The term “stakeholder” may be inadequate or inappropriate when describing the role of Indigenous communities in various initiatives, especially those involving environmental conservation or community development. Indigenous communities hold a unique status that extends beyond the conventional stakeholder definition, due to their sovereign rights, cultural heritage, and deep connection to their ancestral lands. 

Their involvement goes beyond that of interested parties or contributors; they engage as autonomous governments in nation-to-nation dialogues. This government-to-government relationship recognizes their self-determination and emphasizes the importance of their consent and active participation in decisions affecting their lands, resources, and ways of life. Framing Indigenous communities merely as stakeholders risks undermining their authoritative voice and overlooks the necessity for respectful partnerships that honour their rights, knowledge, and governance systems.

4. Create a Business Case work plan and related budget (Tool 1c)

Creating a plan and setting a budget before starting your Case for Investment helps to clarify your goals, required resources, and potential challenges.  This plan serves as a map for everyone involved, ensuring alignment in your objectives and approach.  It also makes sure that there are sufficient funds to cover all needs, reducing confusion and keeping the evaluation on track.

A clear plan and budget also helps to maintain focus on your  original mission and prevent distractions that aren’t part of the evaluation. An evaluation growing beyond its intended can waste time and money. Knowing your constraints and objectives allow for better decision making, to make adjustments if needed, and justifies the project’s value to potential supporters.