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This chapter explores the different methods student-led think tanks can utilise to monitor their progress and impact.
Some student-led think tanks face challenges in monitoring, evaluating, and learning (MEL), often lacking dedicated strategies and struggling with the difficulty of measuring impact and defining success. This is sometimes compounded by the turnover of members.
However, there are different ways for them to monitor progress according to their resources:
- Set clear goals and strategies
- Regularly evaluate research outputs
- Use feedback to refine your approach
- Use stakeholder surveys
“It’s a bit hard to monitor progress considering that the team changes every year. There are people who stay on (if they’ve not graduated or done a year abroad). But it’s a bit hard to ensure because different leaders have different agendas, styles and capacities.”
– Warwick Think Tank
CASE STUDY:
At EPIS Think Tank, team leaders oversee the publications. The team leaders review each draft and checks it on the basis of basic academic criteria, i.e. checking sources, reviewing the texts. The Board oversees the conduct of the team leader. The EPIS Guideline provides detailed accounts what/how/when/by whom the work is conducted. They monitor every publication by their engagement rates on different platforms.
Further reading: