Monitoring,Evaluation,andLearning forAdvancingResilienceunderthe COMMUNITYRESILIENCEPARTNERSHIPPROGRAMTECHNICALNOTE#5 FEBRUARY2024 CommunityResiliencePartnershipProgram Climatechangeisimpactingthelivelihoods,foodandwatersecurity,health,andwell-beingofmillionsofpeopleacrossAsiaandthePacific.Multipleclimateandweatherhazardssuchascyclones,droughts,floods, andheatwaves—sometimesoccurringsimultaneouslyorinclosesuccession—aredestroyingcropsandlivestock,incapacitatingcriticalinfrastructure,anddamagingecosystems.Astemperaturesincrease,precipitationpatternschange,andsealevelscontinuetorise,people’slivesandlivelihoodswillbeincreasinglydisruptedinmultipleways,withprofoundimplicationsfortheir well-beingandsociety.Withtherisingprobabilityofglobalwarmingbreachingthecritical1.5°Cthreshold,evenifonlytransiently,humansandecosystemsaresettofaceadditionalandunavoidableincreasesinmultipleclimatehazards. Thepoorestandmostvulnerablepeoplearehardesthitbytheseclimateshocksandstresses.Over400millionpeoplearealreadyestimatedtoliveinextremepovertyinAsia andthePacific(Shawetal.2022).Evidencesuggeststhatglobally,climatechangecouldpushafurther32million to132millionadditionalpeopleintoextremepovertyby2030,withAsiabeingoneofthemainhotspots(Jafinoetal.2020).Thedisproportionatenatureofclimate changeimpactsonpoorpeople,especiallyonpoorwomen,islargelydrivenbystructuralinequalitiesinsocioeconomic andpoliticalsystems.Thisresultsinincreasedexposuretoclimateshocksandstressesandincreasedvulnerabilitytotheirimpacts,withlowcapacitytoadapt.Addressingthesechallengeswillrequireincreasinginvestmentintransformationaladaptationsolutionsthatbuildtheresilienceofpoorpeopletothenegativeimpactsofclimatechange. Thismeansdeliveringadaptationsolutionsatascalethatsupportslargenumbersofbeneficiariesandtacklestherootcausesofvulnerabilitythroughchangingsocietalsystemsthatdriveinequality.Thesesolutionsmustalsoproducelong-termpositivechangesthatenduredespitedynamicanduncertainlocalpoliticaleconomiesandclimatefutures. ItisinthiscontextthattheAsianDevelopmentBank(ADB)hasdevelopedtheCommunityResiliencePartnershipProgram(CRPP)tohelpcountriesandcommunitiesinAsiaandthePacificscaleupinvestmentsinclimateadaptation,especiallyinvestmentsatthecommunitylevel,thatexplicitlytargetthenexusbetweenclimatechange,poverty,andgender.TheCRPPhasbeendevelopedtoaddressmajorgapsinclimate-resilience Photo:Womentakepartinthecommunitydecision-makingprocessundertheSecondaryTownsInfrastructureDevelopmentProjectinBangladesh. programminginAsiaandthePacificandiscloselyalignedwithinternationalpolicyprioritiesandparticipatingcountrynationaladaptationplans(NAPs).TheCRPPseekstocontributetotransformationalchangethroughthree keyobjectives: 1.Mobilizinglarge-scalepublicinvestmentsthatsupportcommunity-leveladaptationofpoorandvulnerablepeople. 2.Developingnationalandlocalpolicies,plans,andprogramsthatpromotelong-termfinancingforcommunity-ledadaptation. 3.Increasingthemeaningfulparticipationofpoorwomenandmeninresilience-relateddecision-making. TheoverarchinggoaloftheCRPPistoadvancesustainableandclimate-resilientdevelopmentinAsiaandthePacificbybuildingtheresilienceofpoorandvulnerablepeople totheimpactsofclimatechange.Theroleofmonitoring,evaluation,andlearning(MEL)liesinachievingthis goal,supportinggovernmentsintheregiontomeettheircommitmentstotheParisAgreement,andoperationalizingtheirNAPsiscritical. Supportingtransformationaladaptationatthecommunitylevelwillrequiregoingbeyondconventionalapproachestomonitoringandevaluation(M&E)thatfocusontrackingproductsandoutputs.Understandingtheprocesses ofbuildingresilienceatthelocallevelinpoorandvulnerablecommunitiesandlearningaboutwhatworksandwhy,shouldbeprioritized.Itwillalsorequirerealizing thefullpotentialofMELasasetoftoolsforenablingtransformativeadaptationasacentralpartofaholisticandsystematicapproachtoclimateactionprogrammingandimplementation. MELcancontributetoaddressingstructuralinequalities,deepenunderstandingofcomplexprocessesthatcoalescetostrengthenorreduceresilience,andsupportsustainabilityofoutcomesandlastingchangeinacontextofhighuncertainty.Assuch,MELneedstoberecognizedaspartoftheresilience-buildingprocessitself,ratherthansimplyarequirementforreportingontheachievementofresultstothosefinancingtheadaptationactivities. ThistechnicalnoteonMonitoring,Evaluation,andLearningforAdvancingResilienceundertheCommunityResiliencePartnershipProgramisoneinaseriesoftechnicalnotesreleasedaspartoftheoperationalizationoftheCRPP.ThenotefirstmakesthecaseforMELasacriticalcomponentsupportingtransformativeadaptationinthecontextoftheCRPP.AsetofguidingprinciplesforMELthatCRPPaimstofollowandpromoteinitssupported projectsarethenpresented,beforespecificactionsrelatedtoMELundertheCRPPareidentified.Indoingso,thetechnicalnotewillhelppromoteacommonapproach toMELacrossCRPP-supportedprojectsandfacilitatetheabilitytocarryoutcoherentandcoordinatedMELactivitiesacrosstheprogram.Asimplementationoftheprogramprogresses,theCRPPapproachtoMELwillevolve(i)basedonexperienceandlearningonthe ground,and(i