Interactive Documentary in Evaluation, Learning and Change

global pillowcase project-idoc

We’ve continued to work with the Global Disaster Preparedness Center (American Red Cross/ IFRC) on the Pillowcase Project International Pilot and its evaluation. Capitalizing on the features that interactive documentary can offer compared to convention linear video products this i-doc was developed not only to create something that would be more engaging than a traditional text-based report and help disseminate evaluation information to a wider audience (still, designed to complement the text report), but also in an effort to turn evaluation materials into something of a toolkit, hopefully expand the utility of evaluation materials by creating this new kind of product. For learning, training, knowledge management type work we think it has a lot of potential.
A basic illustration of interactive features integrated into a specific sequence can be seen in the video titled “Presentation Structure and Features.” It offers a few examples of the way a viewer can move around within a specific sequence and jump to a particular topic, as well as the way we can integrate a video (though it can be any kind of element- photo, audio clip, weblink, map, pop up article or PDF) within the video. The timeline identifies the location of some of the interactive elements. Point is with this first i-doc we’ve only started to scratch the surface of what can be done in terms of interactivity and the opportunities that this format offers to integrate many types and sources of information into the product.

Pillow Case Project International Pilot Peru: Video Case Study

In December 2014 we went to Peru for American Red Cross/ Global Disaster Preparedness Center as part of the evaluation team. Purpose was to develop a knowledge-rich video case study about the adaptation, implementation and results of the Pillow Case Project in Peru for use by other Red Cross chapters in Peru as they scale up, as well as by other countries considering the project. Six countries were part of the initial international pilot funded by Disney with more than double that number of participating countries anticipated for 2015. The Video Case Study is intended to be an evaluation and knowledge management product that informs design and implementation from country to country. The opportunity exists to develop additional videos from all the footage we captured and interviews we conducted, more targeted for advocacy and communications. Quimera has also constructed the initial installments for a video-based KM archive for the project based on the raw footage collected in the field.

The inclusion of a video drone as part of the equipment mix was a first for Quimera, very exciting. Aerial footage of the the earthquake and tsunami affected communities offered a very powerful perspective and helped to provide important visual context to the project.

One again Taylor Krauss was part of the Quimera team, and brilliant as always.

Click here to watch the full length Video Case Study.

 

US Department of State: Evaluation Training Video Components

Quimera worked with Social Impact to develop video components for SI’s evaluation training courses provided to the US Department of State, Designing Evaluation and Managing Evaluation. The footage used to create the videos was drawn from the USAID GEM-3 Project Evaluation Video, also developed by Social Impact and Quimera for USAID’s Office of Learning, Evaluation and Research (coming soon to USAID/ LER).

This snippet opens a section focusing on community interview techniques.

SAIS/ Johns Hopkins: Video in Practical Research Methods

Professor Raul Roman, also Co-Founder of UBELONG, has invited me in to his class on Research Methods for a number of semesters to discuss the use of video in qualitative research and evaluation. Here’s a video we did from the very first time I came to class… lots of fun, and the students were fantastic.

UN Population Fund/ African Youth Alliance Video Report: M&E

UN Population Fund/African Youth Alliance Video Report: Botswana

In 2005 Quimera worked with the Director of Research at the UN Population Fund and their African Youth Alliance Program (AYA) to develop a project evaluation video report as part of program close-out and project documentation. As one of the first UNFPA projects designed as a full partnership with youth program leadership wanted to understand the impacts of youth participation on the project. Through a list serve Quimera was a resource for in-country project youth teams, offering training and support related to audio and visual production and interviewing. In-country youth teams conducted and filmed interviews and focus groups, sending all raw footage to Quimera for editing into a final video report.