This session discusses the use of life stories in the evaluation of a systemic action research project in Mali, which aims at empowering communities to analyze and act upon conflict inducing dynamics in an organized, evidenced based way. It is being evaluated using Outcome Harvesting and Contribution Analysis, fed by real time data gathered through embedded monitoring at every step. Not only the Systemic Research component, but also the Outcome Harvesting and Contribution Analysis process heavily relied on a critical mass of life stories. As part of the evaluation process, the effects of action research group initiatives were relayed to the evaluation team via 300+ life stories examining how not only the group initiatives, but also the way in which they were carried out, influenced both group members’, and ultimately the wider community’s perceptions of themselves and of the conflicts around them, and of their capacity to act. These life stories were used within the Contribution Analysis process to identify key causal pathways, patterns and differences when aggregated across localities and actors. The results show to what extent the stories people tell about themselves and their own community change through their participation to, and interactions with the action research process.
