Assessing the Impact of Developmental Relationships in a Humanitarian Context

We explore how developmental relationships in the context of human resource development (HRD) may be evaluated to assess impact within a humanitarian organizational setting. We examine the purpose, process, and perspectives of impact evaluation within one-to-one learning interventions, focusing on mentoring. The chapter highlights the importance of developmental relationships and establishing the purpose, specific to the organizational objectives as the first step to undertaking meaningful evaluation. Next, we present the case study, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which provides medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare. The MSF Operational Centre Brussels mentoring program, one of the older and most established mentoring programs in MSF was the basis for the two-year longitudinal mentoring impact evaluation project. Overall, the results suggest that the mentoring program is having a significant impact on mentees and mentors in supporting their personal and professional development. The mentoring relationship addresses core leadership and management competencies, also supporting the well-being of participants, reducing stress, and helping to prevent burnout. The case illustrates mentoring program evaluation in practice, sharing the approach, results, and key learning from the participants’ experiences. Finally, we explore the importance of using a robust methodological approach to planning and implementing an impact evaluation study and highlight a number of practical considerations to assist those embarking on impact evaluation. This study provides a case study research contribution, shining a light on the application of multiple evaluation methods in assessing the impact of developmental relationships.