Skip to main content

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/CCAFS/MARLO/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Outcome Impact Case Reports (OICRs) are MARLO’s structured format for documenting how research outputs are contributing to real-world changes. Where deliverables capture what was produced and innovations capture what was developed, OICRs capture what changed as a result — a policy reformed, a practice adopted at scale, a public investment influenced by research evidence. Each OICR documents a specific outcome story, assigns it a maturity level, and links it to the impact pathway elements it supports.

​
What an OICR contains

Each OICR record includes:
  • Title — a concise description of the outcome being documented
  • Narrative — a structured text account of what changed, who the actors were, and what role the research played
  • Evidence — links or file attachments supporting the claim (publications, meeting records, policy documents)
  • Maturity level — classification of how far the outcome has progressed toward real-world impact
  • Year — the phase year in which this outcome was observed or matured
  • Linked outcomes — the project-level and program-level outcomes (IDOs, SLOs) that this OICR contributes to
  • Cross-cutting markers — gender, youth, climate, and nutrition relevance scores

​
Maturity classification

OICRs are classified by maturity level to indicate how far the documented outcome has progressed. Reviewers and PMU use this classification to understand whether an OICR represents an early-stage signal or a confirmed, high-confidence impact.
Research outputs have reached target actors and there is evidence of engagement: awareness raised, capacity built, dialogue initiated. The outcome is real but its effects on practice or policy are not yet documented.
Target actors are actively using or testing the research. A change in behaviour, practice, or decision-making is underway but not yet institutionalised or sustained. Evidence is partial and the causal link to research is plausible but not confirmed.
A concrete change in practice, policy, or investment has been documented and is attributable (at least partially) to the research. The change is sustained across more than one reporting cycle and corroborated by multiple evidence sources.
The confirmed change has been replicated or adopted across multiple institutions, geographies, or population groups. The research contribution is widely recognised in the relevant community of practice or in official reporting.

​
Create an OICR

1

Open the OICRs section for your cluster

Navigate to Projects → select your cluster → OICRs in the left submenu. The active phase chip confirms the phase you are working in.
2

Add a new OICR

Click Add OICR. A new expandable form block appears in the list.
3

Write the title and narrative

Enter a concise title that identifies the specific outcome. In the narrative field, describe what changed, who the key actors are, and how the research contributed. Be specific: name the policy, the institution, the geography, and the approximate time frame.
4

Select the maturity level

Choose the maturity stage (1–4) that best reflects the current state of the outcome. If the evidence is mixed, choose the lower stage and note the uncertainty in the narrative.
5

Add evidence

Attach or link supporting evidence: policy documents, published citations, partner reports, or meeting records. At least one evidence item is required for QA validation.
6

Link to impact pathway elements

In the Contributions section, link the OICR to the relevant project outcome, IDO (Intermediate Development Outcome), and SLO (System-Level Outcome). These links connect the case report to the program’s theory of change.
7

Set cross-cutting markers

Score the OICR’s relevance to gender, youth, climate change, and nutrition using the standard 0–2 scale.
8

Save

Click Save. The OICR record replicates forward to the next phase with its current maturity level and narrative.
Past-phase OICR data is immutable. Once the Annual Report phase closes, the narrative, maturity level, and evidence recorded in that phase are locked. In the next phase, you work on the replicated copy and can update the maturity and narrative to reflect what has changed since — the previous year’s version remains intact for audit purposes.

​
Updating OICR maturity across annual cycles

OICRs that document ongoing outcome stories are updated each year:
  1. At the start of the new phase, your OICR carries forward from the previous phase.
  2. Open the OICR in the current phase and review the narrative and maturity level.
  3. If the outcome has progressed, increase the maturity stage and expand the narrative.
  4. Add new evidence that documents the progression.
  5. Save.
If an outcome has stalled or regressed — for example, a policy reform that was later reversed — update the narrative honestly. OICRs are evidence-based documents, not advocacy materials.

​
QA review of OICRs

QA reviewers assess OICRs on four dimensions:
  1. Narrative quality — Is the story specific, attributable to research, and free of generic claims?
  2. Evidence sufficiency — Does the attached evidence actually support the maturity level assigned?
  3. Maturity accuracy — Is the assigned stage consistent with the evidence provided?
  4. Impact pathway linkage — Is the OICR correctly linked to the relevant IDO/SLO?
Reviewers attach field-level comments when any of these dimensions need improvement. The OICR moves to QA validated only after all comments are resolved. Common revision requests include: insufficient evidence for the claimed maturity stage, vague narratives that do not name specific actors or policies, and missing IDO/SLO linkages.
Before submitting an OICR for QA, ask: “If a donor programme officer read this, could they verify the claim independently?” If the answer is no, strengthen the evidence or lower the maturity stage.

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us