Partnering with SOS Children’s Villages International to advance M&E in a global and decentralised NGO

In a landscape where donors and stakeholders demand greater transparency and evidence of long-term change, large international NGOs are under growing pressure to demonstrate impact in a credible, systematic, and resource-efficient way. SOS Children’s Villages International (SOS CVI) took a proactive step in addressing this challenge by commissioning an independent review of its Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) systems.

As part of a strategic effort to strengthen those systems, SOS CVI collaborated with leonardo to conduct an independent assessment and develop a practical and holistic roadmap for their M&E process with a focus on usability, data quality, alignment to standards, and innovation potential.

The results demonstrate how tailored diagnostics can help large NGOs move toward smarter, more connected, and more stakeholder-aligned impact data.

"With increasing demands from donors and stakeholders for credible evidence of long-term impact, we know we have to evolve our systems. Partnering with leonardo gave us not only an independent diagnostic of our M&E systems, but also a clear, actionable roadmap for improving data quality, usability, and alignment with global standards. Their expertise helped us accelerate progress toward meaningful and tech-enabled impact management – delivering real benefits for both our donors and the children, families, and communities we serve."

- Dario Peter, Head of Programme Data and IT Systems, SOS CVI 

The customer: SOS Children’s Villages International

Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Austria, SOS CVI is an independent, non-governmental organization dedicated to supporting children without parental care or at risk of losing it and strengthening families around the world.

It operates family-strengthening programs, alternative care services, education and health initiatives, and emergency relief efforts - reaching over 2.5 million children and families globally.

As a trusted development actor, SOS CVI is a key partner for institutional donors, foundations, and corporate funders. As one of the largest global players in child and youth development, the organization brings decades of experience in data collection, monitoring, and results-based management. 
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The challenge: Evolving reporting needs in a complex environment

SOS CVI operates through a strongly decentralised structure that empowers national associations to tailor programs and systems to their local contexts – a strength that fosters relevance and community ownership across more than 130 countries and territories. However, this decentralised model also presents challenges for digital alignment, as a variety of tools and approaches coexist across the organisation.

Despite significant investments in data infrastructure, the scale and diversity of SOS CVI’s operations naturally introduce structural and technical challenges when it comes to producing consistent, actionable impact data. Large volumes of information are already being collected across programs, yet — as with many global NGOs — balancing local flexibility with the need for reliable, timely, and meaningful reporting remains an ongoing challenge. This raises important questions:

• How can global data systems maintain consistency, while respecting diverse operating realities?
  
  
• How can outcome-level insights be more effectively captured and reported, beyond program outputs?
  
  
• How can growing demands for transparency, donor-specific reporting, and international standards alignment be met, without overburdening teams?

To address these questions, SOS CVI collaborated with leonardo for an independent  assessment of their M&E processes aiming to identify both strengths to build upon and areas for improvement.
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The approach: A structured, multi-method assessment and future roadmap

To answer these questions, leonardo designed and implemented a three-part methodology:

1. Expert interviews across departments and regions
We conducted 14 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with key staff involved in impact data management, digital systems, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting, and communications. Participants included both global roles (e.g., data system architects, evaluators) and national office perspectives (e.g., SOS Belgium and SOS Sweden). These interviews captured diverse viewpoints on current challenges, aspirations, and system usability.
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2. Systematic document review
We reviewed a wide range of internal documents and data sources, including

• Data collection templates from programs and partners
• Reporting outputs (e.g., annual reports, donor templates, dashboards)
• Internal guidance, policies, and slide decks related to measurement frameworks and indicator systems
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3. Iterative synthesis and validation
We adopted an iterative approach, sharing emerging findings regularly in sync meetings with SOS CVI and cross-checking them with subsequent interviews. The goal was to ensure accuracy, nuance, and ownership of findings.
We assessed and scored SOS CVI’s current systems against international best practices and aligned all recommendations with both practical realities and strategic goals. As a final deliverable, SOS received a granular scoring on different categories of their impact reporting systems as well as a practical roadmap with prioritised recommendation.
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Findings: Leveraging strengths, addressing critical gaps 

The assessment identified three primary findings, each with implications for next steps:

1. Strong foundation, underused potential
SOS CVI collects a wealth of structured data particularly through robust systems that include participant-level and longitudinal insights. However, much of this data is currently under-leveraged. Reporting often focuses on outputs, leaving room to deepen analyses around outcomes and longer-term change. Encouraging pilot initiatives provide a strong basis for expanding outcome-level reporting globally.
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2. Converging needs across stakeholders
Interviews with funders, country offices, and global teams revealed a shared set of priorities:

• Data quality assurance: Strengthening processes to improve reliability, accuracy, and representativity across all data collections
  
  
• Outcome and longitudinal data: Expanding the use of long-term outcome tracking to provide a more complete understanding of program results
  
  
• Framework alignment: Streamlining impact frameworks and indicators to support global comparability across countries and programs
  
  
• Qualitative data use: Systematically integrating narrative insights from focus groups, stories, and field evaluations to complement quantitative findings
  
  
• Standards alignment: Linking reporting more directly to international benchmarks, such as the SDGs, and enhancing the ability to communicate donor-specific contributions
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3. A roadmap combining quick wins and strategic evolution
Based on these findings, leonardo proposed a staged roadmap:

• Near-term actions: Improve accessibility and use of existing data systems, increase transparency through methodological annexes, and scale existing outcome-focused pilots.
  
  
• Strategic opportunities: Strengthen data quality controls, streamline indicators across programs, invest in flexible dashboard tools, and include qualitative and systemic dimensions of impact more systematically.
  
  

This forward-looking approach positions SOS CVI to build on its current capabilities while aligning more closely with sector standards and stakeholder expectations.

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The way forward: Innovation grounded in existing strengths

This collaboration has shown that innovation in impact measurement does not always require building something new from scratch. Often, the path forward lies in unlocking value from existing systems, aligning stakeholder needs with internal capacities, and creating shared language around goals, standards, and success metrics.

By providing an independent, structured review, leonardo supported SOS Children’s Villages International in taking stock of its data assets, identifying areas of friction, and outlining a clear, actionable roadmap for the future.

We remain committed to supporting actors in the NGO sector as they build stronger, smarter, and more equitable systems for measuring, understanding and communicating their impact.

leonardo offers tech-enabled consulting for organisations looking to strengthen their impact measurement and reporting. Contact us to explore how we can support your work.

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