Part IV Communicating findings Chapter 14: Drawing conclusions and making concrete recommendations KEY QUESTIONS • How can we combine different data collected and draw conclusions from it? • What makes for a compelling, well-argued report? • What makes recommendations effective? INTRODUCTION The previous chapter discussed how to analyse and better understand the contextual factors that impact on rights holders and duty bearers. This information can then be reviewed and combined with the data on outcomes, policy efforts and resources, which has previously been analysed against various human rights norms, to make a final assessment of the State’s compliance with its obligation to fulfil ESCR. This chapter discusses how to draw together findings from each step of the OPERA framework, as well as how to organize those findings into a compelling report. In particular, it explains how to link poor outcomes with failures of policy efforts and resources, in order to make a well-evidenced argument that the State is not fulfilling ESCR. It then looks at how to make specific, actionable and measurable recommendations on the basis of the report’s findings. These recommendations can, potentially, form the basis of future monitoring work. 14.1. TRIANGULATING FINDINGS The different steps of OPERA each focus on particular human rights norms that need to be taken into consideration when judging a State’s fulfilment of ESCR. Each step provides a piece of the puzzle. The real value of OPERA is the way that these different pieces of the puzzle all fit together. Data and analysis of Outcomes Assessment Data and analysis of Policy Efforts Data and analysis of Resources Chapter 14: Drawing conclusions and making concrete recommendations | 137