The evidence that NHRIs gather through their monitoring activities is crucial in their work to protect and promote human rights. For example, an NHRI might draw on the findings of its auditing activities to increase public awareness about particular human rights or to advise the Government on its obligations. It might also submit the findings of an investigation to a parliamentary review. Accordingly, deciding what kind of monitoring activity will be most appropriate for a particular issue will depend on the audience to be reached, which in turn will depend on the broader social change the NHRI is seeking to achieve. This Manual makes the distinction between two methodological approaches to monitoring: • Events-based monitoring: This is often associated with seeking redress for individuals who have suffered a human rights violation which is attributable to specific incidents or events. It focuses on gathering and corroborating primary evidence from victims and witnesses. • Policy monitoring: This is often associated with advocacy to address chronic human rights violations that result from systemic policy failures and that affect a range of individuals or groups. It commonly uses a “macro” – or “big picture” – approach in its analysis. The focus of this Manual is on policy monitoring. It seeks to equip NHRIs with the knowledge, tools and skills needed to carry out effective policy monitoring in the socio-economic and development spheres. HOW SHOULD THE MANUAL BE USED? The Manual is designed to be a resource for Commissioners and staff of NHRIs as they undertake monitoring activities related to ESCR. It provides guidance on each phase of the monitoring cycle: initial planning, research, reporting and advocacy. However, it does not provide a blueprint for every monitoring activity to be followed every time. The needs of each NHRI – and, indeed, of each monitoring activity – are unique and so it will always be necessary develop a specifically tailored approach. Accordingly, the Manual is structured so that readers can draw on the information that is relevant to their interests and needs. We encourage readers to use the Manual as a resource when they embark on each new monitoring activity. Even though the Manual presents the monitoring process as consecutive phases, the process is iterative; for example, as you learn more about the topic you are researching, you may change your mind about what your main advocacy objectives should be. As a result, you may find yourself going back and forth between phases. To help you do this, the chapters in the Manual are cross-referenced throughout. HOW IS THE MANUAL ORGANIZED? In keeping with the key phases of the monitoring process, the Manual is divided into four parts: Part I: Defining the issues to be monitored Every monitoring activity begins with a question. Chapter 1 explains how a human rights-based approach can be used to frame questions about poverty and socio-economic deprivation in a way that holds the relevant actors responsible for human rights violations. Chapter 2 sets out the obligations of those actors under international human rights law. In particular, it discusses the normative standards and principles that relate to ESCR. Chapter 3 introduces the OPERA framework as a way of organizing research questions around these norms and standards, while Chapter 4 explains the role of indicators and benchmarks in framing research questions. Part II: Collecting and analysing data After defining the right question to ask, the next step is to collect the data that can help answer that question. Chapter 5 discusses the particular advantages of integrating quantitative data in research. Chapters 6 and 7 explain how to gather data from secondary and primary sources. Chapter 8 introduces some basic principles for analysing data with spreadsheets. Introduction for users | 3