Part IV Communicating findings Monitoring failures to fulfil ESCR is often more focused on identifying areas for structural reform, rather than identifying individual perpetrators. For this reason, recommendations are generally policy-oriented and propositional. SMART S – Specific M – Measurable A – Ambitious R – Realistic T – Time-bound As with the benchmarks discussed in Chapter 4, recommendations should be “SMART” so that their implementation can be monitored. To develop SMART recommendations, it is useful to ask the following questions: What is the change you want to see? Identifying “real world” outcomes keeps the focus on those people affected by the human rights violation. Examples might include reducing the illiteracy gap between girls and boys over the next 15 years or increasing health insurance coverage to 80% of the population in the next seven years. What is the action needed to make that change? Identifying the policy efforts and resources needed is important to foster accountability among duty bearers by requiring them to explain and justify failures to take the actions recommended. Who is responsible for taking action? In most cases, there will be different recommendations for different branches of government. However, you may also have recommendations for companies, civil society organizations and other groups. If recommendations are presented in a quantified way, they can be used as benchmarks for ongoing monitoring. Consulting sector experts can be helpful in ensuring that such benchmarks are ambitious, as well as realistic and achievable. 14.4. IN PRACTICE: PREPARING A FIRST DRAFT OF YOUR REPORT A helpful way to compile and organize your evidence is to prepare a rough outline of your report. At this point, the strongest correlations and main themes will become apparent. Based on this, you may want to revise your outline to prioritize the most important and compelling arguments, as well as remove information that is less relevant. Once you have completed a first draft, it can be valuable to have an external reviewer read through the report to look for untested assumptions, possible gaps, inconsistencies, inaccuracies and bias. UPDATE FROM AHN By adopting a robust analytical framework and methodological approach, Ahn has been able to conduct a rigorous policy analysis that uncovers the reasons for indigenous women’s high maternal death rates. She drafts her report, focusing on the theme of resource expenditure. She includes detailed recommendations to the Government on the need for higher social spending, a better distribution of this expenditure and stronger systems of social auditing and accountability. In consultation with public health specialists, she sets out targets and timeframes for each recommended action. Chapter 14: Drawing conclusions and making concrete recommendations | 143