TABLE 1.

Methodologies and features of the 2 assessments

	Assessment 1	Assessment 2
Settings	1 country (Burkina Faso)	4 countries (Chad, DRC, Senegal, and Sierra Leone)
Evaluative approaches and steps	Contribution analysis: 1) Set out the cause–effect question to be addressed 2) Develop a theory of change (ToC) and risks to it 3) Gather the existing evidence on the ToC 4) Assemble and assess the contribution story and challenges to it 5) Seek out additional evidence 6) Revise and strengthen the contribution story and the ToC	Outcome harvesting: 1) Design the harvest 2) Document search 3) Engage with human sources 4) Substantiate with external sources 5) Analyze and interpret 6) Support use of findings
Timing of data collection	Retrospective Prospective (real-time)	Retrospective Prospective (real-time)
Data sources	Desk review Ongoing documentation Interviews Questionnaire	Desk review Interviews
Data curation	Transcription of interviews Chronology of events Logic model ToC	Transcription of interviews Chronologies of events Outcomes listing
Data analysis and interpretation	Verification of the assumptions Examination of the external influences BFGM lens	BFGM lens

Abbreviations: BFGM, Breastfeeding Gear Model; DRC, Democratic Republic of the Congo; ToC, theory of change.