The Ground Accountability Model (GAM) began as an effort to adapt the EPI methodology for use by different kinds of organizations. It is a participatory monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) framework designed to shift accountability in peacebuilding and development projects so that it is as much towards affected communities as towards donors and external stakeholders.

Rather than imposing pre-set indicators from the outside, GAM engages local communities to co-create indicators that reflect their lived experiences of concepts such as peace, justice, empowerment, or security. These “everyday indicators” then feed into program design, monitoring and adaptation. The EPI indicator development process is adapted differently for different organizations’ needs and capacities. By embedding community-generated indicators into measurement and adaptation processes, GAM aims to produce evaluation evidence that is both academically robust and locally relevant—bridging the gap between rigorous M&E and real-world impact.

GAM began through collaboration among organizations including Everyday Peace Indicators (EPI), Search for Common Ground and Asociación MINGA and COSURCA with pilot applications in multiple contexts to test how the methodology works across levels (local, national, international). This collaboration led to GAM being integrated into Search for Common Ground’s Peace Impact Framework and to the integration of GAM into MINGA and COSURCA’s MEL systems. Simultaneously, EPI accompanied the Inter-American Foundation in their efforts to capture everyday perceptions for their internal monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system. This proposal was based on creating everyday indicators with partners in each country, with monitoring carried out by the base organisation and the results integrated into the ongoing IAF monitoring mechanism.

In 2021, we established a community of practice, a shared space where all participating organizations could exchange experiences, challenges, and practical lessons following an established set of Key Commitments of the Grounded Accountability Model. This community became a vital learning hub that not only kept the GAM approach dynamic but also fostered continuous adaptation and improvement. In 2025, we launched an Innovation Fund offering small grants to community of practice participants and to expand the network of our community of practice. 

What is the Difference between EPI and GAM?

The EPI methodology was well established in the academic work of Pamina Firchow and Roger Mac Ginty. It’s a rigorous social science methodology that combines qualitative indicators co-created with communities and involves codification, data analysis, surveys, and quantitative analysis commonly used in academic studies. As a methodology, it has a cohesive and coherent set of rules that we follow every time we apply it.

However, the Ground Accountability Model is a proposal for adapting this methodology more flexibly. In GAM, we allow practitioners to be more flexible in how they co-create and gather data, tailoring it to the needs of any given organization. In other words, while EPI is designed to remain as rigorous and standardized as possible for comparability, GAM introduces room for tweaking, improvising, and creating new ways of collecting data to fit unique contexts.

How can you join the GAM project?

We now have opened our community of practice to all organizations or individuals working to adapt EPI, and integrate GAM, into their monitoring and evaluation and project design processes. Our work with the GAM community of practice is a natural extension of our Training Academy, in particular our applied training track where attendees not only learn about the GAM model but also create their own adaptations of the EPI methodology.

The Grounded Accountability Model offers a foundational shift in how evaluation and accountability are conceived in peacebuilding and development, moving from externally defined success toward community-defined change. It serves as a bridge between theory and practice, between global expectations and local realities.

If you’d like to get involved or learn more, feel free to contact us. We’re excited to welcome new partners into the GAM journey!

Key Resources: Key Commitments of the Grounded Accountability Model.