Making global indicators easier to navigate with NCA and Fabo
Norwegian Church Aid has transformed detailed indicator guidance into an accessible Fabo resource for staff and implementing partners. At our September Fabo Meetup, NCA shared how co-creation, prototyping and staged delivery helped turn a complex results framework into a practical digital tool.
From long documents to accessible guidance
In 2025, Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) began a new five-year strategic period guided by its Programme Framework 2025–2030 and a new global results framework. The framework brings together indicators from six thematic areas as well as cross-cutting priorities. Each indicator comes with detailed guidance on definitions, calculation methods, suggested questions and reporting requirements.
Previously, this guidance was mainly available through PDF documents of between 15 and 45 pages and an internal SharePoint resource centre. The material was comprehensive, but it could be difficult to navigate. Access was also limited for NCA’s implementing partners, even though they play an important role in collecting, analysing and reporting programme data.
NCA therefore set out to create a resource that would make the guidance easier to find, understand and use. Fabo offered a shared digital space that could serve both NCA colleagues and partners.
Co-creation shaped the solution
NCA worked closely with the DCA Learning Lab to develop the Global Indicators site. The process began with content mapping and analysis and design workshops. Monitoring, evaluation and learning advisers brought subject knowledge, while Fabo colleagues facilitated the workshops and translated user needs into a workable learning design.
The team developed prototypes for both area-of-work pages and individual indicator pages, then refined them through several rounds of testing. A two-day, in-person workshop during an NCA visit to DCA proved especially useful. It gave the team focused time to review the prototypes, resolve technical questions and agree on priorities.
Continuous communication remained important throughout the project. The original scope was larger than expected, so the team adapted the timeline and launched content in stages as pages became ready and programme teams needed them.
A structure built around how people use indicators
The design workshops identified a clear set of user needs. People had to be able to locate one relevant indicator quickly without working through large volumes of unrelated information. They also needed to move easily between thematic areas and follow the same logic used in NCA’s reporting requirements.
The resulting site uses colour and distinctive icons to help users recognise thematic areas. Each area-of-work page provides an overview and links to its related outcomes and indicators. Individual indicator pages use a consistent structure that answers three practical questions: What is the indicator? How should it be measured? How should the findings be analysed, interpreted and reported?
The reusable page design was essential because of the scale of the resource. The site covers dozens of thematic and cross-cutting indicators and close to 100 pages. A consistent structure also makes future updates easier and helps users know where to look, regardless of the topic.
Balancing detail with usability
The project team faced several dilemmas that will be familiar to organisations working with technical learning content.
They had to balance the planned launch schedule with the time needed to get each page right.
They also had to retain enough technical detail for accurate reporting without recreating long, text-heavy documents online.
Processing and filtering the volume of material took time.
The prototypes helped the team decide what belonged on the main page, what could sit within interactive elements and where links to additional tools or resources would be more useful than extra text.
The experience showed the value of combining technical expertise with learning design from the start.
A staged launch supports continuous improvement
NCA launched the indicator pages progressively so that teams could use priority content as soon as it was ready.
The complete version became available across NCA on 1 August 2026. Later that month, NCA introduced the site to 13 partners in its Africa Advocacy Programme during a gathering in Nairobi.
The next step is to promote wider use and keep improving the site in response to feedback.
This approach treats the resource as something that can evolve with users’ needs, reporting practice and NCA’s programme framework.
What other Fabo members can learn from this example
NCA’s experience shows how Fabo can support more than online courses. It can also make technical frameworks and organisational guidance easier to navigate, share and maintain. The example is particularly relevant for organisations that currently rely on long manuals, dispersed files or internal systems that partners cannot access.
- Start with user journeys. Map what different users need to find and the decisions they must make before choosing a page structure.
- Design for reuse. A consistent and duplicatable layout saves time when a resource contains many related pages.
- Bring technical and learning expertise together. Subject specialists protect accuracy, while learning designers help users engage with complex information.
- Allow space for iteration. Prototypes and focused workshops reveal issues that are difficult to resolve through document review alone.
- Launch according to need. A staged approach can make useful content available sooner while the wider resource continues to develop.
About the contributors
Norwegian Church Aid is a member of the Fabo Learning Community. The NCA Global Indicators site was developed through collaboration between NCA’s monitoring, evaluation and learning specialists and the DCA Learning Lab.
Watch how NCA developed its Global Indicators site on Fabo
During the Fabo Meetup held on 24 September, 2026, Devika Rai, Senior Advisor for MEAL at Norwegian Church Aid, and Adaline Hui, Learning Experience Designer at the DCA Learning Lab, presented the development process and gave participants a tour of the site.
You can also explore the NCA Global Indicators site on Fabo. Access may depend on your Fabo account and permissions.
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