MONITORING, EVALUATION AND LEARNING PROJECT

This project will create effective, joined up systems for monitoring, evaluation, and learning, creating new models and providing a strong evidence base to address the current lack of knowledge about effective humanitarian capacity building.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

It is notoriously difficult to gather evidence about what works in humanitarian capacity building, due to the many variables that can affect success, and how difficult they are to measure. Because of this, there is little knowledge available on the subject. Furthermore, an effective evidence base cannot be built without collaboration and sharing across the humanitarian sector.

The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Project was created to work across each of the fourteen collaborative projects of the Department for International Development’s Disasters and Emergencies Preparedness Programme (DEPP).

MEL worked across the portfolio to create effective, joined up systems for monitoring, evaluation, and learning. It increased coherence between the projects and, crucially, provided us with an evidence base of what works in capacity building.

Operating at programme level rather than at the level of individual projects, the MEL project embedded five Regional Learning Advisors in the DEPP focal countries who collaborated with the projects in that region to maximise data collection, analysis and use at the national and regional levels. A central team provided the same support at the global level and ensured there were links between the five regions. An independent evaluation team was also contracted to accompany the programme throughout its three years.

Project achievements included:

- Enabled DEPP projects to create a working cycle of monitoring, evaluation and learning that made iterative improvements of their work

- Promoted effective learning and collaboration, by monitoring the progress of projects

- Pioneered new approaches in order to generate new evidence, invested in embedded capacity and innovative technology, tools and platforms

- Consistently evaluated the DEPP key assumptions / questions, and learning lessons from the DEPP projects and disseminated these to the other projects/ countries to ensure uptake of learning

WHO WAS INVOLVED?

This project was delivered through a consortium led by Action Against Hunger (ACF-UK) and included Relief International, Partnership Brokers and Harvard Humanitarian Initiative.

WHERE DID THE PROJECT TAKE PLACE?

The project worked in all ten DEPP countries - the Philippines, Myanmar, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Jordan, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mozambique.