A Manifesto for Localising MEL: Creating the tools and environment for enabling change
Roundtable
About the Event
Itad and CLEAR propose to contribute to global discussions around recentring M&E for local audiences by convening two remote knowledge exchange events. Our events target M&E professionals and offer them a platform to explore the barriers and enablers of change in the sector, with a view to developing a manifesto for localising MEL.
Both organisations are committed to helping facilitate a shift to greater localisation of MEL practice, so it is designed, undertaken and disseminated by the populations in which development programmes are delivered. This shift should encompass evaluation methods and tools, engagement with stakeholders, and institutional and individual capacity. In order to promote a culture of decision-making that is based on locally-generated evidence and responds to local needs, adequate support needs to be available to both commissioners and practitioners. We suggest that discussing barriers and facilitators to, and gaps in, the localisation of MEL is the first step toward the creation of an enabling environment for it.
The objectives of our proposed events are:
- Exploring the concept of MEL localisation, starting from a working definition (‘MEL designed, undertaken, and disseminated by the populations in which development programmes are delivered’);
- Bringing together members of the evaluation community to share knowledge and ideas on the advances and challenges of localising the MEL agenda;
- Sharing Itad and CLEAR’s experiences on localising the MEL cycle, including tools and approaches
- Better understanding what is required to create an enabling environment for recentring M&E for local audiences.
Both organisations are committed to helping facilitate a shift to greater localisation of MEL practice, so it is designed, undertaken and disseminated by the populations in which development programmes are delivered. This shift should encompass evaluation methods and tools, engagement with stakeholders, and institutional and individual capacity. In order to promote a culture of decision-making that is based on locally-generated evidence and responds to local needs, adequate support needs to be available to both commissioners and practitioners. We suggest that discussing barriers and facilitators to, and gaps in, the localisation of MEL is the first step toward the creation of an enabling environment for it.
The objectives of our proposed events are:
- Exploring the concept of MEL localisation, starting from a working definition (‘MEL designed, undertaken, and disseminated by the populations in which development programmes are delivered’);
- Bringing together members of the evaluation community to share knowledge and ideas on the advances and challenges of localising the MEL agenda;
- Sharing Itad and CLEAR’s experiences on localising the MEL cycle, including tools and approaches
- Better understanding what is required to create an enabling environment for recentring M&E for local audiences.
Sessions
Roundtable
May 30, 2022
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
During this session, Itad and CLEAR will advocate for the localisation of MEL and discuss its importance for evaluators, commissioners and donors. Through a facilitated discussion, event participants will exchange ideas on challenges for the localisation of MEL and start identifying practical solutions to address them.
Groupwork will be the centrepiece of the event. The task will encourage people to share their experiences and reflect the following questions:
• What does good look like in localising (or contextualising) MEL?
• What are the barriers to the localisation of MEL?
• What facilitates the localisation of MEL?
• What opportunities have you had, know of, or wish to see for the localisation of MEL?
• What support do you or your institution need to localise MEL? Can you identify how this could work in practice?
Agenda
• Welcome and introductions
• Itad and CLEAR’s experience in localising MEL
• Group work description
• Group work (45 minutes)
• Presentations in plenary
• Wrap-up and next steps for the creation of a manifesto
Roundtable
June 1, 2022
11:00 AM - 12:15 PM
This second session will delve deeper into the ways in which we could and should be localising MEL. Itad and CLEAR will start by reflecting on the MEL cycle and sharing tools and approaches that have proved useful in their experience. The core part of the session will consist of a facilitated group discussion, during which participants will share their thoughts and insights regarding approaches for the localisation of MEL.
At the end of the second event, Itad and CLEAR will commit to consolidate the goals, learnings and insights emerged from both sessions into a manifesto to circulate among the participants of the event. The manifesto could also include references to practical tools and approaches to further the localisation of MEL.
Groupwork will be the centrepiece of the event. The task will encourage people to share their experiences and reflect the following questions:
• What are the tools and practical ways to ensure local participation in MEL activities?
• What opportunities have you had, know of, or wish to see to allow greater local participation in MEL activities?
• Who should create these opportunities?
• What needs to be in place for these opportunities to be meaningfully created?
Agenda
Welcome and introductions
Itad and CLEAR tools for localising MEL
Group work description
Group work (35 minutes)
Presentations in plenary
Wrap-up and next steps for the creation of a manifesto
Speakers
| Name | Title | Biography |
|---|---|---|
| Candice Morkel | PhD, Director | Candice Morkel (PhD) is the Director of CLEAR Anglophone Africa, and senior lecturer in the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). With over 20 years’ experience in government, academia and the non-profit sector, specialising in M&E, social policy and public sector governance, Candice has conducted or contributed to numerous policy and programme performance reviews, including the first national review of the White Paper for Social Welfare in South Africa in 2015/16. She has extensive experience in evaluation curriculum and capacity development, including the globally recoginsed IPDET programme co-hosted by the University of Bern, Switzerland, CEVal and the IEG of the World Bank. Her academic work includes teaching, research and supervision of students on the Postgraduate M&E programme at the Wits School of Governance. Candice has published in the field of M&E and presented at professional evaluation conferences in the US, Europe and Africa. She served as Chair of the South African M&E Association and as a Board Member of the African Evaluation Association (Southern African representative). She was appointed to the Council of the International Evaluation Academy (IEAc) in 2021. Her research interests include social policy, public sector governance and accountability, building capable developmental states and strengthening evaluation systems and capacities. |
| Becka Kindler | Consultant | Becka Kindler joined Itad in 2019 as part of the first cohort of research analysts and was promoted to a consultant in 2021. After working across a range of areas including international health systems strengthening, humanitarian assistance, and policy and advocacy, her work now focuses on conflict, peace and security. Concentrating on utilisation-focused evaluations, Becka has experience delivering portfolio and fund-level evaluations, real-time monitoring and quality assurance assessments. In her role as a consultant, she also works across areas of project management, contracting and financial monitoring. Prior to joining Itad, Becka studied at the University of Sussex, where she completed an MA in Conflict, Security and Development. Her thesis focused on the ‘hostile environment’ immigration policy in the UK and the wider European strategy towards immigration. Her research interests cover migration, policy analysis, and the ways in which insecurity and violence affect development. |
| Fernanda Pinheiro Sequeira | Consultant | Fernanda Pinheiro Sequeira joined Itad in 2019 as a Project Administrator, assisting with project management and project delivery, and moved on to be Research Analyst the same year. She provides analysis and research support to projects focussed on health. Fernanda has experience in a variety of industries and sectors and has been working in international development for the last three years. She holds an MA in social development from the University of Sussex, where she wrote her dissertation on the impact of the Zika virus epidemic on the abortion debate in Brazil. Fernanda has previously worked at small grassroots charities on refugee education in Greece and in Brazil, as a consultant in the private sector and as a financial manager at a publicly-funded museum. These experiences have added great value to her ability to deliver projects in complex environments. |
| Giovanna Voltolina | Consultant | Giovanna is a consultant in Itad’s Knowledge Hub. She has substantial experience in evaluation and knowledge management, with expertise in public health, sexual and reproductive health, youth engagement, and advocacy. Cross-cutting her work is a focus on data analysis, visualisation and dissemination, and a keen interest in participatory methods and workshop facilitation. She has worked on several evaluations and has extensive experience in the development of Theories of Change, having carried out relevant work for UN agencies, foundations and NGOs. Giovanna is also managing the evaluation of Public Health England’s International Health Regulations Strengthening programme, and is part of PSI’s Adolescent 360 Amplify project. Prior to joining Itad Giovanna was a Curriculum Development Fellow for a human and environmental rights organisation in Thailand, a Research and Communications Intern for a Geneva-based think tank, and a Red Cross and Emergency NGO volunteer. She earned her MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge. |