THE ESSENCE OF MONITORING, EVALUATION, RESEARCH, AND LEARNING (MERL) TO NON-PROFIT/SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

The reliance of non-profit/social enterprise on MERL for sustainability and scalability can never be over emphasized. Having been privileged to facilitate M&E lecture on few occasions, and looking through the thinking and research that goes into the development of interventions/ programmes by individuals/organizations, and the level of commitment given to M&E, the reason why impact analysis reports of such interventions/programmes are not hitting the expected outcomes becomes very clear.

M&E is an age long discipline that predates man. In Genesis 1vs1-31 here we are able to see how God carried out a proper M&E on His Project of Creation which lasted for seven days by conducting M&E after each milestone (day) to be satisfied with the outcomes (and God saw that it was good) before proceeding to the next phase of the project. No wonder the world remains the most wonderful invention in beauty, splendor and design.

So, I will be sharing few insights into the development of a good M&E Plan.

But first, what is monitoring, evaluation and learning? And why is it important?

Monitoring: is a method of checking and keeping continuous record of activities. Monitoring helps to provide information on progress, or lack of progress, in relation to project objectives. It answers questions such as:

? How well are we doing?

? Are we doing the activities we planned to do?

? Are we following the designated timeline?

? Are we over/under-spending?

? What are the strengths and weaknesses in the project?

Evaluation: is an assessment of the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, performance and sustainability of a project. Evaluation confirms whether project objectives have been achieved or not. Evaluation helps to answer questions such as:

? How relevant was our work in relation to the primary stakeholders and beneficiaries?

? To what extent were the project objectives achieved?

? What contributed to and/or hindered these achievements?

? Were the available resources (human, financial) utilized as planned and used in an effective way?

? What are the key results, including intended and unintended results?

? What evidence is there that the project has changed the lives of individuals and communities?

? How has the project helped to strengthen the management and institutional capacity of the organization?

? What is the potential for sustainability, expansion and replication of similar interventions?

? What are the lessons learned from the intervention?

? How should those lessons be utilized in future planning and decision making? To be continued!