Group Coaching sessions on Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) for Agricultural Innovation System (AIS) interventions

The DeSIRA-LIFT MEL team is offering coaching sessions targeting clusters of projects on how to prove and improve projects’ contributions to AIS strengthening in their intervention countries. The team will emphasize co-learning opportunities among projects in designing and implementing MEL approaches dedicated to AIS-strengthening interventions. We expect to have four clusters by region bringing together projects that share language, time zones, and MEL interest. We plan to offer up to three mentoring sessions to be scheduled in consultation with the projects.

The sessions will focus on shared MEL support needs such as:
1. How to develop and use a Theory of Change (ToC) throughout the project period?
2. How to organize real-time monitoring and reflection?
3. How to do useful evaluations for various project stakeholders?

Interested projects will be expected to:

• commit STAFF TIME (designation of 2-3 staff, namely project managers and MEL officers to join the sessions)
• have the WILLINGNESS TO SHARE experiences
• prepare OUTPUTS:  such as a revised ToC, a revised MEL plan, or reflective narratives documenting the changes in project managing competencies.

Interested projects are invited to contact the DeSIRA LIFT MEL team.

The MEL dialogues are online sessions focusing on MEL approaches for food system innovation. They aim to enhance DeSIRA partners’ understanding of MEL’s role in transformation. The first session introduced methods like PAREVO and MRA for complex change. Discussions centered on project readiness for MEL investments, required capacities, and paradigm shifts.

The next MEL dialogue sessions will focus on MEL for Multi-Stakeholder Innovation Platforms and Living Labs. The MEL team and selected DeSIRA partners will discuss experiences with evaluating collaboration in these settings. The final dialogue will explore collaboration in MEL among project partners, with invitations extended to donors, project managers, MEL advisors, researchers, and innovators to share their perspectives on roles in M&E and readiness for collaboration.

Many projects have expressed a need to broaden their MEL systems beyond a focus on impacts and to address gains in capacities, organizational collaboration and methodological innovation. In response Master Classes on Contribution Analysis and Process Tracing and Outcome Harvesting were organized in 2023.

You will find recordings of sessions in English and French through the button below.

The DeSIRA-LIFT MEL team is also offering a help desk to provide timely, focused assistance to projects’ MEL plans. Please see full details on the MEL help desk here.

Theory of Change can be applied at different times of a project. We hereby provide examples of basic, intermediate and advanced steps.

Utilization-focused evaluation (UFE) is a decision-making framework that allows projects to take ownership of evaluation. We hereby provide four modules introducing the UFE approach.

La Evaluación Orientada a los Usos (EOU) is un marco decisional que ofrece a los proyectos la oportunidad de adueñarse de sus planes de evaluación monitoreo y aprendizaje (EMA). Ofrecemos cuatro módulos para introducir el enfoque EOU.