Step 1 of 2 — Your organisation
Tell us about your work
Three quick questions to help us understand your organisation, your MEL starting point, and what you need MEL to do.
What kind of work does your organisation primarily do?
This is the single biggest factor in choosing the right MEL approach.
Direct service delivery
We work directly with beneficiaries — training, healthcare, legal aid, community services, or similar
Advocacy & policy change
We try to change laws, regulations, or how government works — outcomes are slow and hard to attribute
Systems & market change
We work to shift industry practices, financial flows, supply chains, or economic systems
Capacity building & training
We strengthen other organisations, communities, or networks — not direct service to end beneficiaries
Research & knowledge production
We generate evidence, data, or analysis to inform others — reports, policy briefs, tools, or field knowledge
Multi-mandate
We do several of the above — service delivery, advocacy, capacity building, and/or research in combination
What is your current MEL situation?
There's no point recommending a complex evaluation framework to an organisation that doesn't yet have basic monitoring in place.
We don't have MEL yet
We collect little or no data systematically — we need to start from scratch
We have something but it's not working well
We track some things, but inconsistently — data doesn't really inform decisions
We have MEL and want to strengthen it
Our system exists and works reasonably well — we want more depth or rigour
We need to evaluate a specific project
A completed or ongoing project that needs a standalone evaluation — not our whole system
What is MEL for in your organisation?
Be honest — what are the real drivers? This isn't about what the answer should be. Most organisations have more than one.
✦ Select all that apply
Donor reporting
We need to demonstrate results to funders and meet grant requirements
Internal learning
We want to understand what's working so we can improve our programs
Adaptive management
We work in complex contexts and need data to adjust our approach in real time
Demonstrating impact
We want credible evidence of impact for advocacy, fundraising, or the public
Step 2 of 2 — Your capacity
What do you have to work with?
The right MEL approach is one your team can actually sustain — not just set up and abandon.
How many programs or projects does your organisation run?
MEL design looks very different for a single-program organisation versus one running many programs simultaneously.
Just one
All our work is a single focused program or project
2 – 5
A small portfolio of related or distinct programs
6 or more
We need MEL that works across a larger, more complex portfolio
How much can your organisation invest in MEL?
Include staff time, any budget for tools or external support, and realistic bandwidth alongside program delivery.
Low
Small team, very limited time, no dedicated MEL staff or budget
Medium
Some staff time available, small budget for tools or part-time support
High
Dedicated MEL staff or budget for an external consultant or system
Tell us about your organisation and what you want to monitor
The more specific you are here, the better your results — this field has more impact on output quality than any other. Include: what your org does, who your beneficiaries or targets are, the geographic and policy context, what data you already have, and what kind of report or deliverable you have in mind. A few specific sentences will produce a dramatically better plan than a vague paragraph.