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Last week we hosted a Core Training for our Members: MEL for Non-MEL Folks.
In case you’re a non-MEL folk too (welcome!!), MEL stands for Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning. It involves an iterative process of:
With folks from around the world calling into our Core Training, it was an interesting session to break down the basics of MEL and also discuss how to embed accountability into MEL processes. To me, the highlight was a metaphor that my colleague Bao Han used, and I’d like to share it with you too (perhaps a bit more dramatically than originally used ;)). Without any relatable lived experience to this metaphor, I still find it a compelling narrative for the importance of integrating MEL throughout an entire project. So please humor me for a bit, and let’s set sail!
You’re about to set out on a week long sailing trip, leaving from your hometown to a new city. It’s a team of 6 on the small boat, ready to work together to make the voyage as enjoyable as possible. While you’re excited by the thought of sunshine and ocean views, you’re also a bit overwhelmed as this trip will be filled with many firsts for you, like the fact that it’ll be your first time traveling with complete strangers. But even more overwhelming, not only will it be your first time on a sailboat, it’ll be your first time being responsible for working the sailing vessel. Still, you find some comfort in the fact that your crew mates have experience and you’ll all be working as a team.
You ask yourself questions like…
And just like that, your ship is packed, you feel confident in your role, and you wave goodbye to your friends in your hometown!
You have more questions, like…
Your crew works together and your journey continues safely – and it is a lot of fun! Now in the distance, you see people from your destination city lining the harbor, waving you into their port. Soon you’ve docked your ship and made it to your destination!
You reflect back, asking questions like…
What’s especially important throughout is to be transparent and accountable! Be open about what was accomplished and what challenges you faced with stakeholders, communities, and partners.
While definitely on the less-serious side, this metaphor really demonstrates that MEL is not just something to plan ahead of your project. It’s also not just something to do while the work is ongoing. And it’s more than just reflecting after a project. MEL is an important process before, during, and after.
By learning and reflecting on what happened, how it happened, and why it happened, your project can continue to grow. It’s important too to share that your MEL processes should be participatory, with folks directly impacted by your work directly involved in defining success and collaboratively learning about the project.
So next time you start a project and are ready to send your metaphorical sailboat out to sea, be sure to embed MEL, so you can improve and support your work.
Psst! We created a cheatsheet to support our participants at our Core Training: MEL for Non-MEL Folks. It covers helpful definitions and information for those new to MEL. If you’d like to view this resource, let us know: [email protected] .
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