M&E – it’s not always dull
MONITORING and evaluation (M&E) can be fun… yes, truly.
It gets to be a lot of fun when you persuade certain members of the LDC team to install moisture probes.
These photos and videos, taken by the project’s M&E officer Barb Colls, capture Sheridan Callcott (on the hurdy gurdy) and Sheyanne Frisby (driving in the star picket) installing 80cm Agrotek soil moisture probes at the Mt Pleasant Learning Hub.
These will monitor moisture levels at each 10cm of depth and allow the team to evaluate to what extent the treatment features impact soil moisture depth and retention compared to the control site.
Contrary to what it may look like, the probes were successfully installed and are working well!
Get more information on the Learning Hub here. (Make sure you scroll right to the end, there’s lots of info and pictures).
M&E is used to assess the performance of LDC with the goal to improve current and future management of outputs, outcomes and impact.
Monitoring and evaluation is important because it:
- provides the only consolidated source of information, showcasing project progress;
- allows stakeholders to learn from each other’s experiences, building on expertise and knowledge;
- generates reports that contribute to transparency and accountability, and allows for lessons to be shared more easily;
- offers paths for learning and improvements;
- provides a basis for questioning and testing assumptions;
- provides a means for agencies seeking to learn from their experiences and to incorporate them into policy and practice;
- provides a way to assess the crucial link between implementers and beneficiaries on the ground and decision-makers;
- adds to the retention and development of institutional memory; and
- provides a more robust basis for raising funds and influencing policy.
These stories explain why Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting & Improvement (MERI) is important to the LDC: