Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL)

(Driving accountability, adaptive delivery, and evidence-led impact across all programmes)

Purpose & alignment:

RHD’s MEL framework is designed to ensure programmatic excellence, donor accountability (including ODA compliance), and continuous learning. It embeds a human-rights based approach and mainstreams gender, disability and climate considerations to measure whether our interventions deliver equitable, durable change for marginalized communities in Nyanza and beyond.

MEL Objectives

1. Measure progress against outputs, outcomes and impact (SDG-aligned).
2. Ensure data quality, transparency and fiduciary accountability.
3. Enable adaptive management through timely analysis and learning.
4. Strengthen partner and community capacity for participatory M&E.
5. Translate evidence into policy influence, scale-up and sustained funding.

Governance & resourcing

• MEL Manager (RHD HQ): overall responsibility for framework, QA, reporting and external evaluations.
• Program MEL Officers: embed routine monitoring within each program (Education, Health, WaSH, Agriculture, Peace & Sports, Humanitarian Aid, Research).
• Field Enumerators & Community Monitors: local data collection, beneficiary feedback and safeguarding reporting.
• Data Analyst & Knowledge Specialist: dashboards, data visualisation, learning products.
  We allocate programmatic budgets to ensure MEL costs are proportionate (typically 5–7% of direct project costs depending on donor rules), and reserve resources for independent mid-term and end-line evaluations.

Results framework & indicators

• We maintain a consolidated Results Framework (logframe) per project with SMART indicators at output, intermediate outcome and outcome levels, aligned to SDGs (e.g., SDG3, SDG4, SDG5, SDG6, SDG13, SDG16).
• All indicators are disaggregated by sex, age, disability, and location to reveal equity impacts.

Methods & tools

• Quantitative: mobile household surveys (Kobo/ODK), routine service data, GIS mapping of WaSH and infrastructure.
• Qualitative: FGDs, key-informant interviews, participatory community scorecards, beneficiary case studies.
• Digital systems: centralized secure M&E database; interactive dashboards (PowerBI/Tableau) for real-time tracking; encrypted cloud storage and role-based access.
• Third-party monitoring: periodic independent spot-checks and verification to strengthen credibility.

Data quality, ethics & safeguarding

• Standard Operating Procedures for data collection, DQA checklists, regular enumerator training, and spot-audits.
• Strong ethics: informed consent, anonymisation, data minimisation and secure retention policies.
• SEAH, child protection and safeguarding protocols are integral — including confidential reporting channels and referral pathways.

Monitoring cadence & reporting

• Daily/weekly: field updates and service delivery logs.
• Monthly: program dashboards for managers.
• Quarterly: consolidated progress and adaptive plans shared with partners and donors.
• Annual: comprehensive results reports, financial reconciliations and learning symposiums.
• Ad hoc rapid assessments inform humanitarian or contextual shifts.

Evaluation & learning

• Baseline within first 3 months; midline (year 2–3) and endline evaluations; targeted impact evaluations or cost-effectiveness studies where applicable.
• Learning outputs: policy briefs, case studies, practitioner toolkits and multimedia stories co-produced with communities.
• Institutionalised learning loops: quarterly learning reviews, community feedback mechanisms and annual public learning events to inform scale-up and advocacy.

Participation, accountability & policy use

• Communities and human-rights defenders are co-producers in M&E: community monitors, scorecards and feedback hotlines ensure responsiveness.
• Strategic evidence packages inform policy dialogues, county-level planning and national advocacy — directly supporting RHD’s mission to strengthen grassroots voices and protect civic space.

RHD’s MEL system is an engine for continuous improvement: rigorous, ethical, participatory and designed to convert data into meaningful decisions — ensuring donor funds translate into measurable, equitable and sustainable change.