Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning platform adopted within and outside CGIAR

Published on: March 28, 2021, Submitted by Enrico Bonaiuti on: March 28, 2021, Reporting year: 2020

Sustainable Development Goals Contribution

Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) is an integrated and adaptable online platform for projects, activities and knowledge management, performance measurement, communication and dissemination of research findings. Its multifaceted and modular structure allows customization and remodelling to meet ever-changing demands. Given these qualities, MEL was adopted by the CGIAR Excellence in Agronomy 2030 (EiA) initiative and the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA), joining three CGIAR CRPs and four Centers in the MEL Team.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Logo

The Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) Foundation is a private entity based in Barcelona, investing in Research & Innovation (R&I) through funding from the 19 participating states (274 million € up to date) and by the EU (220 million € through the Horizon 2020 program).

Excellence in Agronomy (EiA) is a new Research Platform included in the CGIAR Portfolio starting in 2020.

Both EiA and PRIMA expressed the need to manage the extent and complexity of their framework and took committed steps toward optimal monitoring and evaluation, aiming at adopting and sustain a collaborative platform fit for business, a system allowing to accurately monitor, evaluate and learn from their efforts every step of the way. Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) has been chosen, to be implemented and extended to all components and partners, as a collaborative, decision support, and management platform for knowledge, budget, risks, planning, and reporting of R&I. EiA configured the platform for all its activities while PRIMA started with 70 projects in terms of recoding planning data and initiative the reporting with its stakeholders.

Throughout 2020, the MEL Team has managed, a collaborative start-up of the online system, customizing it for the new framework, targets, and objectives. PRIMA committed to uphold the system and contribute to its maintenance to support its strategy 2018-2028 with optimized functioning, better results, and sustainability of its interregional, multi-stakeholder knowledge management investment.

The MEL adoption has followed four fundamental trails:

  • Acquire a Findable, Accessible, Reusable and Interoperable (F.A.I.R) and collaborative environment for project officers cross-regions.
  • Utilize a flexible, interoperable system capable of ensuring proper knowledge attribution.
  • Build on a scientific approach capable of informing research and technology for innovation and development.
  • Enhance the Foundation's potential for evolution and scaling, with a system supporting results and impact outreach through Open Access, API-connected repositories, visuals and knowledge sharing tools.

The Uptake of MEL by EiA and PRIMA represents a direct outcome contribution to the CGIAR Strategic Related Framework (C) Policies and Institutions and (D) Capacity Development components, as the platform provides the interregional foundation with an online environment enabling knowledge management capacity and strengthening partnership building through capacity development processes. As a decision-supporting and informing tool, MEL allows multi-stakeholder coordination for comprehensive planning and reporting of projects and activities, covering knowledge, staff, budget, risk assessment, and intellectual property, providing assisted visuals and dashboards - such as for the Plan of Work and Budget - and other utility tools and integrations (e.g. Dataverse, Dspace, ODK). MEL's out-scaling outcome is topped by the up-scaling of the platform development, due to the commitment by PRIMA in maintaining the platform and contribute to its evolution. Given the sustainability of the adoption method, PRIMA is in full right to further scale the adoption, training for, and showcasing the platform to relevant stakeholders, as well as advocating the uptake of knowledge management best practices stored, represented, derived, or diffused by MEL and its users.

Stage of Maturity and Sphere of influence

  • Stage of Maturity: Stage 1

  • Contributions in sphere of influence:
    C.1.1 - Increased capacity of beneficiaries to adopt research outputs
    D.1.1 - Enhanced institutional capacity of partner research organizations

Acknowledgement

MEL adoption is the result of the synergic efforts by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), and it is supported by CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes and Dryland Cereals (GLDC), CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB), CGIAR Research Program on Fish Agri-food Systems (FISH), International Potato Center (CIP), WorldFish, World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), ICARDA GeoAgro. MEL is powered by CodeObia, iMMAP, DSpace, and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Projects

  • PRIMA Monitoring and Evaluation Tool

CRPs & Partners

References

Keywords

analysis evaluation innovation knowledge management learning monitoring planning data management ammonia mono-oxygenase risk management return on investment upscaling science communication project management research for development innovation platform knowledge sharing knowledge partnership building monitoring & evaluation best practice value for money

Countries

About the author

Enrico Bonaiuti is Program Management Officer at International Potato Center - CIP.

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