Flagship Course • Free Forever
Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning
Building Evidence Systems for Development Impact
A comprehensive course on MEL systems for development professionals. From theory of change to adaptive management, learn to design evidence systems that drive real impact—with rigorous academic foundations and South Asian case studies.
Frameworks & Methods
Case Studies
South Asia Focus
Interactive Lexicon
Why Study MEL?
Development programs collectively spend billions of dollars annually, yet many lack robust evidence of what works. MEL—Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning—is the discipline of building evidence systems that drive accountability and adaptive improvement.
MEL in development differs from academic research in crucial ways: it must balance rigor with practicality, serve both accountability and learning purposes, and operate within complex institutional environments where power dynamics shape what gets measured and how.
Evidence-Based Practice
Move beyond anecdotes to systematic evidence. Learn to design indicator systems, collect quality data, and analyze results that drive real decisions.
Methodological Range
Master the full spectrum—from RCTs to contribution analysis, from household surveys to Most Significant Change. Know when to use which approach.
South Asian Context
Deep focus on India, Bangladesh, and the region—with case studies from MGNREGA, Pratham, BRAC, and J-PAL South Asia that show MEL in action.
"What gets measured gets managed—but what gets measured is often what's easy to measure, not what matters most." — Carol Weiss, Evaluation Theorist