Practices of Decolonised Locally-led MEL
The Evidence and Learning Community of Practice will host “Practices of Decolonised Locally-led MEL” online on 13 October.
Across philanthropy and social change organisations, there is growing recognition that Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) practices need to better reflect local knowledge, lived experience, community priorities and more equitable approaches to learning and accountability.
Drawing on insights from Peace Direct’s “Locally Led Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning: A Decolonial Approach” and the Equitable Evaluation Collective’s work on equitable evaluation, this session will explore what it means to put decolonised and locally-led MEL into practice.
Together, participants will examine the values, principles and mindsets that underpin a decolonised MEL approach, including questions of power, knowledge, data, participation and decision-making. The session will provide space to share practical approaches, tools and experiences of locally-led MEL from participants’ own contexts.
Importantly, the conversation will also focus on the challenges of implementation. Where are we encountering resistance? What organisational, funding or cultural barriers continue to reinforce traditional MEL approaches? What changes are needed, and how can we navigate tensions that emerge when trying to shift power and centre local leadership in learning processes? Drawing on both successes and setbacks, participants will reflect on concrete actions that can support more meaningful, context-responsive and locally-owned approaches to evaluation and learning.
The session will feature inputs from experts, followed by peer exchange and discussion among Community members.
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