Rethinking MEL: From Compliance Tool to Learning Catalyst
Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) is too often viewed as a bureaucratic checkbox, primarily serving reporting requirements and donor compliance. This session brought together diverse voices from the MEL and development ecosystem to challenge this mindset and ask: what would MEL look like if it were truly centred on learning, empowerment, and systems transformation?
Moderated by Andre Ling, the session invited panelists to reflect on their failures and frustrations in MEL, from donor-imposed frameworks to the pitfalls of rigid indicators. Anirban Ghose stressed how complex systems defy linear pathways, urging for MEL approaches that align with systemic change rather than project management templates. Akanksha Singh illuminated how feminist and participatory MEL faces structural resistance, even when communities are already generating meaningful learning. Gurshabadjeet Singh highlighted the underlying power dynamics, where practitioners and communities alike are “othered” in a hierarchical MEL ecosystem. Devyani Srinivasan shared candidly how evaluations, especially those with negative findings, often fail to generate learning when MEL is treated as a product, not a process.
The conversation was grounded in lived experience, rich metaphors, and critical insights, ending with a participatory discussion from attendees. The session laid the groundwork for a radical reimagination of MEL, not as a punitive tool, but as a collective, inclusive, and dynamic learning process that reclaims its transformative potential.
