Investing in monitoring, evaluation and learning: Issues for NGOs to consider

This study was commissioned by Comic Relief, DFID, Big Lottery Fund, NIDOS and Bond to address the lack of evidence available to support NGOs working in international development in deciding what resources to commit to monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL).

We found that many NGOs take MEL very seriously and make considerable investments in it as they see it as a means to improve their work and that of their partners. For most NGOs, their MEL systems are reported to support them in making day-to-day project management decisions with many saying MEL also supports strategic management and learning. In most cases, existing computer software is used for information management, regardless of the size or kind of NGO. Some NGOs are investing in bespoke systems, which are expensive and take time. Whilst these may be suitable in some situations the study did not show any correlation between bespoke systems and perceived MEL system effectiveness.