Monitoring, Operations Research and Evaluation for Adaptive Programmes (MORE-AP)

  The world is changing rapidly, and the field of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is changing with it. To stay ahead of the curve and ensure your work remains relevant and impactful, it's crucial to understand the key trends shaping the future of M&E. Here are six you need to know: 1. Tech Takes Over: AI, Mobile Data, and VR/AR in M&E The digital revolution is transforming how we collect, analyze, and visualize data. Imagine gathering real-time feedback from beneficiaries on their mobile phones, uncovering hidden patterns in your data with AI-powered analytics, and presenting your findings in immersive VR/AR environments. These are just a few examples of how technology is reshaping M&E. Implications for practice: Upskill in digital tools:  M&E professionals need to embrace new technologies. Explore online courses and workshops on data collection platforms like KoboToolbox and SurveyCTO, data visualization tools like Tableau and Power BI, and AI-powered analytics

International development organizations are increasingly focused on strengthening the resilience of communities in developing countries to a variety of shocks, including natural disasters, economic crises, and public health emergencies. A key tool in this effort can be the adoption and adaptation of Community Resilience Estimates (CRE), a methodology developed by the U.S. Census Bureau. What are CREs? CREs provide a standardized, granular measure of social vulnerability at the neighborhood level. By considering factors like socioeconomic status, housing conditions, and access to transportation, CREs offer valuable insights into a community's capacity to withstand and recover from shocks. Why are CREs relevant for developing countries? While developed in the U.S. context, the CRE framework can be adapted to suit the unique circumstances of developing countries. By collecting and analyzing locally relevant data, international development organizations can utilize CREs to: Identify vu

Development organizations, in their pursuit of efficiency and impact, often fall into a trap of routinization. Processes become standardized, tasks are automated, and decisions are made based on predefined rules. While this approach offers benefits, it can also lead to a dangerous state of ethical blindness , where organizations become desensitized to potential ethical risks and fail to recognize the harmful consequences of their actions. As you are aware, context changes all the time, therefore operating on autopilot and relying on predefined rules, may make staff, including managers not adapt quickly to change in context.  This is where the crucial role of evaluation emerges. By providing a systematic and objective lens through which to examine processes and practices, evaluation can act as a powerful antidote to the dangers of routinization and ethical blindness. The learning role of evaluations is aimed at addressing exactly this.  The Perils of Routinization: Routinization, while

  In many organizations, phrases like "We have always done it that way" and "I know what I am doing" are quite common. However, if you are a monitoring and evaluation staff member, you may notice some unusual trends in results, or overhear something in meetings that makes you question the vertical and horizontal logic of the program. Depending on your findings, it could be the perfect time to pause, take stock, and reflect. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to convince people who are used to routines and strict adherence to standard operating procedures to think outside the box and out of their comfort zone. This is where ethical blindness can occur. Ethical blindness refers to a situation in which a person is unable to perceive ethical issues or moral dilemmas because of routines and strict adherence to standard operating procedures. In essence, it leads to inappropriate or unethical decisions when the individuals are not able to think beyond what they are used to