If you are at an early stage of growth, investing time and resources into MEL may be a shared responsibility across the team and should be championed by your ESO’s leadership. As you grow and are able to further invest in resources, MEL should be as much of a priority as other parts of your organisation, including program delivery and operations. Over time, consider investing financially in regards to your team’s time (how much time they dedicate to participating in MEL across the organisation and programs), MEL-dedicated staff, team training, and data management systems. 

Financial investment in MEL also means budgeting for MEL, whether this be staff salaries, systems, or processes (such as data collection, storage, and management tools). Include MEL expenses in budgets and proposals, and clearly communicate the need for this with your partners. 

ESO leaders should place a high value on MEL from as early as possible. Rather than being reactive to annual evaluations or strategic workshops, consider how you can build MEL into your daily practices. This could include regular training and capacity building for your team, regular reflection on what your MEL data is saying, or training for your leaders in MEL principles and methods. This could also mean investing in systems and processes so that MEL is not dependent only on specific people but embedded in your organisation’s daily practices. 

ESOs should ensure that MEL staff are not the only ones who understand the process and importance of MEL. Rather than hearing “MEL isn’t my job” from your team, you should be hearing “MEL is part of everyone’s role”. 

Recognise where your leadership are not experts in MEL and engage skilled professionals accordingly as soon as it is financially feasible to do so. Build MEL staff and systems into your operational budget and funding proposals. Having one to two people on your team dedicated to Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning will not only improve your work but will increase your capacity to learn from, improve, and scale your work further. 

Conducting an external evaluation of programs when possible can also further validate your measurements and findings, bringing more credibility to your work, or highlight valuable areas for further learning and growth. 

Data collection does not mean anything unless you utilise that data. As a team, make time to regularly analyse the data collected from entrepreneurs and programs, reflect on what this analysis is telling you, and identify areas of learning. Use these lessons to adapt your work accordingly and strive towards continually improving the services you provide. 

Inclusive practices should be considered, planned for, and incorporated into program activities right from the start. Reflection processes provide an opportunity to assess how program activities and outcomes impact people of different genders, people from different socio-cultural backgrounds, and people with disabilities, and what changes could be made to strengthen their inclusion.

Commit to sharing these learnings with your key stakeholders, such as funders and entrepreneurs. Be open and transparent with your partners about lessons learned through MEL and what actions and improvements you are making as a result. 

Your data can provide value for your ESO as a business case for investment and growth. Be transparent with entrepreneurs about your results, particularly those that may attract them towards your programs. Remember to use a mix of hard numbers and storytelling to clearly communicate the results of your work. 

Inclusive practice is a process that itself requires monitoring and evaluation. Conducting monitoring and evaluation that allows for the disaggregation of data is an effective way of measuring the inclusivity of your programs. As part of developing a Theory of Change during the planning phase of your program or business, ESOs should identify which aspects (or ‘drivers’) of inclusive practice are relevant and within their capacity to influence. They should then develop relevant tangible indicators and targets to include in monitoring and evaluation frameworks.

For example, including indicators related to the inclusivity and accessibility of your ESO’s programs for women, people with disabilities, indigenous or marginalised groups, etc. can encourage your team to actively strive towards more inclusive practices.