Theory of Change and Monitoring, Evaluation and learning Framework Development
Supporting Library For All develop an organisational Theory of Change, MEL framework and toolkit.
The Task
Library For All (LFA) is a growing not-for-profit enterprise of Save the Children Australia which develops culturally relevant books and learning materials to support learning outcomes for children globally. They wanted to better support learners, teachers, caregivers and their partners by developing a robust monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) process and system.
The process
We used a theory-based approach to facilitate the development process of the organisational Theory of Change and MEL framework.
We discussed with all LFA teams to understand their MEL needs and visions of desired change they were hoping to achieve.
We undertook a literature review and sector mapping exercise and then provided an analysis of existing LFA data to explore alignment with sector good practice principles and identify gaps in evidence.
We facilitated a series of organisational-wide and individual team online workshops to develop LFA’s theory of change and MEL framework.
We built on existing practices to develop a comprehensive toolkit to respond to the MEL framework and enable practical implementation of the framework.
The MEL framework and tools were deployed for testing and use.
The Result
This is the first time LFA has developed an organisational approach to thinking about what change they want to achieve and how. It has helped them to articulate and gain agreement across the teams about their vision, objectives, what they want to measure and how.
Project Lead: Joanna Knight
Team: Meaghan Brugha, Helen Gallagher
Themes: Theory of Change; MEL Framework; Strategise Together; Facilitating Learning; Social Justice
"merl have helped us create a theoretical foundation for Library For All that sets us up so well: we know what we're trying to achieve, how we'll go about it, and how we'll measure our progress. They have such a nice balance of providing their expertise (and making sure we know what good looks like) with letting us tell our own story and explore our own knowledge and understanding of our organisation. Would recommend!" Daniel Clifton, CEO, Library For All