MEL Toolkit for Dual-Generational Programming in Fragile Contexts

• In Event: Roundtable Session 2
  In Refereed Roundtable Session: Locating the role of technology in family-oriented solutions for early years in fragile contexts

Proposal

Presenter: Varsha Ashok, Senior Associate at Busara Center for Behavioural Economics

Starting in June 2024, the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics, in partnership with Global Schools Forum (GSF) and Children in Crossfire (CiC), began a project to develop a MEL toolkit for organizations working in dual-generational programming in fragile contexts. Current MEL tools and methods often focus solely on children, leaving gaps in understanding the broader impact. Our goal is to create a toolkit that includes indicators for both caregivers and children, offering a more comprehensive view of how these programs affect both groups and how improvements for caregivers can positively impact their children.

We began by conducting a literature review to identify a long list of relevant indicators for CiC’s dual-generational program in Oromia, Ethiopia, a school-based program offering a suite of interventions targeting both children and caregivers. This review included white and gray literature, as well as existing MEL toolkits and frameworks. Then, we organized an alignment workshop with CiC, GSF, and other key stakeholders to contextualize and prioritize the different indicators and discuss how they should be sequenced. Finally, we developed tools for CiC to capture data on these indicators.

Currently, we are in the process of piloting these tools with participants in Oromia and training CiC staff on how to administer them. We are also distilling the literature review, tools, and results from the pilot into a MEL toolkit for other organizations working in dual-generational programming in conflict settings to build their MEL capacity.

In this proposed session, we will present the toolkit, which we will complete by October 2024. The toolkit will be publicly available on GSF’s website and will include instructions and templates for organizations on how to build a dual-generation theory of change, create a MEL framework that aligns with the Theory of Change, select relevant indicators, and develop tools to capture data on the indicators. As we present the toolkit, we will discuss the results from the pilots with CiC in Oromia, sharing the indicators we selected – which are indicators on responsive parenting, health and nutrition, livelihood support, and school readiness – how we measured these indicators, and the insights from the data. We will also discuss our experience training CiC field staff and the benefits and challenges of using field staff for data collection.

A key part of our presentation will focus on how different digital tools can be used for MEL in fragile settings. Critically, we will discuss the challenges of using these tools and different ways to overcome them, providing examples from the pilots with CiC and Busara’s projects in fragile settings from other sectors. For example, we will detail when and how secondary data should be used if primary data cannot be collected. By the end of the presentation, participants will have a clear understanding of how technology can be leveraged for MEL and practical guidance on how to apply these tools in fragile and low-income contexts.

Author

• Varsha Ashok