CGIAR Initiative on Asian Mega-Deltas hosts MELIA training in Vietnam

As a regional integrated initiative, the CGIAR Initiative on Asian Mega-Deltas (AMD) hosted a Training on Basic Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, and Impact Assessment (MELIA) in Hanoi, Vietnam on January 9-10, 2024.

The training aimed to provide participants with foundational knowledge on MELIA, crucial to enhance capacities in project management, particularly in reporting of results and assessing impacts of relevant One CGIAR projects and initiatives.

Almost 30 participants joined the workshop, coming from at least seven Initiatives, such as AMD, Excellence in Agronomy, Gender Equality, Low-Emission Food Systems, Market Intelligence, Resilience Cities, and Mixed Farming Systems and five centers, such as Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, International Potato Center, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and WorldFish.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Robert Caudwell, IRRI Country Representative to Vietnam and CGIAR Convenor for Vietnam, stressed that “MELIA plays a crucial role in our work in CGIAR by providing a framework for assessing the effectiveness, impact, and learning from our initiatives and projects.” He added that by integrating MELIA into our work, CGIAR can optimize its impact, increase accountability, and ensure that its efforts are aligned with its mission to transform agricultural research for development.

He also emphasized that the training is one of the ways CGIAR is strengthening the capacity of our staff in performing and integrating MELIA in their work.

During the training, the participants were able to learn about the: (1) fundamentals of monitoring and evaluation; (2) basic principles and methods of impact assessment; and (3) reporting of CGIAR Initiative’s results to the Performance and Results Management System or PRMS Reporting Tool. Interactive workshops and discussions were provided to establish understanding of MELIA concepts and tools such as the Theories of Change (ToC) and logical frameworks.

The concepts and tools introduced gained positive feedback from the participants. Most of them see the relevance of the training to improve their capabilities to contribute to improvements in research and project design, to appropriately plan and execute MELIA functions, and also to accurately report results in compliance with relevant reporting system.

Resource persons for the training were Justin Dela Rueda, MEL Specialist, and Donald Villanueva, Senior Associate Scientist, at IRRI.