Thank you for articulating this crucial reality so clearly!
Your point on how funding shocks quietly shift the balance from transformative learning to rigid, compliance-heavy accountability hits at the very core of our sector's challenge. Drawing from my work leading MEAL systems across Education, Humanitarian Response, Social Protection, Climate Resilience, and Livelihoods in Southern Africa & beyond, I resonate deeply with your conclusion, in lean times, evidence doesn't become less valuable, it becomes our primary risk insurance against squandering scarce resources.
The path forward isn't choosing between compliance and learning, but embedding Participatory Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting, and Learning (PMERL) directly into routine operations. True sustainability and accountability happen when we put community voices at the forefront and shift their voices, influence, and decision-making closer to the people who understand their realities, engaging local leaders, school heads, and target populations from project design and baseline planning right through to closeout. When stand-alone evaluation budgets shrink, donors and implementers must invest in localized, high-trust mechanisms like Community-Led Monitoring (CLM), Participatory Scorecards, and human-in-the-loop AI evidence synthesis. By transforming routine community feedback into continuous reflection spaces, we ensure that every dollar spent is not only accounted for, but actively driving community-owned impact.
RE: Evaluation under pressure : Strengthening evidence use, accountability and learning amidst funding constraints (Joint EvalforEarth-ALNAP discussion)
Zimbabwe
Wilbert Marimira
MEAL Specialist
CARE International
Posted on 13/10/2026
Thank you for articulating this crucial reality so clearly!
Your point on how funding shocks quietly shift the balance from transformative learning to rigid, compliance-heavy accountability hits at the very core of our sector's challenge. Drawing from my work leading MEAL systems across Education, Humanitarian Response, Social Protection, Climate Resilience, and Livelihoods in Southern Africa & beyond, I resonate deeply with your conclusion, in lean times, evidence doesn't become less valuable, it becomes our primary risk insurance against squandering scarce resources.
The path forward isn't choosing between compliance and learning, but embedding Participatory Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting, and Learning (PMERL) directly into routine operations. True sustainability and accountability happen when we put community voices at the forefront and shift their voices, influence, and decision-making closer to the people who understand their realities, engaging local leaders, school heads, and target populations from project design and baseline planning right through to closeout. When stand-alone evaluation budgets shrink, donors and implementers must invest in localized, high-trust mechanisms like Community-Led Monitoring (CLM), Participatory Scorecards, and human-in-the-loop AI evidence synthesis. By transforming routine community feedback into continuous reflection spaces, we ensure that every dollar spent is not only accounted for, but actively driving community-owned impact.