This is a great reflection regarding the balancing act we all face; funding is shrinking, but the demand for clear proof of results is higher than ever. We simply have to move past heavy, expensive field setups if M&E is going to remain practical.
This reminds me of one action we did in the field; this exact squeeze is what forced us to rethink our approach and replace costly top-down visits with leaner digital workflows. By training local women youth to use offline KoBoToolbox surveys and community scorecards on basic Android phones, we sped up our data collection and cut our routine M&E costs by nearly 30%.
The real magic of using tech like mobile surveys, geospatial mapping, or real-time tracking is not just saving money on paper; it's how fast you can feed those insights back into everyday operations. For example, when digitized scorecard data reached us in real time, we immediately saw that farmers in Chiredzi were losing livestock to dry spells despite good seed distribution numbers. Because the data came in so quickly, we were able to pivot our activities straight toward traditional grain multiplication and fodder preservation before the season was lost.
Smart tech and automated systems are fantastic tools, but they only truly work when anchored in human trust. When you pair digital efficiency with community ownership, you do more than just lower evaluation costs, you turn raw numbers into real-time action!
RE: Evaluation under pressure : Strengthening evidence use, accountability and learning amidst funding constraints (Joint EvalforEarth-ALNAP discussion)
Zimbabwe
Wilbert Marimira
MEAL Expert
Tsorodzo dzeAfrika Advisory
Posted on 23/10/2026
This is a great reflection regarding the balancing act we all face; funding is shrinking, but the demand for clear proof of results is higher than ever. We simply have to move past heavy, expensive field setups if M&E is going to remain practical.
This reminds me of one action we did in the field; this exact squeeze is what forced us to rethink our approach and replace costly top-down visits with leaner digital workflows. By training local women youth to use offline KoBoToolbox surveys and community scorecards on basic Android phones, we sped up our data collection and cut our routine M&E costs by nearly 30%.
The real magic of using tech like mobile surveys, geospatial mapping, or real-time tracking is not just saving money on paper; it's how fast you can feed those insights back into everyday operations. For example, when digitized scorecard data reached us in real time, we immediately saw that farmers in Chiredzi were losing livestock to dry spells despite good seed distribution numbers. Because the data came in so quickly, we were able to pivot our activities straight toward traditional grain multiplication and fodder preservation before the season was lost.
Smart tech and automated systems are fantastic tools, but they only truly work when anchored in human trust. When you pair digital efficiency with community ownership, you do more than just lower evaluation costs, you turn raw numbers into real-time action!