Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning - MEL
© Save the ChildrenMonitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) is fundamental to any humanitarian effort. However, measuring the impact of humanitarian innovation presents distinct challenges - outcomes are often unclear at the initial stages of an innovation process, timelines are long, and standard indicators may not capture what matters most. Getting this right is important, both to guide the innovation process and for being able to make a credible argument for adoption and scale.
To support organisations in navigating this, we have developed a set of MEL resources available on this page. These tools are mandatory for HIP-supported projects and should be used when submitting the end-of-project report to Innovation Norway. They may also be useful for other organisations working on humanitarian innovation.
HIP Norway MEL framework and end-of-project reporting
The end-of-project report may be submitted in the organisation's own template, but should include the information in this overview.
- Organisations may use their own project specific MEL indicators, and must in addition include indicators from the HIP indicator menu.
This is a self-assessment survey to be completed at the end of the project. The purpose of the survey is to provide HIP with a cross-program view of the impact of the innovation process. To decrease the level of subjectivity, we encourage project teams to complete the survey as a group exercise within the involved organizations and private sector partners.
HIP conceptualizes emergent project outcomes as three interlinked dimensions: consolidated learning, comparative improvement, and uptake. A project scores itself on three dimensions. The three dimensions should be viewed as ladders or scales. Consolidated learning is relevant for both Innovation Lab and Scaling projects. Comparative improvement is relevant for Innovation Lab projects that have reached the proof of concept stage and to projects in the Scaling program. Finally, the uptake dimension is only relevant for scaling projects. With this framing, we can see impact as something that emerges over time.