MEL Map

What is MEL Map?

MEL Map is Edit Right Advisors’ MEL plan model. A MEL plan often grows piece by piece, with indicators in one file, tools in another, and no link to the decisions they should inform. Left unsolved, indicators are measured differently by different staff, baselines are missing when a midterm review arrives, and reports are assembled under pressure. MEL Map gives your program one plan in which every part supports the others.

How does MEL Map work?

The map runs down the left column and up the right column, then returns from management decisions to the results logic. A base of cross-cutting standards supports every part.

• Results logic (01): The theory of change and results framework the plan measures.
• Measurement plan (02): Indicators, with definitions, baselines, targets, and sources.
• Data collection and management (03): Tools, frequency, data flow, and storage.
• Data quality (04): How data will be checked before it is used.
• Analysis and evaluation (05): How data will be analyzed and when evaluations will take place.
• Reporting and communication (06): What is reported, to whom, and when.
• Learning and adaptation (07): How findings will be discussed and used.
• Management decisions (top): The decisions the evidence must inform, which return to 01 Results logic.

Cross-cutting standards: ethics, safeguarding, equity and inclusion, data governance, resources, and accountability.

Who it is for

• NGOs and community-based and similar organizations: build a complete MEL plan in seven connected parts.
• Funders: see how results will be measured, checked, and reported.
• Government: see clear indicators, baselines, and targets.
• Researchers: get a documented measurement and evaluation plan.

Recognized practice behind MEL Map

• MEL plan practice. The seven parts reflect the standard sections of a MEL plan required by bilateral and multilateral funders: results framework, indicators, data collection, data quality, evaluation, and reporting.
• Results-based management. 01 Results logic and 02 Measurement plan follow results framework and indicator practice.
• Disaggregation. Equity and inclusion includes data disaggregated by sex, age, disability, and location, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) global indicator framework.
• Accountability to affected people. The accountability standard reflects the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS), including its commitments on participation, feedback and complaints, and continuous learning.
• CLA. 07 Learning and adaptation and management decisions reflect the CLA approach to adaptive management. CLA (Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting) is a USAID framework.

Edit Right models are our own structured adaptations of established practice. Naming a benchmark, author, or institution does not imply accreditation, membership, or endorsement.

Frequently asked questions

Key terms

• MEL: Monitoring, evaluation, and learning.
• Results framework: The structured set of results a program commits to and measures.
• Baseline: The value of an indicator before the program begins.
• Disaggregation: Breaking data down by groups such as sex, age, disability, and location.
• CLA: Collaborating, learning, and adapting, an approach to adaptive management.