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Evaluating monitoring, evaluation and learning initiatives in the New Zealand and Australian agricultural research and innovation systems: the MEL framework

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-03, 13:03 authored by Samantha Stone-Jovicich, Helen PercyHelen Percy, Larelle McMillan, James TurnerJames Turner, Lan Chen, Toni White
The potential for monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) to enhance innovation and impact in agricultural research and development is receiving increasing attention. New Zealand’s AgResearch Limited and Australia’s CSIRO Agriculture and Food are working with their scientists to support the organisations to achieve greater innovation and impact by embedding MEL into research programs and projects. However, both organisations have found it challenging to systematically demonstrate the value of their MEL initiatives. While there is an increasing number of case studies and anecdotes pointing towards the contribution of MEL to fostering innovation that delivers social, economic and environmental impacts, there is limited evidence, collated through systematic and rigorous methods, to substantiate this. This article presents an evaluation framework drawing on insights from complexity science (the Cynefin framework), evaluation practice and research (complexity-aware M&E and reflective practice) and innovation capacities (learning, reflection and adaptation). The framework is intended for research organisations working in agricultural innovation systems to be able to demonstrate the value of their MEL initiatives as well as carry out comparative analyses. It also supports organisational learning to better inform evaluative strategies and actions.

History

Rights statement

Copyright © 2019 by Australasian Evaluation Society

Language

  • English

Does this contain Māori information or data?

  • No

Publisher

SAGE Journals

Journal title

Evaluation Journal of Australasia

ISSN

2515-9372

Citation

Stone-Jovicich, S., Percy, H., McMillan, L., Turner, J. A., Chen, L., & White, T. (2019). Evaluating monitoring, evaluation and learning initiatives in the New Zealand and Australian agricultural research and innovation systems: the MEL framework. Evaluation Journal of Australasia, 19(1), 8–21. doi:10.1177/1035719X18823567

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