Monitoring for Learning (M4L): Facilitating Adaptive Management in Nigeria

The crisis in northeastern Nigeria demands life-saving assistance for over two million internally displaced persons. As a key donor, USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) has a broad portfolio, implemented by dozens of humanitarian partners (IPs) spread across multiple intervention sectors. In Nigeria, BHA faces a familiar set of humanitarian aid challenge questions: Do these multi- and cross-sector interventions add complimentary value? What are the best practices associated with interventions in this dynamic and insecure context? What service adjustments must be made to continue to endure in light of an evolving virus pandemic?... and much more.

The USAID/Nigeria Monitoring Project (NMP) develops, organizes and hosts quarterly “Monitoring for Learning” (M4L) sessions, bringing together BHA staff and IPs and using contemporary third-party monitoring (TPM) findings to address these questions and other emerging issues. These week-long events assist stakeholders with the management, measurement, and adjustment of their interventions throughout the program cycle by integrating an analysis of current datasets with collaborative learning and critical reflection on key TPM findings.

Non-competitive by design, the M4L approach allows participants to freely share and glean best practices while gaining broader insights into sector successes, challenges and trends beyond their individual grant agreements. The NMP M4L focus on knowledge sharing and collaboration provides the perfect setting to facilitate critical reflection with specific learning and field adaptation goals.