This topic came up recently as I prepared for another client presentation on the value of a PMEL system. Why is it important, what should it have, and what should a good PMEL system support?

Let’s start with the basics. A PMEL system can be a simple Word document or Excel sheet, where an organisation lists its main goals for planning, monitoring, evaluating, and learning from its work. You can start with the foundations – think about why you do your work, and why you want to know whether you’re doing the right projects, at the right time, with the right partners.

It should also contain your measurement framework – a blueprint of what, where, how, and who measures your data – and why. Include a data collection and verification system and that’s a good place to start.

Now what you have is a document that tells you why reviewing your work is valuable. You will see important information about the elements of your work that you are interested in measuring – the number of WASH campaigns you’ve conducted and their immediate results.

The reasons why you need this system will then become clearer – not only does it help you gather and streamline all of your information in one place. You can also be sure that you are gathering the data that answers the most interesting set of strategic questions. In the example above, it could be something like ‘how are we working with communities to improve handwashing practices, and how do we know that our strategies are working?’

A system therefore gives you an easy way to ask the right questions at the right time, learn from your work, and help you connect your day to day work with the bigger strategy.

In a practical way, having a good PMEL system also enables information to be gathered systematically, so you don’t have to scramble before donor deadlines to find key data and draw important conclusions – it’s all there for you.

I like to build PMEL systems specifically for clients, but I also provide some templates for organisations to get started. Beginning with a generic toolkit can help you figure out what elements are useful for you, and where you may need something different, new, or in a different format.