The MERL Advisory Group
is a boutique firm that provides advisory services and technical support in monitoring, evaluation, research and learning (MERL) to non-profit, public and private sector clients around the world
Agile Teams
We have access to a roster of highly skilled MERL professionals from around the world. We work with our clients to assemble the right combination of experts to suit their individual needs. Our team offers support that ranges from backstopping in-house MERL resources to managing all aspects of our clients MERL activities.
Effective Support
Our experts have over a decade of experience in supporting organizations to collect and use data to make better decisions. We offer advice on proposal development, program design and project implementation. Our MERL toolbox is comprehensive and has been instrumental in helping us produce successful results for clients.
Affordable Service
We work with organizations of all sizes and budgets. Our focus is on continuing to build our portfolio of work. We are committed to working with our clients to ensure that they receive the best value for their money.
What we offer?
Our value proposition is simple. We offer agile, effective and affordable technical support to help organizations better monitor, evaluate and articulate the impact of their work.
Our Technical Expertise
We work in a wide variety of development sectors including health, education, agriculture, youth and women’s economic empowerment, market systems development, governance, social innovation and forced migration. Our MERL technical expertise is equally comprehensive.
M&E Systems
Design and setup organizational systems (plans, tools and implementation mechanisms) for effective and efficient monitoring and evaluation
Theory of Change
Develop or update theories of change to help organizations better articulate their impact stories
Evaluations
Plan, manage and implement independent Baseline, Midterm, Endline and/or ex-post evaluations
Project Monitoring
Third party monitoring of project activities and results to ensure organizations are on track to achieve their overall objectives
Results Based Management
Design or update project Logic Models, Performance Measurement Frameworks and Risk Matrices for effective results-based management
Thematic Reviews
Conduct portfolio-level reviews to help organizations have a holistic understanding of the impact of their work
Adaptive Management
Build feedback loops into MERL plans to ensure lessons learned are regularly and organically integrated into project planning
Data Collection
Design and manage tools and processes for high quality and effective data gathering
MERL System Audits
Conduct audits to improve the quality, relevance , effectiveness and efficiency of organizational MERL Systems
Our Leadership
Chinyere W. Amadi Dufour
Executive Director and Principal Consultant
Chinyere is a Canada-based Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Technical Advisor with several years of experience designing and managing the implementation of organizational MERL activities. She is a trained results-based management (RBM) specialist and developmental evaluation expert with in-depth knowledge of the reporting requirements of development funders such as Europaid, DfID, Global Affairs Canada (GAC), MasterCard Foundation and USAID. Chinyere has provided MERL technical assistance on multiple development projects in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe and North America with a combined dollar value of over $360 million.