How to Make Data-Driven Decisions: MEAL Training for Community Foundations
We have launched a MEAL training program (Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning) for community foundations to strengthen their capacity to work with data, analyze results, and make informed management decisions.
In today’s environment, organizational effectiveness depends not on intuition, but on high-quality data analysis. That is why MEAL training helps organizations move from “gut feeling” decisions to a systematic, evidence-based approach built on indicators, metrics, and results.
What the MEAL Training Offers
Participants gain practical knowledge and tools to:
- implement Monitoring and Evaluation (MEAL) systems within their organizations
- work with performance indicators and metrics
- apply the Results-Based Management (RBM) approach
- design and use a Theory of Change
- analyze community needs and assess project impact
- build a results-oriented organizational culture
This enables community foundations not only to plan their activities more effectively, but also to measure real change in their communities.
Why It Matters for Community Foundations
As organizations grow, they need to assess whether they are achieving their mission and strategic goals, and at what speed and quality change is happening.
A comprehensive approach to monitoring and evaluation helps to:
- identify key performance indicators
- use limited resources more efficiently
- increase transparency and accountability
- improve the quality of decision-making
Participants’ Perspectives
Lidiia Savenko, Head of the Board, Boyarka Community Foundation:
“This training will help our team identify the most important indicators, implement a MEAL policy, and become more effective in conditions of limited resources.”
Yurii Pastukh, Head of the Board, NGO ‘Podilskyi Bioregion’:
“For me, MEAL is like driving without a navigator — you kind of know the road, but lack confidence and precision. I want to learn how to measure results not ‘by eye,’ but through concrete data and facts.”
Svitlana Oliinyk, Project Evaluation Specialist and Grant Writer:
“I expect to gain practical tools for data collection and analysis, and to feel more confident using data for program decisions and project planning.”
Larysa Vashchenko, Project Manager, ‘Future of Koropshchyna’ Community Development Foundation:
“MEAL tools strengthen management, strategic planning, and trust, transforming a foundation into a data-driven agent of change.”
Training Outcomes
Participation in the program enables organizations to:
- transition to systematic data use
- implement effective MEAL approaches
- improve project quality
- increase their impact on community development
The study is produced by NGO «NNLPD» with the support of the Askold and Dir Fund as a part of the the Strong Civil Society of Ukraine – a Driver towards Reforms and Democracy project, implemented by ISAR Ednannia, funded by Norway and Sweden. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of NGO «NNLPD» and can in no way be taken to reflect the views the Government of Norway, the Government of Sweden and ISAR Ednannia.
