The Activity Builds Solid Partnership in MEL with the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Through Capacity Building

The USAID Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Activity (the Activity) is constantly working to strengthen partnerships with its stakeholders in the various areas of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL). One of the Activity’s primary stakeholders is the Government of Jordan (GoJ); the Activity provides different ministry staff with MEL capacity building and coaching, as well as support in institutionalizing MEL practices, integrating them within the organizational culture and work procedures.

To this end, the Activity in collaboration with the Public Accountability and Justice Strengthening Activity (PAJ) supported the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (HCD) in the development of their MEL plan in December 2022, using a “learning-by-doing” approach. Having a MEL Plan and a set of indicators will help HCD monitor the progress of their different initiatives and activities and evaluate their impact, which will reflect positively on the design of their future programming.

Ghadeer Alhares, Secretary General Assistant for Technical Affairs at the HCD, commended the Activity’s effort, saying: “We highly appreciate the Activity’s continuous support to build the capacity of our staff in MEL. We value the training methodology that combines theory and practice, and we appreciate the carefully selected trainers who are very proficient in MEL.”

Building on this partnership, the Activity – in collaboration with PAJ – delivered more capacity building support to the HCD staff in January 2023. To ensure the courses were effective and impactful, the Activity customized the training material according to the needs of the HCD staff. The courses encompassed fundamental topics in MEL including data collection, analysis, and visualization, as well as report writing.

When asked to reflect on his experience, Khalid Al-Ruqb, Director of Training at HCD, spoke highly of the training, saying: “I gained a lot of knowledge and many valuable skills from this training, especially in the field of data collection and its tools,” he added: “The training has changed my attitude toward MEL; now I believe it is an integral part of my work, because without it, I would not know whether I am going in the right direction or not.” He stressed: “I will work to translate what I have learned into practical actions in my field of work, and I will also transfer this knowledge to my colleagues.”

As for Rasha Al-Adwan, Director of Independent Living Department, she praised the topics the Activity delivered, saying: “It was extremely helpful to learn about data gathering tools, data analysis through Excel, and data visualization.” She went on to say: “The training provided me with some concrete and easy-to-follow tools and methods. It also offered a nice balance between theory and practice. I feel confident to apply this approach to the different situations I face at my job.” She expressed gratitude to the Activity’s team, excitedly saying: “Thank you! The training honestly exceeded my expectations!”

Testifying to the value of HCD’s partnership with USAID/Jordan, HCD Secretary General Dr. Muhannad Azzeh attended the closing session for the training, expressing his gratitude to the Activity and PAJ for their efforts to build such fruitful partnership with HCD.

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