Providing Evidence to Support USAID/Jordan’s Decision Making
Jordan, a country of 9.5 million people, faces a number of development challenges, including income disparities, water scarcity and high unemployment coupled with a growing youth population. It is affected by regional turbulence, including the ongoing Syrian conflict.
Jordan’s dynamic and unpredictable environment requires a robust and responsive M&E system of projects to ensure effective decision making.
MSI was awarded the Jordan Monitoring and Evaluation Support Project (MESP) in 2013 to work collaboratively with the Mission and partners to provide fast, flexible, robust and rigorous M&E and related support. Our project also sought to address the limited opportunities for M&E professionals to network and learn from each other, particularly within the USAID M&E community.
We worked to address the shortage of M&E professionals through a comprehensive approach, which included offering nearly 13,000 hours of training across 125 different workshops and held three MEL conferences.
We also developed and implemented a unique six-month Apprenticeship Program, graduating 40 apprentices, 37 of whom secured full-time employment in M&E.
Knowledge management of development results was a substantial challenge for USAID staff, partners and local stakeholders, exacerbated by rapid increases in donor support in response to the Syrian refugee influx. We worked hand in hand with USAID to develop a one-stop shop for development data, the Knowledge Management Portal (KaMP). This platform combines technical innovation with a strategic approach, contributing to collaboration, learning and adapting (CLA), a key emphasis of USAID’s approach to development.
We completed 22 evaluations and 12 assessments to provide the Mission with information to adaptively manage programs. We have also supported the Country Development Cooperation Strategy goals by producing a Journey to Self-Reliance (JS2R) analysis.
As a result of our partnership, we are confident that the M&E sector in Jordan is stronger and better prepared to address future challenges and achieve long-term success.
MSI is the leading provider of monitoring, evaluation and learning support to USAID. We are currently supporting several other Missions, including Afghanistan, Mozambique, Indonesia and the Middle East and North Africa.