Dusting Off MERL: How a Proven Framework is Getting a Modern Upgrade to Drive Impact at the Initiative Level

Value Stream Consulting
Jul 1
3 min read

For decades, international development and humanitarian programs have relied on rigorous methods to track their effectiveness, and MERL, or Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting, and Learning, evolved directly out of that tradition. Born from practice at agencies like the United Nations, and large NGOs as early as the 1970s and 80s, MERL became a disciplined framework for making sure every dollar counted, every outcome was measured, and every insight was fed back into practice. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, MERL was recognized as essential for ensuring accountability and continuous improvement.

Despite its proven value, MERL often remained a behind-the-scenes process conducted mostly by specialists and shared through dense reports. But as grantmakers and foundations embrace initiative-level strategies and demand for transparency grows, MERL is poised for a much-needed revival.

MERL vs. MEL: What’s the Difference, and Why It Matters

Many grantmakers may be more familiar with MEL, which focuses on Monitoring ongoing progress, Evaluating effectiveness, and Learning to inform future decisions. MERL adds an important fourth element: Reporting. The emphasis on Reporting formalizes a commitment to make findings visible and actionable for everyone involved, including funders, boards, partners, and communities.

This shift is significant. MERL is not only about making sense of data after the fact, it’s about continuously producing transparent, accessible information that informs decisions as they happen. In short, MERL integrates Reporting as a core part of the process, ensuring that the lessons learned do not stay buried in team meetings or internal reports.

Why MERL is More Relevant than Ever

As more organizations embrace initiative-level management, they need tools that do more than passively monitor progress. They need systems that help them:

Show real-time progress toward goals
Communicate impact clearly and transparently
Adjust tactics continuously as new evidence emerges

And as funders and stakeholders place more emphasis on capturing qualitative evidence, especially through stories and narratives, MERL provides a natural structure for gathering, evaluating, and reporting both numbers and experiences that matter.

Powered by Emerging Technologies and AI

Modern advances make MERL not only more accessible but also more valuable. Today’s tools, including no-code platforms and AI-driven solutions, simplify data collection, surface insights faster, and help grantmakers put their findings to work with less friction.

AI adds value at every stage. It can process large volumes of data, both qualitative and quantitative, to produce actionable summaries and visualizations in a fraction of the time it would take a team manually. It can help identify trends and outliers that might otherwise go unnoticed. Most importantly, automation powered by AI reduces the staff hours needed to track progress and generate reports, allowing teams to focus on strategy and decision-making rather than data wrangling. This shortens the path to value, making MERL less resource-intensive to implement while increasing the return on investment in terms of insight and impact.

What’s Next: Value Stream Consulting’s MERL Solutions

At Value Stream Consulting, we believe MERL is the key to moving beyond traditional reporting and into a future of adaptive, evidence-driven initiative management. That’s why we’re developing a suite of tools and practices to help grantmakers leverage MERL, making it easier than ever to monitor, evaluate, report, and learn as part of your everyday workflow.

Starting in Q4, we’ll begin rolling out new MERL-driven solutions designed to:

Integrate seamlessly with your existing systems for smooth data collection and sharing
Align teams around shared goals and visible progress
Empower leaders and stakeholders with real-time evidence they can use to make better decisions

It’s Time to Make MERL Work for You

With MERL as a central practice, organizations can go far beyond traditional MEL. By making Reporting an equal partner to Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning, and leveraging the power of AI and automation, grantmakers can surface what matters most, make learning visible and actionable, and tell better stories that drive real, lasting impact.

Stay tuned, we can’t wait to show you what MERL can do when it’s fully integrated into initiative management. And as always, we’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences as you embrace MERL in your own work.