MEL 360: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning for Systems Change
MEL Tools and Guidance for Food Systems and Other Complex Contexts.
Supporting Practical Integration of Systems Thinking in Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL)
Are you a development practitioner working at the project, program, or portfolio level? Are you just beginning your journey with Systems-Informed Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (Systems MEL)? You're in the right place.
This website offers practical, accessible guidance to help you layer Systems MEL approaches onto your existing MEL practices—without discarding the tools you already know and use, like Results-Based Management (RBM) or traditional evaluation frameworks.
Photo: UNDP Somalia
What You'll Find Here
General Systems MEL Guidance
Explore foundational materials on what Systems MEL is, why it matters, and how to start applying it across different levels and sectors. This guidance is relevant to any development context.
Tailored Support for Food Systems
If you're working specifically in or on Food Systems initiatives, you’ll find specialized guidance and tools that respond to the unique dynamics and interdependencies in that space.
Resources and Practical Tools
Find custom MEL360 How-To Sheets and templates, along with selected external tools that support systems MEL practice.
Who This is For
This resource is designed especially for:
MEL practitioners and development implementers starting to explore or apply Systems Thinking.
Those working at project, program, or portfolio levels.
Teams looking to enhance learning, adaptation, and impact without overhauling everything they already do.
This resource will also be valuable for:
Designers of systems-informed projects, programs, and portfolios, helping them integrate Systems MEL from the start.
Managers of projects, programs, and portfolios using Systems MEL to assess contextual readiness, identify entry points, and support their teams in embedding Systems MEL into their work.
Funders seeking to help grantees adopt Systems MEL by understanding its value, the conditions that enable it, and sharing this free resource with them.
Our Approach:
Integration,
Not Replacement
We believe in enhancing—not replacing—your current MEL practice. Systems MEL is about:
Adding perspective, not abandoning structure.
Deepening analysis, not discarding familiar tools.
Encouraging reflection, complexity awareness, and adaptive management.
This hub offers you an entry point into Systems MEL that is grounded, flexible, and actionable.
Ready to Begin?
Let’s take the next step toward more resilient, adaptive, and system-aware development work—together.
Start exploring:
Implemented by:
United Nations
Development Programme
FUNDED BY:
MEL 360 is part of the Systems, Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation initiative (SMLE) of UNDP funded by the Gates Foundation.
CONTACT US AT:
WEBSITE DESIGNED IN 2025 BY RAFA POLONI FOR UNDP