Learning and Impact

Our overall Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) approach

Our overall approach to Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) on HCA-II is learning centred, focussing on generating evidence and lessons that can inform project and programme learning and adaptation. It is iterative and experimental, ensuring that we develop and adapt ways of doing MEL that are contextually driven and relevant, including developing new approaches and tools where appropriate. Participation and collaboration are at the heart of our MEL, including in co-designing, co-delivering, co-reviewing and co-actioning lessons alongside project partners and adolescents where possible.

Fondation Botnar’s Evidence to Action (E2A) Framework has inspired the overall HCA-II programme design and our MEL approach such as HCA-II’s overall aims and outcomes being guided by the E2A domains of change including: empowered youth and communities, effective city systems, equitable partnerships, harnessing technological innovation and global in reach aspirations. E2A has shaped the types of evidence and how data is collected by our projects and the programme, and how we capture learning around what works well or not so well in achieving our overall ambition of supporting adolescents to thrive and fulfil their potential in cities to be able to contribute as active and empowered citizens.

HCA-II MEL Structure

Our MEL approach is cyclical where monitoring, evaluation and learning are inextricably linked and feed into each other to produce evidence, lessons and learning within projects and across the programme both for internal learning purposes, as well as to share with external stakeholders and wider audiences operating in the global adolescent health and wellbeing space.

As shown in the figure, MEL is undertaken at two main levels:

  • Project-level – Each project partner and their consortia carry out MEL generating locally-driven evidence, both around project delivery and on understanding of what works and what does not in improving adolescent health and wellbeing in urban settings in their respective contexts.
  • Programme-level – MEL is conducted across the HCA-II portfolio, aggregating project-level evidence and learning, focussing on higher-level programmatic outcomes and wider contributions to relevant sectoral evidence and knowledge. The programme also conducts MEL on its operational delivery to drive ongoing improvements and adaptations to ensure effective and high-quality support to HCA-II projects.

HCA-II Theory of Change

The HCA-II Theory of Change outlines how we expect project and programme level activities across the HCA-II lifecycle and portfolio will lead to desired medium- and long-term outcomes, as well as intended impact.

HCA-II Mid-term Internal Learning Exercise (MILE)

About the MILE

The Mid-term Internal Learning Exercise (MILE) was a year-long (September 2023 – October 2024) formative exercise intended to support learning around what is working well and what adaptations can be made to the HCA-II programme with an aim to enhance overall delivery and ultimately, impact. It captured learning of seven HCA-II projects across six countries that were active as of December 2023.

Read more about the MILE here.

The objectives of the MILE were to:

  • Identify lessons related to project and programme design and implementation of HCA-II (and its funded projects) from December 2021 up to December 2023.
  • Learn about what has been working well so far (and what could be done differently) in designing and implementing AHW projects in urban environments, across various contexts.
  • Adapt HCA-II programme-level management processes based on learning, to ensure HCA-II projects are supported in achieving impact with and for adolescents, and wider city stakeholders.
  • Capture initial lessons for potential future phases of HCA, for similar projects and programmes and for the wider global community that operate in the AHW space.

The MILE was co-designed and co-delivered by the Global Team, HCA-II in-country managers (ICMs) and project partners, with a strong emphasis on participatory and utilisation focussed methods particularly guided by the participatory action research and learning (PAR-L) cycle.

The MILE methodology was shaped around five research domains inspired by the E2A framework and included a comprehensive desk review and primary research consisting of in-country and online visits, in-depth discussions with project consortia, city authorities, adolescents and wider stakeholders. It concluded with a series of collaborative sense-making and action-planning workshops as part of the ‘co-action’ phase.

MILE research domains