From October 11 to 13, 2023, Romita Mitra, Evaluation Research Associate and interim MEL lead on the ASPIRE Project, led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), participated in the annual conference of the American Evaluation Association (AEA) 2023 in Indianapolis, USA, organized to facilitate networking, transfer of ideas and training on topics associated with project monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL). This year’s conference theme was “The Power of Story, and the role of storytelling in shaping the narrative of evaluations.” The conference sought to communicate how the skill of storytelling influences evaluation and data collection.

Romita Mitra and Artie Maharaj led a “Birds of a Feather” session, an informative and participatory form of cross-learning, on the topic “Reinforcing Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) capabilities in your organization.” The learning and ideas shared at the session were based on Mitra’s work at ASPIRE, and during the session, Mitra shared what ASPIRE is doing as part of its internal MEL activities.

The session was very well-received, exceeding attendance expectations with participants from different work fields. Participants were very interested in the practices implemented internally at ASPIRE regarding data collection and evaluation, such as data dives and After Action Reviews (AAR). Both these approaches are used on the ASPIRE project as part of adaptive management and Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA). Data dives are data analysis sessions on a specific subject that are implemented regularly within the ASPIRE project. AARs are regular workshops where all team members come together to reflect on their work on the project, identify what went well, what did not go well, and identify areas of change.

The ASPIRE project’s contribution at the American Evaluation Association conference demonstrates the program’s commitment to learning from and informing other professionals in the evaluation field.

About ASPIRE

The Achieving Sustainable Partnerships for Innovation, Research and Entrepreneurship (ASPIRE) Project is a five year, $15 million project funded by USAID and implemented by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG), and the Guatemalan Exporters Association (AGEXPORT). Its goal is to create a world-class, replicable model for how Latin American universities, in collaboration with the private sector, government and local communities, can respond to local and regional development needs. The project implements a collaborative approach to research, teaching, innovation, entrepreneurship, and tech transfer, based on the combination of local assets and knowledge with MIT’s experience in the innovation ecosystem.