MEAL DPro Course: Monitoring Evaluation Accountability & Learning for Development Professionals!

  Pyramid Learning delivers the MEAL DPro Online Course to individuals – via a 4-week on-line course – and via organization-wide cohorts.

Just one month to learn MEAL DPro and be ready for the MEAL DPro certification!

Course Instructor:

Leslie Sherriff is an Adjunct Professor at the American University, MEAL, and International Development Professional with 20 years of experience. Her career includes work with the National Endowment for Democracy, Catholic Relief Services, Humentum, American University, and others.  

Over the past decade, Leslie has focused on MEAL field capacity-building via on-line learning. She designed courses and taught for American University’s online MSc in Measurement and Evaluation and is part of the team that developed the Guide to the MEAL DPro and its supporting learning materials.

Leslie has double Masters degrees in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh (USA), and Evaluation and Social Research from London Metropolitan University (UK), and a BA in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USA).

Institutional Background

Pyramid Learning provides engaging and scalable learning for humanitarian relief and development practitioners. They work with individuals and organizations – delivering online and face-to-face courses, designing custom courses, such as PMD Pro, MEAL DPro, FMD Pro, Program DPro developing credentials, and facilitating learning events. 

Its mission is to make quality learning appropriate, accessible, and actionable. To help those doing good, do even better.

All their products and services are designed to be accessible, appropriate, and actionable. They prioritize practical skills and tools while providing easy-to-deploy learning systems that can be used to upskill a single team or scaled to support a whole organization.

Course Schedule & Timeline

Starting & ending date: April 5 – May 2, 2021

The course is approximately 5-8 hours per week over 4 weeks – there are many learning styles and some people prefer to take longer. 

This course gives you the skills you need to conduct monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL) activities through the entire project cycle, helping you successfully deliver your project on scope, on time, and on budget.

Format

This MEAL DPro Online Course is designed for the active professionals who want to learn MEAL via a process that is virtual, social, and mobile-ready, participants will get their access data, the usernames, and the password for the learning system prior to the class starting after the payment received through the local agent.

As you go through the course, you will interact with facilitators and other learners from across the globe, exploring ideas and participating in conversations about the different skills and tools of project management.  

Learning activities include completing course readings, watching instructional videos, competing for complete e-learning modules, and submitting examples of work.

Everything about the course design is flexible!  The learning platform is accessible when you want – day or night.  

As you go through the course, modules will unlock – as long as you are doing the work! The platform allows you to go back and review what others are saying. If you need to take a break, you can catch up. The course is also mobile-ready, so you continue to learn when you are on-the-go.

For best results, we recommend that you develop a learning plan that allocates approximately 5-8 hours each week for study.  In order to progress through the course, you will need to complete the learning activities. You will also be expected to join in course discussions, contributing to discussions and responding to your classmates' comments!

 The more you do, the more you learn and the faster you progress through the course. We hope that this creates an interesting learning and sharing experience.

Curriculum

The course approaches MEAL as a puzzle made up of four pieces. Each piece—monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning—has its unique place and purpose, but the MEAL system is only effective when the pieces are aligned, connected, and working together.

MEAL DPro Course Schedule and Learning Objectives

Week 1:    Introducing MEAL

• Define the components and purpose of MEAL
• Explain the benefits of a strong MEAL system
• Describe the relationship between MEAL and project management
• Identify the five phases of MEAL
• Describe the ethical standards and principles relevant to MEAL

Week 2:   Logic Models

• Describe how project logic models contribute to establishing a strong foundation for MEAL
• Compare and contrast the components, structure, and purpose of the Theory of Change, Results Framework, and the Logical Framework
• Explain the purpose of identifying assumptions in project logic models
• Interpret the vertical and horizontal logic of the Logical Framework
• Understand the characteristics of a SMART indicator
• Identify the most common measurement methods and when they are used

Week 3    MEAL Planning Tools

• Identify and describe the purpose, process, and content of key MEAL planning tools, including
  • Performance Monitoring Plans
  • Indicator Performance Tracking Table
  • Evaluation Summary Table
  • Evaluation Terms of Reference
  • Feedback Response Mechanisms
• Discuss the various types of evaluation and the data required for each

Week 4    Collecting and analyzing MEAL data

• Explain the 5 elements of data quality
• Describe the components of a basic data collection tool, including questionnaires, surveys, interviews, and focus groups
• Explain the basic principles of sampling
• Describe key steps in preparing to implement data collection tools
• Identify generally accepted protocols and standards for responsible data management
• Describe the purpose and processes of quantitative data analysis
• Describe the purpose and processes of qualitative data analysis.

Course Fee (updated)

Individual participants would pay $125 for the course including local coaching (virtual or face-to-face based on the situation), an honorarium of the facilitator/s, and the marketing development.

NB: There is still a chance to book the course for $100 only, but there will be no extra help or coaching. You will simply be purchasing the generic, open course.

Certificate of Completion/Attendance

Everyone who completes the course will receive a certificate of attendance. Everyone who passes the MEAL DPro exam will also receive the MEAL DPro certification.

We have designed the MEAL DPro Online Course so that participants who wish to pursue certification will be able to successfully pass the certification exam in the first attempt assuming that:

• they participate actively in the course
• they extensively study the Guide to the MEAL DPro
• they complete the preparatory activities found on the MEAL DPro certification website (see below.)

MEAL DPro Certification Exam

MEAL D Pro is a globally recognized certification for development professionals who understand the key concepts, purposes, components, and ethical principles relevant to MEAL. This course prepares learners to take the MEAL D Pro Certification Exam.

The certification was created by the PHAP Credentialing Program. You can find more information about the certification at the following website:  https://phap.org/cp-meal  (or click the image below)

Online Course: The course fee does not include the cost of the exam, and it is not administered at the end of the course. You can arrange to take the exam online at any time after the course, with costs starting from $80. More information can be found here. 

MEAL DPro in-house or face-to-face training

We would be very happy to run this course in-house, 5-7 days contact sessions in Somalia/Somaliland, and also to discuss your organization’s learning needs.

Any organization purchasing an in-house virtual course will also receive an extra day of consulting to help you plan the next steps and implementation.

For more Information

In case you may need additional details about the course, please contact us at info@pyramidlearning.org or info@DrMohamedDualeh.com or call Dr. Mohamed Y. Dualeh at this number +252 63 4417945.

Official website: https://www.pyramidlearning.org 

Thank you