TL;DR: Please take 10–15 minutes to complete the SAMEA Tech-enabled MERL Working Group survey. Your input will directly inform a practical playbook to help South Africa’s civil society and public sector adopt the right digital tools for Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Learning (MERL). Participation is voluntary, and the questions are straightforward. Take the survey.
Why your response matters
If we want MERL systems that actually work in South African realities, limited budgets, connectivity gaps, legacy systems, we need evidence from you. This survey feeds into a community-driven playbook being developed by SAMEA’s Tech-enabled MERL Working Group. In plain English: your experience helps set what to prioritise, what to avoid, and what to standardise.
The value you create by responding
- Practical guidance for the field: Your insights will shape a playbook that helps teams pick and implement tools that actually fit local contexts.
- Lower risk, higher impact: Surface real barriers, awareness, access, adoption, so the solutions address them head-on rather than on paper.
- Shared language & standards: Align M&E, program, IT, and leadership on what “good” looks like when digitising MERL.
- Better procurement choices: Evidence makes it easier to justify the right tools (and say no to shiny, wrong ones).
- Network effects: The more voices, the more representative the playbook, useful across provinces, sectors, and org sizes.
Who should respond?
Anyone working in or around MERL and digital adoption in the public sector or civil society, including:
- M&E Officers
- IT/Tech Officers
- Programme Managers
- Directors/Leadership
- HR
- Researchers
All organisation sizes are welcome, from 1–5 staff through to 50+, and the survey asks about your sector (Education, Health, Environment, etc.).
What to expect (no surprises)
- Time: about 10–15 minutes.
- Scope: Section 1 covers demographics and organisational context, then moves into your tech-enabled MERL realities.
- Participation: Voluntary. Required questions are clearly marked with an asterisk (*).
Quick start checklist
- Open the survey and sign in if you want to save progress.
- Set aside 10–15 minutes, do it over coffee.
- Answer honestly about your context, constraints, and what’s worked (or flopped).
- Optional details like organisation name/location help with patterns, but share only what you’re comfortable with.
- Submit & share with a colleague in M&E or IT/Tech, two perspectives beat one.
The Final Nudge
Good MERL is about learning loops. If we don’t measure, we guess. If we don’t share, we repeat mistakes. This survey is a small experiment with a big payoff: turn tacit field knowledge into a public good. Take part, and let’s make the playbook something you’ll actually use, because you helped write it.
Add your voice now. Take the survey.
