MLE Project Goal
The Measurement, Learning & Evaluation (MLE) Project is the evaluation component of the Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (Urban RH Initiative), a multi-country program in India, Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal that aims to improve the health of the urban poor. The goal of the MLE project is to promote evidence-based decision-making in the design of integrated family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) interventions for the Urban RH Initiative.
Measuring a program’s success should begin when the program is being designed. Impact evaluation assesses the change in individuals, families or communities that can be attributed to a project, program or policy. It creates an understanding of the difference between what happened with the program and what would have happened without it. Increased evidence on effective interventions forms the foundation for better policymaking and program design.
Collaboration between MLE and Country Consortia
The Urban RH Initiative is implemented in India, Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal by country consortia (CCs). MLE collaborates with the four CCs to measure the impact of their programs, use monitoring and evaluation results to adjust program activities and identify promising best practices. To ensure successful local, national, regional and global dissemination and use of program results, the MLE project and the CCs foster collaborative relationships with key stakeholders to encourage evidence-based policymaking and allocation of resources that improve urban family planning programs. The Advocacy to Support the Urban RH Initiative Project, implemented by Futures Institute, will work with each CC to build strong commitment to family planning among national and municipal leaders at the country level.
Key activities conducted by MLE include managing the MLE website that serves as a global resource on urban reproductive health, distributing MLE findings and methodologies, and developing policy briefs, fact sheets and technical working papers. Through these activities, the MLE project:
- Serves as the central technical resource for program implementers and evaluators in developing countries who seek to monitor and evaluate their urban reproductive health programs.
- Identifies and documents evidence-based interventions and best practices for providing FP/RH services to the urban poor and shares information globally about promising approaches with policymakers, program managers and researchers.
- Builds skills and professional capacity to undertake rigorous measurement and evaluation of integrated population, family planning, and reproductive health activities targeted at poor and vulnerable urban populations.
MLE Implementing Partners
The MLE project is implemented by the University of North Carolina’s Carolina Population Center, in collaboration with African Population and Health Research Center and the International Center for Research on Women.
Carolina Population Center (CPC)
The CPC, based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is a community of outstanding scholars and professionals associated to promote research to benefit world populations; train the next generation of population scholars; build skills, capacity and improved methodologies; and disseminate data and findings to population professionals, policymakers and the public.
African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)
APHRC is a nonprofit, nongovernmental international organization committed to conducting high-quality and policy-relevant research on population and health issues facing sub-Saharan Africa. APHRC contributes to science through high-impact research projects and publications, informs policy decisions with research evidence and strengthens research capacity in sub-Saharan Africa.
International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)
ICRW's mission is to empower women, advance gender equality and fight poverty in the developing world. To accomplish this, ICRW works with partners to conduct empirical research, build capacity and advocate for evidence-based, practical ways to change policies and programs.
