Our Strengths
We bring high-level design and MEL skills and innovative approaches.
We have extensive experience providing tailored solutions to design and assess the performance of development programs across the Indo-Pacific region. Our methodologies are often based on a detailed analysis of programs’ theories of change and theories of action, within a larger systemic understanding of the context. We design and apply rigorous evaluation methods, utilising qualitative attribution-based and contribution-based approaches in contexts where large scale quantitative approaches to measuring program impact are not available. Examples include the design and implementation of attribution-based qualitative case studies to understand private sector organisational change and measure behavioural outcomes among large corporations in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. In addition, we incorporate current technology for faster and more resource effective approaches to data collection and analysis, including online survey methods and AI platforms to measure social norms and attitudes.
We have extensive experience supporting large-scale multi-stakeholder programs in challenging contexts.
We have experience working closely with and building the capacity of counterpart organisations and stakeholders in complex environments, and managing, analysing and reporting on large volumes of data at the portfolio level.. For instance, METIS led the evaluability assessment and subsequent design of a MEL system for a large experimental education program in Indonesia, the Program Organisasi Pengerrak, funded by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture (MoEC). The assignment involved identifying a set of monitoring, evaluation and learning activities for a multi-modality group of 152 interventions seeking to impact student literacy and numeracy across the archipelago. In addition, there was a strong focus on developing the capacity of MoEC teams responsible for implementing MEL activities.
We understand clients' priorities, standards and processes.
Our principals have been working on development programs for the past two decades and have in-depth knowledge of different bilateral and multilateral agencies' policies, programmatic standards, and management processes, including DFAT and World Bank. For instance, METIS has been requested in 2014 to design a performance assessment system covering all Australian bilateral investments in Indonesia to understand impacts across multiple investments, from sectoral, cross-sectoral, cross-cutting theme and whole-country perspectives. Additional examples include the provision of technical and quality assurance services for a large DFAT-funded economic reform program in Cambodia (CAPRED) and a flagship education program in Lao PDR (BEQUAL Phase 2), including support to the strategic management of the programs, the framing and delivery of an end of program review, and the design of the next investment phase.
We work across sectors and have significant experience in GEDSI and climate resilience.
We have wide experience in monitoring and evaluating the application and outcomes of gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI) and climate resilient strategies. Our staff and consultants are committed to the principles of equity and inclusion, and their application in our work. We have managed and supported one of DFAT’s flagship GEDSI programs, Investing in Women (IW), operating in four Southeast Asian countries, for over 9 years; responsibilities included designing and implementing the MEL framework and systems, contracting and implementing MEL activities and providing support to IW teams and a large range of private sector and CSO partners with little or no MEL experience. The program required the design, coordination and management of over thirty separate data collection activities and accompanying outputs involving over fifty stakeholders and partner organisations. METIS also currently provides strategic MEL expertise to the DFAT-funded Climate Resilient Communities (CRC) Support Unit to operationalise their MEL plan. The CRC is an AUD 222 million investment that integrates climate considerations into development programs and seeks to increase climate-related investments in the Indo-Pacific region, operating across all DFAT posts in the region and multiple units in Canberra.
We are flexible and committed.
We have the capacity to implement a diverse of range of MEL activities based on sound understanding of potential constraints, costs and opportunities. Most of our work requires recruiting, contracting, mobilising and managing teams of technical specialists across the globe, and ensuring they provide remote and in-country inputs in a timely and efficient fashion. We have extensive experience working remotely and managing operations from a distance. Through our experience in the region, we have developed relationships with local data collection firms and researchers, and we are able to address additional skills needs that may arise during services implementation. As a sign of our commitment and care, our engagements always involve one of our principals, often in a leadership position. As METIS directors, they guarantee the quality of our services and ensure an appropriate level of corporate support is provided from the start until the successful completion of our assignments.