Welcome to The MERL Tech Initiative!
MERL Tech is a term for digital tools and approaches that enable monitoring, evaluation, research and learning (MERL). The term also describes the wider field of work at the intersection of technology and MERL.
The MERL Tech Initiative and its core collaborators work with social sector organizations to achieve thoughtful tech-enabled program design, implementation, and MERL. We convene communities of practice to share learning and advance responsible, ethical, realistic digital approaches that center people, communities and societies. We advocate for a strong focus on equity, justice and avoiding harm. Learn more about our work!
Join MERL professionals to connect, network and learn.
October 7-11, 2024
Join Nicola Hartford (Co-Chair for the NLP-CoP SBC Working Group), Anastasia Mirzoyants, Bryson Mwakuwona, and Ronald Musizvingoza at the South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association’s Conference from October 7th through October 11th! Register for their workshop, “Using AI-based approaches (LLMs and NLP) and digital audience segmentation for design and MERL of social and behaviour change […]
October 15th (9 AM - 10:15 AM ET)
In this final installation of HuMEL’s Emerging Technologies in Humanitarian Settings series, speakers will highlight current use cases of AI for MEL beyond report drafting. Join speakers Hanna Camp and Linda Raftree on October 15th from 9am – 10:15am ET to learn how to develop custom chatbots, navigate MEL guidance, and explore key data privacy […]
October 16, 12pm ET
Back by popular demand, join Sarah Osman and Zach Tilton on October 16th at 12pm ET for a second iteration of ‘Build a No-Code Chatbot in under 5 minutes’. This Sandbox Working Group hosted event will revisit one of our most popular webinars of 2024 by demoing how to build user-friendly chatbots with off-the-shelf tools.
October 23, 7-9pm
Meet your tech and evaluation colleagues at the Mercy Corps Offices for a fun-filled mixer on October 23, 7-9pm. The event will start right after the AEA’s official Poster Session!
October 21-26, 2024
The MERL Tech Initiative and NLP-CoP members are organizing multiple sessions at this year’s American Evaluation Association (AEA) conference. Be sure to sign up for the Tech and Eval Mixer on Wednesday evening, right after the poster session!
November 4, 2-4pm CET
The European Evaluation Society (EES) invites you to a free webinar exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and evaluation.
