Certification pathway

The MEAL pathway built to be lived, not just followed.

From your first logframe to institutionalising MEAL across your entire organisation. Four cumulative levels, built to EU, UN and ex-USAID standards. Training and consultancy in Fianarantsoa, Antananarivo, across Madagascar, the Indian Ocean and Africa, in person or remotely.

Explore the 4 levels ↓ Request a quote

Donor standards we work to

Ex-USAIDUnion EuropéenneONU / UNDPBanque MondialeUNICEFGIZOIT / ILO

Helpazone is not a certifying body for these institutions. Our training teaches methodologies aligned with their common monitoring and evaluation requirements. The Helpazone badge certifies pathway completion based on our own criteria (attendance rate, validated deliverables, exam for certain topics). It is not a certification issued by an external accreditation body.

Priority training

MEAL Certification Pathway

One cumulative pathway, four levels: from your first steps in MEAL to institutionalising it across your entire organisation. Each level unlocks the next.

Level 1 · No prerequisite

MEAL Foundation : Understanding MEAL and reading an existing system

For anyone who works with M&E data: field staff, new hires, volunteers. The entry point of the pathway, no prerequisite required.

Duration2 days (16h)

Price240,000 Ar (≈ $56)

LocationMadagascar · in-person / online

PrerequisiteNone

Module 1

MEAL and the project cycle

Why MEAL exists: M, E, A, L explained simply
The OECD-DAC framework: the 6 globally recognised evaluation criteria

Module 2

Reading a logframe

Objectives → outcomes → activities hierarchy
Theory of change in one page

Module 3

Indicators

Types: quantitative / qualitative, output / outcome / impact
What makes a quality data point

Module 4

Field data collection

Best practices and an introduction to tools (KoboToolbox, DHIS2)
Ethics, consent, the Do No Harm principle and Sphere standards

🎯 Skills you’ll gain

Read and interpret an existing logframe
Classify an indicator by type and level
Spot a poor-quality data point
Apply an ethical data collection protocol

🧪 Hands-on exercises

Guided reading of a real, anonymised logframe
Indicator classification workshop on real cases
Spot 5 quality errors in a mock dataset
Simulated ethical data collection interview

📦 Deliverables

Completed logframe reading worksheet
Personalised data quality checklist
Personal MEAL glossary

AssessmentMCQ + graded case study

Final projectDiagnostic worksheet on a real case

CertificateMEAL Foundation badge

Enrol in MEAL Foundation →

Level 2 · Certifying programme

MEAL Practitioner : Design, manage, prove your impact

For MEAL officers, project staff and early-career M&E professionals: build a complete MEAL system, operational from day one.

Duration7–9 weeks (~70h)

CertificateMEAL Practitioner badge

LocationMadagascar · in-person / online

PrerequisiteMEAL Foundation or equivalence test

Support6 months free

Price1,350,000 Ar (≈ $314)

Module 1

MEAL fundamentals & logframe

Theory of change, results matrix
Applying the 6 OECD-DAC criteria to the logframe

Module 2

SMART indicators & M&E plan

Quantitative / qualitative indicators
Monitoring & evaluation plan (MEP): baseline, midline, endline calendar based on programme objectives

Module 3

Designing a survey

Sampling: sample size calculation, probability vs non-probability sampling, sampling plan
Building a quantitative questionnaire and a qualitative interview guide
Facilitating interviews and focus groups: interviewer neutrality, probing techniques, note-taking

Module 4

Field data & accountability

KoboToolbox, CommCare, DHIS2
Routine Data Quality Assessment (RDQA) and beneficiary data protection
Designing a feedback and complaints mechanism: channels, triage, escalation

Module 5

Quantitative and qualitative analysis

Structuring, cleaning, consolidation, and monitoring and performance tables
Basic qualitative analysis: thematic coding and identifying patterns in open-ended responses

Module 6

Dashboards & donor reporting

MEAL dashboards
Narrative reports + statistical annexes

Module 7

Learning & continuous improvement

Performance reviews
Data-driven decisions, tracked in a decision log

🎯 Skills you’ll gain

Build a complete logframe for a real project
Design a full monitoring & evaluation plan
Calculate a sample size and design a sampling plan
Facilitate an interview or focus group with neutrality
Deploy an operational data collection tool
Structure and clean a MEAL database
Apply basic thematic coding to qualitative data
Produce a working monitoring dashboard
Write a report that meets donor standards
Design a feedback and complaints mechanism suited to the context

🧪 Hands-on exercises

Logframe-building workshop on a real project
Designing a SMART indicator matrix + M&E plan
Sample size calculation workshop on a real case
Building a questionnaire and an interview guide
Role-play: simulated interview with peer observation
Building a KoboToolbox form and simulating collection
Cleaning a dataset seeded with deliberate errors
Thematic coding workshop on real open-ended responses
Building an Excel dashboard connected to that data
Simulated quarterly performance review
Triaging real complaints and designing a complaints mechanism

📦 Deliverables

Complete logframe
Monitoring & evaluation plan
Sampling plan, questionnaire and interview guide
Operational Kobo form
Cleaned database
Working dashboard
Donor narrative report

Assessment6 graded deliverables + final review

Final projectComplete MEAL system on a real project

CertificateMEAL Practitioner badge

To go further in qualitative analysis (advanced coding, inter-coder reliability), explore the NVivo training, used in the "Mixed methods" module of the MEAL Specialist pathway.

Request the MEAL Practitioner programme →

MEAL Specialist : Level 3 · By application · 3–4 months

For experienced M&E coordinators, multi-donor MEAL officers and consultants. From framing an evaluation (terms of reference, evaluation matrix) to running rigorous impact methods. Prerequisite: MEAL Practitioner or equivalent proven experience. Full detail (exercises, deliverables, assessment rubric) will be finalised once applications open.

Module 1

Introduction to inferential statistics

Hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, p-values and statistical significance
Distributions, standard error: the prerequisites before impact evaluation methods

Module 2

Quantitative impact evaluations

Randomised controlled trials (RCT), difference-in-differences
Propensity score matching, regression discontinuity design
These methods are typically run in Stata or R, the sector’s two reference tools

Module 3

Evaluation approaches for complex contexts

Outcome Harvesting, Most Significant Change
Contribution Analysis, Process Tracing

Module 4

Mixed methods

Combining qualitative (NVivo) and quantitative (SPSS/Stata) approaches

Module 5

Multi-donor MEAL management

Reconciling EU, UN and ex-USAID requirements on a single programme

Module 6

Accountability & organisational learning

Building a learning culture at programme scale
From evaluative judgement to tracked recommendations: management response, follow-up
Gender and disability mainstreaming, evaluator ethics (UNEG)

Join the Specialist interest list →

MEAL Systems : Level 4 · By application · Institutional support

For programme directors and executive leadership. Prerequisite: MEAL Specialist or leadership-level review. This is bespoke institutional support, not a standard course: a multi-month engagement to institutionalise MEAL.

Module 1

Organisational MEAL architecture

Institutional MEAL policy, data governance
Portfolio-level accountability policy: consolidation, escalation
Reference frameworks: the ex-USAID ADS 201, UNEG Norms and Standards (UN), ALNAP (humanitarian sector)

Module 2

Integrated digital ecosystem

DHIS2 + KoboToolbox + Power BI connected across the organisation

Module 3

Training internal trainers

Making MEAL capability sustainable in-house

Module 4

A data-driven leadership culture

Decisions driven by data
Learning Agenda and Adaptation Tracker, CLA framework (ex-USAID)

Discuss a Systems engagement →

Proof

They transformed their MEAL system with us

★★★★★

"The MEAL training let me completely rebuild our monitoring system. Within 4 months I had a dashboard our donor praised at the mid-term review."

Anjarasoa B.

M&E Coordinator, international NGO

MEAL training in Madagascar, the Indian Ocean and Africa

In Madagascar, the MEAL pathway runs in person in Fianarantsoa and Antananarivo, or in-house across all regions, including for dispersed field teams.

Across the Indian Ocean (Comoros, Mauritius, Réunion, Seychelles) and Francophone Africa, the pathway is delivered remotely, with the same content and the same support. The frameworks taught (OECD-DAC criteria, UNEG norms, ALNAP, ex-USAID ADS 201) are international standards, applicable anywhere.

Whether your organisation says MEAL, SERA, M&E, MERL or simply monitoring and evaluation, the pathway covers the same discipline: terminology varies by donor and country, the skills to acquire do not.

The MEAL pathway built to be lived, not just followed.

MEAL Certification Pathway

MEAL Foundation : Understanding MEAL and reading an existing system

MEAL and the project cycle

Reading a logframe

Indicators

Field data collection

🎯 Skills you’ll gain

🧪 Hands-on exercises

📦 Deliverables

MEAL Practitioner : Design, manage, prove your impact

MEAL fundamentals & logframe

SMART indicators & M&E plan

Designing a survey

Field data & accountability

Quantitative and qualitative analysis

Dashboards & donor reporting

Learning & continuous improvement

🎯 Skills you’ll gain

🧪 Hands-on exercises

📦 Deliverables

Introduction to inferential statistics

Quantitative impact evaluations

Evaluation approaches for complex contexts

Mixed methods

Multi-donor MEAL management

Accountability & organisational learning

Organisational MEAL architecture

Integrated digital ecosystem

Training internal trainers

A data-driven leadership culture

They transformed their MEAL system with us

MEAL training in Madagascar, the Indian Ocean and Africa

Ready to take action?