Fellows Support Innovative Scientific Tools and Approaches to Enrich Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning at USAID

Monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) is a significant feature of USAID's work, helping the agency and its partners track progress, measure impact, and improve efforts. MEL involves gathering data to understand whether an activity is on track or if adjustments are needed, while evaluations help answer questions related to the implementation and outcomes of activities. Learning involves analyzing information on what is working and what isn't to adapt and improve programming. Science and Technology (S&T) fellows at USAID bring rigorous understanding of data collection and scientific methods, offering valuable insights supporting USAID's efforts to measure, monitor, and improve impact. For example, a fellow with a background in ecology helped design an evaluation of a program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cacao farming in Ghana and West Africa. The evaluation helped identify areas of success and those needing improvement. Another fellow deployed geographic information systems skills to gather macro-level data in South America on activities that covered rural and Indigenous peoples' lands, providing USAID with greater information on the impact of current programs. The Science and Technology Fellowships program encourages fellows to understand the connection between science and policy through six- to nine-month placements in USAID offices in Washington D.C. and one year working in development roles in Kenya. Following the fellowship, fellows have gone on to establish partnerships with USAID and other organizations, and have continued to work at the forefront of groundbreaking initiatives and transformative work in global health, ecology, and marine conservation. For instance, Sonak Pastakia, a public health specialist, was a 2017 Jefferson Science Fellow on the USAID Africa Bureau Health Team for Sustainable Development in Washington D.C. During his fellowship, Pastakia promoted multisectoral efforts to enhance the depth, breadth, and quality of service delivery for programs supported by USAID in the African region. Kelvin Gorospe, a marine biologist, was a fellow at USAID's Bureau of Development, Democracy, and Innovation from 2021 to 2023. Gorospe helped design and monitor sustainable fisheries and marine biodiversity programs supported by USAID in South America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. He facilitated multi-stakeholder workshops to analyze and refine key programmatic assumptions and advised on the development of workplans and results frameworks. Gorospe also supported the Agency's Health, Ecosystems, and Agriculture for Resilient, Thriving Societies (HEARTH) initiative, a cross-sectoral venture funded by multiple USAID bureaus. He helped provide MEL support, refining performance indicators and data management, and standardizing datasets for quantitative evaluation by internal and external researchers. The Science and Technology Fellowships program has enabled fellows to apply their scientific expertise and USAID experience to address MEL opportunities, enriching monitoring, evaluation, and learning at USAID. The program's focus on connecting science and policy has equipped fellows with the skills and knowledge to make a meaningful impact in global health, ecology, and marine conservation. By leveraging their expertise and experience, fellows have been able to design and implement innovative scientific tools and approaches, supporting USAID's efforts to measure, monitor, and improve impact.