Quarterly Report, FY2024 Quarter 1, Monitoring and Evaluation Support for Adaptation (MESA)

MESA is designed to support USAID/Mexico and IPs to become better equipped to design, implement, learn, and adapt evidence-based programs, and to continuously increase their impact. MESA is driven by Mission needs and organizes its efforts around three component areas: Component 1, Component 2, and Component 3. Component 1 focuses on monitoring, including assisting USAID/Mexico with tracking, conducting, and updating Data Quality Assessments (DQAs), providing on-demand MEL support, and developing MEL support materials. Component 2 focuses on evaluations, assessments, and other studies, including conducting assessments of Femicides Prevention and Response (F-PAR) activities and the Programa para la Prevención y Reducción de Violencia (PREVI) Activity's third component. Component 3 focuses on collaboration and capacity, including supporting the design and facilitation of partners' meetings, continuing to strengthen communities of practice (CoPrs), and facilitating Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) sessions for the Mission, IPs, and/or external stakeholders. MESA also supports the development of a training course catalog for IPs and facilitates the creation of a recommendations workshop with USAID and PREVI. During the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 (FY2024), MESA made quick progress on activities in its approved Year 2 Workplan in close collaboration with USAID/Mexico. Key highlights from this quarter include the completion of efforts on the two assessments that began in Year 1, the facilitation of the 2023 Annual USAID/Mexico Partners' Meeting, and the support of the logistics and facilitation of the meeting. MESA also offered extensive support to USAID in conducting ten Data Quality Assessments (DQAs) sessions with IPs, AORs/CORs, and the Program Office, covering eleven Performance Plan and Report (PPR) indicators. MESA continued to work on three rapid response requests received in the last quarter of FY2023 and began work on a new rapid response request received in the first quarter of FY2024. The requests included compiling a map of indigenous populations in Mexico and designing a process for consulting with indigenous populations in compliance with Mexican law and USAID policy, researching the Civil Society + Pro Bono (CSPro) Activity experience to develop a report and accompanying success story identifying best practices and lessons learned, and designing and conducting an exploratory qualitative study to identify how USAID/Mexico may be contributing to climate programming. The high demand for Component 3 services continued this quarter with MESA facilitating a retreat for the USAID/Mexico Office of Sustainable Development (OSD) and a virtual Southern Mexico Donor Coordination meeting. MESA also received requests from two IPs to support their data management and developed a How-To Note on Data Management. The demand for MESA's services is a testament to the importance of the Activity's work in supporting USAID/Mexico and its IPs to become better equipped to design, implement, learn, and adapt evidence-based programs.