Tracking Progress on Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning for National Adaptation Plan Processes

The report finds that while 100% of reviewed NAP documents acknowledge the importance of MEL, significant gaps remain in institutional capacity and financial resources. Only 18% of countries have dedicated MEL units and 29% mention dedicated financing. While output-level indicators are common (55%), impact-level indicators are used by only 31% of countries. The report also highlights a lack of structured implementation, with only 39% of documents including a roadmap or timeline for MEL rollout. Integration of gender-responsive indicators is emerging (45%), but disaggregation by age, disability, and geography remains low.

• Monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) is universally recognized in the reviewed NAP documents, but institutional and financial support is limited. While 100% of documents include MEL considerations and 89% have a dedicated MEL section, only 18% report having "dedicated MEL officers, teams, or units in place" and only 29% mention a "source of financing to support the planning, implementation and/or MEL of their MEL system".
• There is a significant gap in the level of indicators used, with a heavy reliance on output-level tracking over long-term impact measurement. Output indicators are defined in 55% of documents and outcome indicators in 50%, whereas only 31% define "impact indicators". Only 8% of countries (Benin, Brazil, Madagascar, Thailand, and Trinidad and Tobago) utilize comprehensive frameworks covering climate parameters, adaptation actions, processes, and results.
• Integration between impact, vulnerability, and risk assessments (IVRAs) and MEL systems is inconsistent. Only 48% of NAP documents identify linkages where IVRA outputs are used as baselines, contextual inputs, or risk-based indicators, while 52% make no such reference.
• MEL implementation often lacks structured timing and operational clarity. Although 87% of documents reference MEL implementation, only 39% "include or commit to clear roadmaps or timelines" for the rollout of these systems.
• Gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) are increasingly addressed, but disaggregation remains limited. While 45% of documents report the development of gender-responsive indicators, disaggregation by age (15%), geography typology (11%), disability (8%), and sector (8%) is far less common.
• Commitments to formal evaluation are general rather than specific. While 73% of documents commit to conducting evaluations, only 8% specifically mention mid-term evaluations and only 7% refer to final or impact evaluations.

APA

Montpetit, K., Yang, G. J., Guerdat, P., & Beauchamp, E. (2025). Tracking Progress on Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning for National Adaptation Plan Processes. NAP Global Network. https://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/napgn-en-2025-tracking-progress-for-mel-nap-processes.pdf

Chicago

Montpetit, Krystel, Geneva Juanyu Yang, Patrick Guerdat, and Emilie Beauchamp. Tracking Progress on Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning for National Adaptation Plan Processes. NAP Global Network, 2025. https://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/napgn-en-2025-tracking-progress-for-mel-nap-processes.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Montpetit |first1=Krystel |last2=Yang |first2=Geneva Juanyu |last3=Guerdat |first3=Patrick |last4=Beauchamp |first4=Emilie |title=Tracking Progress on Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning for National Adaptation Plan Processes |publisher=NAP Global Network |date=September 2025 |url=https://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/napgn-en-2025-tracking-progress-for-mel-nap-processes.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{montpetit2025tracking, author = {Montpetit, Krystel and Yang, Geneva Juanyu and Guerdat, Patrick and Beauchamp, Emilie}, title = {{Tracking Progress on Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning for National Adaptation Plan Processes}}, institution = {NAP Global Network}, year = {2025}, month = sep, url = {https://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/napgn-en-2025-tracking-progress-for-mel-nap-processes.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }