Monrovia, Liberia | October 6, 2026 – Partners implementing the EU-funded Liberia Spotlight Initiative 2.0 have taken a significant step toward strengthening accountability, learning, and evidence-based decision-making with the establishment of a multi-stakeholder Participatory Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting (PMER) Working Group.
The new working group was formally launched during a three-day meeting convened by the Programme Management and Coordination Unit (PMCU) from September 29 to October 1 at One UN House in Monrovia.
The gathering brought together representatives from government institutions, UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women, civil society organizations, the Civil Society National Reference Group (CS-NRG), the European Union Delegation to Liberia, and other key stakeholders.
The initiative marks an important milestone in efforts to ensure that programme results are not only tracked but also validated, understood, and used to improve the lives of women and girls across Liberia.
Jointly implemented by UNDP, UNFPA and UN Women under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator and funded by the European Union through the Spotlight Initiative 2.0 Fund, the programme aims to advance gender equality and eliminate violence against women and girls and other harmful practices.
Participants emphasized that achieving meaningful and lasting change requires more than reporting activities and outputs. It demands credible evidence that demonstrates whether interventions are making a tangible difference in the lives of women and girls, particularly those in rural, marginalized, and underserved communities.
To support this goal, the PMER Working Group will serve as the programme technical platform for strengthening coordination, accountability, learning, and results measurement. Through harmonized indicators, common methodologies, shared data sources, and standardized reporting practices, partners will be better positioned to measure progress and assess impact consistently across the programme.
Central to this effort is the Programme Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Knowledge Management (PMEL-KM) Plan, a comprehensive framework that integrates monitoring, evaluation, research, learning, reporting, accountability, and knowledge management. The framework operationalizes 45 programme indicators and provides a common system for tracking progress, assessing outcomes, and informing programme decisions. Communities at the Center of Monitoring A defining feature of the PMER framework is its commitment to participation and inclusion.
Rather than viewing women and girls solely as beneficiaries, the framework recognizes them as rights holders, leaders, and agents of change whose experiences are critical to understanding programme effectiveness.
Civil society organizations, community groups, and the Civil Society National Reference Group will play a key role in generating, interpreting, and validating evidence throughout implementation.
Participants highlighted several participatory approaches that will be used to strengthen accountability, including community scorecards, participatory monitoring visits, reflection and validation sessions, Most
Significant Change methodologies, shadow reporting, and other social accountability tools.
These approaches are expected to complement routine monitoring by capturing changes in attitudes, social norms, relationships, service access, and lived experiences that may not be reflected through quantitative indicators alone.
Strengthening Data Quality and Trust
The PMER Working Group will also help improve the quality, consistency, and credibility of programme data.
Partners underscored the importance of maintaining high standards for accuracy, completeness, timeliness, reliability, validity, and traceability. Routine data verification, spot checks, source-document reviews, and quality assurance processes will be used to ensure that reported results are backed by credible evidence.
The programme will leverage existing platforms and national systems, including the Spotlight SMART Platform, EU OPSYS, GBV-IMS, and relevant government databases, while avoiding duplication and promoting stronger national ownership of data systems.
Given the sensitive nature of sexual and gender-based violence data, participants stressed that all monitoring and reporting processes must uphold survivor-centered, human rights-based, and do-no- harm principles that safeguard the dignity, privacy, confidentiality, and safety of survivors.
Tracking Progress Across Four Key Areas
The PMER system will support monitoring, learning, and accountability across the four strategic outcomes of Spotlight Initiative 2.0:
- Strengthening laws, policies, and institutions to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls.
- Promoting positive social norms and behaviors that prevent violence and harmful practices.
- Expanding access to quality services and justice for survivors.
- Strengthening the capacity and influence of women’s rights organizations and civil society groups to advance gender equality.
Together, these focus areas contribute to the programme’s broader vision of a Liberia where women and girls can live free from violence, fully exercise their rights, and participate equally in all aspects of society.
From Evidence to Action
While the PMER Working Group will provide technical leadership on monitoring, evaluation, learning, reporting, and data quality assurance, it will complement existing programme governance structures rather than replace them. The PMCU will continue to oversee programme coordination and reporting.
Participants noted that the value of monitoring and evaluation lies not in producing reports, but in using evidence to improve decisions, identify challenges, adapt strategies, and capture lessons that can strengthen implementation.
Through structured learning and knowledge-sharing processes, Spotlight Initiative 2.0 aims to transform evidence and experience into practical solutions that benefit communities, government institutions, implementing partners, and the wider Spotlight Initiative network.
As implementation advances, partners reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring that accountability, evidence, learning, and action remain closely connected, helping deliver measurable and lasting progress toward safer, more equitable, and more empowered lives for women and girls across Liberia.
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