How can mental health organizations measure what matters, without creating unsustainable systems?

Join the Catalyst Now Mental Health Community for their upcoming session:

Measuring What Matters: Practical Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) for Mental Health Organizations, with lessons from organizations at different stages of growth. 

🗓 Wednesday, July 22nd, 2026
🕒 16:00 CET

Monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) is essential for improving programs, demonstrating impact, and supporting organizational growth. But building systems that are practical, sustainable, and genuinely useful can be challenging, especially with limited resources.

In this interactive session, we'll hear practical lessons from two organizations at different stages of growth:

🔹 Diego Parra Galán, Monitoring & Evaluation Associate, Vida Plena, will share how a growing organization built a MEL system with limited resources, improved data quality over time, and uses evidence to strengthen programs and communicate impact.

🔹 Wendy Mmbone, Senior Associate, Research, Shamiri Institute, will discuss how MEL systems evolve as organizations scale, including building internal capacity, strengthening data systems, and turning evidence into better strategic and programmatic decisions.

Together, they'll explore:

• Selecting meaningful indicators

• Managing data collection with small teams

• Improving participant follow-up and data quality

• Balancing rigor with feasibility

• Using evidence to drive learning, fundraising, and program improvement

Whether your organization is just beginning to build a MEL system or looking to strengthen an existing one, you'll leave with practical ideas you can apply in your own context.

Register here

Speakers

Diego Parra Galán – Monitoring & Evaluation Associate, Vida Plena: 
 

Diego has led monitoring, evaluation, and learning at Vida Plena since 2024, overseeing data collection and analysis to monitor the organization's group therapy program, support donor reporting, and strengthen organizational learning. He holds bachelor's degrees in Economics and Government and has five years of experience across consulting firms and non-profit organizations working in humanitarian assistance, education, and land restitution.
 

Wendy Mmbone – Senior Associate, Research, Shamiri Institute: 

Wendy supports monitoring, evaluation, learning, and data systems for Shamiri Institute's youth mental health programs. With more than four years of experience in research, data management, and statistical analysis, she focuses on strengthening data quality, analyzing program outcomes, and translating evidence into practical insights that improve implementation and organizational decision-making. Her work spans reporting, dashboard development, learning processes, and building MEL systems that are both rigorous and practical as organizations grow.

About Catalyst 2030: Mental Health Collaboration

The Catalyst 2030: Mental Health Collaboration creates opportunities for global collaboration between funder networks and mental health social entrepreneurs with tangible tools and resources to create a systemic impact.

The collaboration seeks to educate funders, social innovators, corporates, and policymakers on the intersectionality of mental health with other social justice systems. These include gender, climate change, education, healthcare, etc., to enhance cross-sector collaborations to integrate mental health work into other social justice issues.