Written by Bridget Silk, Global Brigades International Monitoring & Evaluation Associate
I believe data is the backbone of any organization. I believe data tells a story and proves intentions. Without the facts, all we have is theory. Being the first International Monitoring and Evaluation Associate for Global Brigades has taught me a lot about myself and I have loved the opportunity to apply my management information skills in a non-profit environment.
For my role as International Monitoring and Evaluation Associate, I am responsible for M&E processes in Panama, Ghana, and Nicaragua. This includes working to ensure that all of the programming we do at all levels of the organization is represented, including information related to communities, households, individuals, businesses, and Chapters.
My time in my role has been both eye opening and extremely rewarding. There have been difficult times and stressful moments but the most important thing to me in my role is inclusion. I want to ensure that no matter what country it is, we have reliable, detailed data to highlight different initiatives, our partner communities, and our volunteers. I believe in my role I have the unique opportunity to highlight our country partners regarding both high level operations and day to day details.
Working with 3 different teams, in 3 different time zones at different places in their GB journey can be challenging at times, but I am extremely happy with how M&E has been going and I am excited to see what’s to come.
Some of my most memorable moments in my role have been my time spent in community. I lived both in Nicaragua and Panama for extended periods of time so I really got to know how our model works in those countries. I also had the amazing opportunity to visit Ghana this past April and see what our programming looks like in our non-Central America partner communities.
Data is the foundation of all of our work and I am proud to be a part of sharing our impact. If you want to learn more about Global Brigades Monitoring and Evaluation, visit this page on our website.
