Avi DeSilva, who currently provides technical leadership in the design and delivery of training in monitoring, evaluation and knowledge management reporting for staff at Counterpart International, didn’t know he would end up in M&E.
DeSilva, now a senior monitoring and evaluation program officer for the nongovernmental organization, began his career as an intern for a private consulting firm in performance management and M&E while in college. After accepting a program management job upon graduation, DeSilva realized how much he enjoyed the field and began to actively learn more about it.
It was good timing. As funders and implementers alike are putting more importance on measuring the results and impact of their work, the field of monitoring and evaluation has taken off. Organizations have created dedicated positions and even departments focused on M&E, and look for this experience when recruiting for program and technical positions as well.