This post was written by Sanjukta Moorthy of The SMC Group about her participation in the course, Decolonizing M&E and Research with Michelle Lokot. Learn about the next session of this training here.

I joined this course to deepen my knowledge of existing practices to decolonise M&E, and to expand my understanding of its application in research. The trainer, Michelle Lokot, is a researcher at a UK science-based institution who represents different marginalised groups herself, and so I found her perspectives engaging and very relevant to current debates in the sector.

Her approach of examining a variety of tools, discussing them in groups, and applying our professional experiences to each allowed us a space to critically evaluate the norms behind research. I engage in decolonised approaches to M&E and the nonprofit sector, and many of us brought a good level of expertise to the course. Everyone had experiences of successes and failures in applying these ideas, which allowed us to engage deeply in theoretical debates around ethics in M&E, for example.

The training deepened my knowledge of different ideas in the debate around decolonising research in particular, and I left with some interesting resources to learn more. Michelle’s examples and openness created a space for curiosity and genuine learning. Michelle’s support continues beyond the course, which is incredibly helpful. Participants are added to an active WhatsApp group which hosts calls every 2 months to discuss new ideas, so the learning continues.

~Sanjuka Moorthy