Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is the backbone of any development intervention—it ensures high-quality implementation, provides timely information for informed management decisions, and measures contributions to outcomes and impacts. M&E and MEAL are often used interchangeably depending on contexts and programme needs. Over time, the M&E moniker has been augmented to include accountability and learning. Most development agencies, therefore, began using monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) in place of M&E.

Quelle: Elahi, Ajmal. (2020). MEAL: Understanding monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) in development contexts.