LocationsBy Shella Ngwa
Beyond What We Measure: The Lives Behind Development Results
October 6, 2026
Some conversations linger long after a meeting ends, a report is submitted, and a project closes. One such conversation took place in Janjanbureh, where I met a former inmate who had completed vocational training through UNDP’s Rule of Law, Justice and Security Project. As he spoke about his plans, his quiet confidence conveyed what no indicator could fully capture. He spoke of work, responsibility and a fresh start. I saw not simply someone who had once been imprisoned, but a person beginning to envision a different future for himself.
On paper, his story might have been recorded simply as one more participant completing vocational training. Listening to him, however, revealed how little that figure conveyed. The workshops, equipment and training mattered, but the greater impact lay in what followed: the prospect of employment, supporting a family and rebuilding a life. When a graduate later secured a job with the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC), it affirmed what I was beginning to understand: rehabilitation is not only about building skills; it can restore dignity, support reintegration and make a second chance possible.
That encounter reshaped how I understand results. As a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, I work extensively with indicators, results frameworks, verification processes and reports. These tools show whether an intervention is reaching people and meeting its objectives, but they cannot fully capture shifts in confidence, the relief of a family, or the renewed sense of possibility that replaces uncertainty. Over time, I have learned to look beyond completed activities and ask what new possibilities they have created in people’s lives.
I saw another dimension of this in our efforts to expand access to justice. Fatoumatta, one beneficiary, explained how legal support helped her navigate a situation in which she had felt powerless and unheard. Her words stayed with me: “Without this legal aid, my voice would have remained unheard and my rights unprotected.” They gave human meaning to terms often used in development. We talk about access to justice, legal empowerment and institutional strengthening. Fatoumatta reminded me that justice is ultimately personal: knowing someone will listen, that your rights matter and that you do not have to face a difficult system alone. For her, legal assistance offered a way to reclaim her voice and dignity.
I encountered a similar connection between institutions and everyday life in Essau, where UNDP supported the establishment of a Model Police Station. The building’s completion was straightforward to document through photographs, construction milestones and planned services. Yet during a visit, Michelle Mendy’s words drew my attention beyond the infrastructure. She said, “This police station has come to help the women. It will make it easy for us to raise our families.” She was speaking not simply about a building, but about safety and the reassurance of knowing where to seek help. For women and families in her community, the station brought citizens closer to the institutions intended to serve them.
That conversation stayed with me because it revealed a fundamental truth about governance: a police station can be counted, but trust is harder to measure. Yet trust often determines whether people turn to an institution, report a problem or believe their concerns will be taken seriously. Her words reminded me that strong institutions matter not simply because they exist, but because of how people experience them.
I have seen this principle elsewhere in my work. In Sara Demba Toro, solar power brought electricity to the community for the first time, creating new possibilities in daily life. Solar-powered grinding mills, for example, spared women hours of exhausting manual labour. What a report might describe as increased access to renewable energy meant more time for farming, small businesses, childcare or rest. In Pakalinding and Sankuya, farmers involved in climate-resilient agriculture initiatives described how unpredictable weather had threatened food security and school fees. A thriving garden may invite attention to crops and production figures, but each harvest also represents a family’s hope for greater security and peace of mind.
I also think of Ebrima Fatty, a graduate of the Songhai Initiative who established a vegetable farm in Jarra Jenoi. Reflecting on his journey, he said, “I came to Songhai seeking direction. Today I am the one providing it.” His words conveyed more than entrepreneurial success. They captured a transformation from uncertainty to confidence and leadership. His experience showed me how opportunity can extend beyond one person as skills and confidence are passed on through livelihoods, families and communities.
Working across different portfolios has shown me how interconnected development challenges shape people's lives. Communities do not experience governance, climate resilience, economic empowerment, justice and social inclusion as separate areas. A farmer needs resilient agricultural practices and institutions that respond to community challenges. A woman entrepreneur needs economic opportunities alongside justice and public services. A young person may gain valuable skills, but those skills become transformative only in an environment where they can be applied. Ultimately, these different dimensions of development converge in the same homes, families and communities.
These experiences have reshaped my understanding of monitoring and evaluation. M&E is often seen mainly as a discipline of indicators, reporting deadlines and compliance. While these are essential, its deeper purpose is to keep the people behind the data visible. This connection between human stories and systemic change is where results-based management (RBM) adds strategic value.RBM focuses planning on intended change, measures progress and communicates development impact, while M&E systematically supports tracking progress, learning and accountability.
Our Country Office now captures and communicates results more effectively. The quality score of our Results-Oriented Annual Report (ROAR) rose from 52 per cent in 2023 to 83 per cent in 2024, a performance level we have successfully maintained. More importantly, the reporting has evolved from basic data collection towards a more analytical and reflective assessment of development change, performance, lessons and their implications for future planning.
I have been privileged to lead support towards this shift by working with colleagues to strengthen results frameworks, verification processes and monitoring capacity, while promoting the use of evidence and reflection throughout implementation – not only at the point of reporting. This experience has reinforced a key lesson for me: stronger results reports are built throughout the year through continuous monitoring, learning and attention to the changes in people’s lives. The goal is not better reporting for its own sake, but greater accountability, sounder decisions and more meaningful results.
Looking back on my journey from programme management to monitoring and evaluation, I do not see separate chapters but complementary perspectives. Programme management taught me to recognise change in the lives of the people I met, while monitoring and evaluation gave me the tools to assess it systematically. Results now bring to mind the former inmate preparing for a fresh start, Fatoumatta reclaiming her voice and Michelle Mendy finding hope for greater safety in a police station. I also think of women gaining time through clean energy, farmers strengthening their resilience and young entrepreneurs creating opportunities for others.
These stories affirm why I believe evidence matters. Not only because it tells us what a project delivered, but because, when we listen carefully, it reveals what changed in people's lives.
