1. M, A. Dembele Experience.
 Demonstrated Experience with Field monitoring of USAID-funded activities in Mali including
verification of deliverables, conducting structured interviews with local and international project
staff, and with local beneficiaries; and
 Demonstrated Experience in Preparing Reports on Findings from USAID Mali Field
Monitoring Visits.
Projects monitoring in the field, for compliance with the PMPs, was carried out; Data Quality Assessment
(DQA) conducted by Mr. Dembele, to ensure that the performance is properly assessed and reported.
USAID/Mali has a field visit form to be filled out, but Mr. Dembele always went beyond the information
requested, because in his opinion this form could not captured the specificities of each project.
Meetings/interviews were held with project staff and its partners representatives ( sometimes together or
separately depending of the issue; but issues on M&E were mostly discussed together in order to avoid
different understanding). Group meetings/interviews were also held with beneficiaries (sometimes before
or after their activities visits). Suggestions of improvement were made along the activities visit. Then a
feedback meeting with suggestions/recommendations was held in the office. A brief summary of findings
were made in English for USAID and then a detailed final report was made in French for the partners
particularly. Mr, Dembele has always recommended to the COPs to share reports with all field agents
including partners. Suggestions and recommendations reinforced the improvement of project
performance and results reporting from the partners, because activities were also more focused. For
DQA, each indicator was reviewed with the project field staff and partners (definition, method of data
collection, the importance of appropriate results among others). The importance of good results was also
shared with the partners. Mr. Dembele demonstrated to them and the COPs that not reaching the targets
doesn’t mean failure, one has to documents the reasons and learn from that how to proceed.
 Demontrated Experience in Managing Mali local data collection partners.
Under West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA), Mr. Dembele and his colleague agro-
economist trained the field agents in technical issues related to the survey and the understanding of the
questionnaire/questions, tested the questionnaires. Monthly meeting was held to discuss progress, issues
and to decide on next steps. Of course Mr. Dembele was opened to discuss anytime; he was guided by
teamwork, accountability, diversity, listening. The job description was discussed with the field assistants
for clarifications. Mr. Dembele was not considering himself as the chief, but the guide, a leader.
As Consultant for Abt. Associates USAID funded project, while Mr. Dembele was assessing the quality of
the data collected, he was also training the field agents to understand the PMP (its importance, the
indicator definitions, the appropriate methods of data collection for each indicator and in general, how to
avoid unnecessary activities which don’t inform any indicator). He practiced, with the project staff and its
partner’s agents, in the field some data collection methods, and how to use the beneficiaries for the data
collection. He informed them on documenting the sources of data and any problem impacting the results,
because they could serve in assessing some project actions/activities and in decision making. He taught
to the project M&E specialist how to design the data collection forms for the different indicators and test
them by listening particularly to the critics/comments of the field agents.

2.  Demonstrated Experience in Providing Technical Assistance and Training to USAID
Implementing Partners.
Mr. Dembele gave appropriate assistance to the Technical Assistance (T.A) teams of AEG Division,
including Government partners, to prepare adequate PMPs for their activities, (including critical elements
such as the Results Framework (RF), results to be achieved, appropriate indicators and measures,
baselines and targets, how to collect data, etc.). This support was brought through oral presentations in
workshop, during trainings organized by the partners and during discussions on M&E issues. Some
focus areas were: the causality between the indicators, the Intermediate Results (IR), the activities, the
objective of the project, and USAID Strategic Objective (SO) – the indicator characteristics through the
Indicator Reference Sheet (particularly the indicator definition with should be adapted from USAID
definition avoiding cut and paste without analysis) – Avoiding non realistic high targets in order to please
USAID – realistic indicator disaggregation. The presentations covered all these issues much appreciated
by all partners. Mr. Dembele worked with the project technical staff including the M&E specialist in their
office to improve their PMP. A clarification on indicators from different sectors was discussed too (for
instance NRM and agronomic indicators). This support helps also improved the activities planning and the
results reporting.
Mr. Dembele finalized the Initiatives Integrees pour la Croissance Economique au Mali (IICEM) project
and Performance Management/ Monitoring Plan according to USAID requirements and recommendations
such as: adding an appropriate hypothesis statement, refining indicator definitions (avoiding cut and paste
from USAID definitions without adapting to their project activities), description and harmonization of the
gross margin calculation, indicating the data collection methods and refining some, description of
baselines and target settings. As a former M&E Specialist at USAID, the PMP (including the background,
the Result Framework, the Indicators data tracking table, the indicator reference sheets) was quickly
improved and approved by USAID.
As Consultant for International Corp Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Bamako, Mali,
Mr. Dembele wrote Project Monitoring and Management Plans (PMP) and guided Environmental
Monitoring and Management Plans elaboration (EMMP). Mr. Dembele elaborated the PMPs. He
discussed with the project managers how to disaggregate some indicators; guided them in eliminating
some irrelevant indicators ((lacking causality with the Intermediate Results; for example indicator dealing
with experimental research while the project is dealing with technologies adoption), and show them how
to adapt USAID indicators definitions to their projects. Some indicators had non realistic high targets (as
like to do many contractors in order to win the bids); Mr. Dembele inform the managers that they could be
revised only after the reporting period (not before, because they have been approved by USAID), but with
good justification. As a former Mission Environmental Officer, he leaded the elaboration of the EMMPs,
particularly linking the indicators to the mitigation actions/activities. The implementation of these
mitigation activities contributes to the improvement of a project results.
 Demonstrated experience in designing and implementing performance and impact
evaluations of development interventions.
Consultant, Intercooperation Suisse/Helvetas Project Evaluation, Mali, May 2012 :“Projet intégré
Agriculture/Elevage pour l’amélioration de la Sécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle dans les Cercles de
San et Tominian, Région de Ségou (2009-2011).
Mr. Dembele led the evaluation of the food and nutrition security project. This project evaluation was
going behind schedule. Therefore the Organization was looking for somebody who could lead and carry it
out quick and well. Therefore Mr. Dembele was contacted and was asked to look for only a second
person in nutrition (budget constraint). In the field the project manager noticed that the nutrition consultant
was not good; therefore Mr. Dembele completed with satisfaction the evaluation alone. The project covers
the Circle of San and Tominian in Segou Region. The budget was about 600,000 Euros; and the donor

3. was European Union. It Covers 10 Communes. Note that the size of a project doesn’t matter much for its
evaluation success, but the approach or methodology used.
Mr. Dembele designed the evaluation process based on the SOW elaborated by the Organization
(consultation of project document, quarterly and annual reports; evaluation instruments/questionnaires).
Interviews of donors representatives (from the Government of Mali), the project headquarter staff, the
project management staff, the Government and NGOs partners, and the beneficiaries were carried out,
and integrated with field visits. Mostly group and focus group interviews were adopted. Then telephone
calls were also used for more clarifications. For the evaluation to be focused on the SOW taking into
account the expected results of the project, Mr. Dembele worked out a Results Framework with the
indicators of the project, reviewed them; and he elaborated an indicator data table for appreciation and
easy yearly data analysis (this table was lacking). Two oral presentations were made before the draft and
final reports (one to the management/technical staff and the “Project Orientation Committee” in the field
including the different sectors representatives of the beneficiaries, and the second to the headquarter
staff and donor representatives).
The findings were stated in lessons learned and recommendations. In general the project achieved easily
the process indicators, but most of the results and impact indicators listed were not; baselines were not
collected. This may be due to the short implementation period (a lesson). Indicators under the results
framework were not adequately stated and were sometimes misplaced under the intermediate results;
this could mislead an evaluator not familiar with a result framework and causality system; therefore
leading to inaccurate conclusions (a recommendation was to have a well design results
framework/indicators in order to facilitate the data analysis, thus the evaluation). Good community based
or beneficiaries’ organizations are important support for the success of a project (lesson).
Recommendations were also on the improvement of the implementation of some activities under
agriculture, livestock and nutrition; motivation of field agents; exit strategy statement; having an
environmental impact assessment done and implementing the mitigation actions could improve the
success of the project etc.
When working with USAID Mali, Mr. Dembele contributed to the SOW elaboration for the Research
projects and Extension project in the 1990s; this was the time where USAID projects were evaluated..
With the Host Country external Consultants, Mr. Dembele evaluated the USAID funded Extension project.
As a M&E Specialist he was a key person in always focusing the discussions on the objectives/results
expected and on the beneficiaries. Mr. Dembele also participated in the evaluation of the World Bank pilot
Extension project in Mali, as an Extension Specialist, while working with USAID.
When USAID begun again much integrating evaluation in project cycle, Mr. Dembele participated in
Certificate training program in Evaluati on (Theory and Practice) including impact assessment/evaluation,
SOW writing, evaluation of real project, and reporting. Therefore, he led the evaluation of a Democratic
Governance USAID funded project in Ghana; and led the SOW elaboration for the IICEM project
performance evaluation/assessment for the decision on its life extension and its expansion.
Mr. Dembele contributed in designing experimental evaluation in Mali, by reviewing the design of a
contractor, and giving advice. In this case one needs to know the project intervention area, the treatments
characteristics, and the project constraints, in order to have an appropriate design allowing the results to
be reliable. Note that Mr. Dembele’ experience as a researcher helped appropriate advice.