In nearly every monitoring and evaluation (M&E) project I’ve supported (whether it’s building a M&E framework or helping teams with data sense making) there comes a moment, often near the end, when staff reflect candidly.

“This was actually really interesting,” they’d say, “…but we don’t really get time to think like this.”

It’s a quiet acknowledgment of a very real tension: Staff see the value in evaluative thinking, but day-to-day programming demands of don’t allow them the time or space to engage with it meaningfully.

They’re not admissions of disinterest or resistance—they’re reminders of what it means to be inside a maxed-out organization.

Evaluation becomes something that’s outsourced to an external evaluator. Not because staff wants it to be, but because there’s no room to slow down, reflect, and strategize as a team.

And yet, the more you push data work to the margins, the more disconnected it becomes from the real day-to-day decision making.

Here’s how organizational leadership can make space for data-driven decision making—even when it feels like there’s none to spare.

“We’re moving fast, and don’t have time to pause.”

What do staff believe?
Staff often believe that reflection and strategy require a full pause on operations—that they need to step completely away from the work in order to think clearly about the work. And in high-pressure environments, where the priority is to meet funder deadlines, participant needs, or crisis response, slowing down can feel risky or even irresponsible.

What can leadership unlearn?
Organizations need to unlearn the idea that evaluative thinking is only possible during retreats, quarterly reviews, or after-action reports. Strategic reflection doesn’t have to stand apart from implementation. Instead, it should flow through the work itself. The binary of “doing” versus “thinking” keeps staff in survival mode and perpetuates short-term decision-making.

What can support staff in moving forward?
Start by normalizing small, routine touch points for reflection: This could look like a post-program debrief, weekly check-ins that include one evaluative question, or end-of-month “pause and prioritize” meetings. These aren’t about adding more—they’re about adjusting what already exists. The more reflection becomes a part of how work happens, the less it feels like a luxury.

“My staff is at capacity. I want to support learning, but I also need to protect their time.”

What do staff believe?
When staff hear terms like “M&E” or “data-driven,” they may assume it means extra work: Surveys to administer, focus groups to facilitate, reports to write, frameworks to learn. They can believe they need to become evaluation experts overnight in order to meaningfully contribute, on top of what they already do.

What can leadership unlearn?
Staff and leadership can unlearn the belief that evaluation is a skill set reserved for specialists. Staff already engage in evaluative thinking every time they troubleshoot a program challenge, adapt an activity on the fly, or make a judgment call based on experience. Each of these actions reflects evaluative thinking in real time.

What can support staff in moving forward?
Organizational leadership can help staff see their instincts and adaptations as valuable data. Build evaluation around what staff already do well, and offer tools that align with their day-to-day workflows. Create frameworks that are simple, flexible, and easy to use.

“We’ve brought in external evaluators before, but it didn’t always stick.”

What do staff believe?
An external consultant arrives, there’s a burst of engagement, and then everything fades when the consultant leaves. This creates a belief that evaluation is performative or even temporary.

What can leadership unlearn?
The belief that evaluation only happens when consultants are present undermines internal ownership. Evaluative thinking and evaluative practices have to be adaptable, revisited, and embedded in organizational culture. We need to unlearn the idea that someone else owns the evaluative process.

What can support staff in moving forward?
Prioritize co-creation during external engagements. Co-create tools and frameworks with staff, and test them in real-time to ensure they’re usable and relevant. Set up regular, low-lift reflection moments after a consultant engagement ends—this is where culture shifts begin.

“How can we embed data-driven thinking into what we already do?”

What do staff believe?
Staff often believe that evaluative thinking is something that’s done after a program ends, or when there’s enough capacity to step back. It feels additive rather than integrative.

What can leadership unlearn?
Unlearn the siloed view of evaluation as a back-end process. Reflection and strategy can be before, during, and after a program ends, as well as in the everyday programmatic activities.

What can support staff in moving forward?
Embed evaluation into existing rhythms: onboarding checklists, weekly agendas, supervision questions. Identify 1–2 moments in the current workflow where reflection naturally fits—and start there. Evaluation becomes sustainable when it evolves alongside the work.

Key takeaway

Staff already hold insights that can strengthen program strategy. But without intentional structures that invite their input, evaluation remains an external process.

Making space for data-driven decision making doesn’t require a full-scale restructuring—it requires a mindset shift from seeing evaluation as a siloed process to a strategy that all staff can participate in.

Create conditions where data driven decision making has room to grow and shape decisions.

Raise Your Voice: How can you create space for ongoing data-driven decision making? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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