Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Officers work in The Hunger Project (THP) Program Countries gathering data from our programs and determining their progress and impact in the field. Their work is crucial in improving and developing new programs for our partners around the world.
Darshan Surendranath, an M&E Officer with THP-India, is interviewed here by Impact and Influence Officer Carolyn Ramsdell from THP’s Global Office.
Carolyn: How long have you been with THP and what were you doing before you joined the THP team?
Darshan: I have been part of THP-India since 2009 when I joined as Program Officer. Earlier I was in Datamonitor Group [a market research company] as a Senior Analyst in the Economics Research Unit for two and half years. There I was working on data analysis, forecasting, estimation of country economic, social and educational indicators. I extensively used software and programming in this job to increase productivity of my team. I hold a Master’s degree in Economics from Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune, India.
Carolyn: What is an achievement from the last year that you are most proud of?
Darshan: As part of assessing the impact of our interventions in India, we had developed a detailed methodology including baselines, situational analysis etc. I have co-developed and implemented the baseline survey for elected women representatives being trained by THP in India. We have successfully implemented it across three states in India for now and the rest to follow. I developed a data entry sheet, which was important was very important for accurate data entry.
Carolyn: What is the most challenging part of your work as an M&E Officer?
Darshan: Training field workers in data collection techniques – surveys in particular were a bit of a challenge, as the baseline was designed to capture mostly qualitative data. Also the need for efficient data analysis software.
Carolyn: What would you like to learn from your fellow THP M&E Officers around the world?
Darshan: How feedback from M&E is being incorporated in programs and interventions to achieve better results.
Carolyn: And a little bit about you personally, what is your favorite food?
Darshan: All vegetarian Indian cuisine: dosa, vada, parathas, curries etc.
Carolyn: What are some of your interests or hobbies?
Darshan: I am a huge movie buff and a foodie. I love music and travelling; apart from these international politics, economic issues and regional development interest me.
Carolyn: Sounds interesting! Thanks for taking the time to share with us, Darshan!
We at THP are proud to have dedicated M&E Officers like Darshan working to empower people and determining the most effective and influential ways of doing so. Take a minute to learn more about some of the inspiring work being done by THP-India and Darshan!
