Steps to Identify and Use Adaptation Indicators for National Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Systems
These practice briefs are aimed at national government teams involved directly or indirectly in monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) systems for national adaptation plan processes. The steps presented are designed to be practical and flexible. They distil key approaches and clear activities to guide countries in identifying and using adaptation indicators as part of their national MEL systems.
Key Messages
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Designing an effective indicator framework is not simply a technical exercise—it requires understanding adaptation objectives, institutional landscapes, existing data systems, and how findings will be used.
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Indicators play a key role in MEL systems by providing continuous and structured data, which can inform the decisions that national and sub-national actors need to make, while keeping global frameworks in mind.
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Countries that build strong, nationally owned MEL systems will be better equipped to inform global transparency processes, such as communicating their progress on adaptation as part of the second round of Biennial Transparency Reports due at the end of 2026.
Indicators are an important part of MEL systems because they provide continuous and structured data that governments can use to track whether changes are occurring as a result of policies and actions.
Indicators serve multiple functions in a national MEL system. They support accountability by providing evidence of progress to decision-makers and development partners. They enable learning by revealing what is working and what is not. They also help connect national efforts to international reporting obligations, such as Biennial Transparency Reports, Adaptation Communications, and national communications under the Enhanced Transparency Framework, and inform the global stocktake process under the Paris Agreement.
Designing an effective indicator framework, however, is not simply a technical exercise. It requires understanding adaptation objectives, institutional landscapes, existing data systems, and how findings will be used.
This publication supports members of national adaptation plan teams involved directly or indirectly in MEL systems, and those supporting them, in identifying and using adaptation indicators for their national MEL systems effectively and efficiently. It focuses on the steps to build indicator frameworks grounded in national adaptation priorities and is useful for the decisions that national and sub-national actors need to make, while keeping global frameworks, such as the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience, in mind.
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