Date and time: Tuesday 24 March 2026, 4.30pm - 6.00pm AEDT 
Topic: SA Panel: International Development MERL: Power, Epistemology and Lessons for Australian Practice
Location: online, via Zoom. Details will be emailed to registrants just prior to the start time
Presenters: Charlie Tulloch | Policy Performance; Amy Gildea | Cowater International; Dr Elissa Mortimer | Palladium; Tessa Hillgrove | Tetratech and Catriona Flavel | Australian Red Cross
Register online by: 23 March 2026

Event description:

The SA regional committee is proud to showcase Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) insights from leading international development practitioners, based in South Australia. Each panel member brings a wealth of experience in diverse international settings, contexts and approaches.

Charlie Tulloch will facilitate the panel. The session will focus on drawing out lessons from each panel member's real-world, on-ground experiences, including lessons for Australian MERL practice from international experiences.

Expect the session to tackle some critical topics in evaluation, such as:
- How Western evaluation paradigms are challenged — and strengthened — when working alongside First Nations and Pasifika (and other) methodologies.
- What happens to notions of rigour in fragile, politically complex systems.
- The delicate intersection and balance between donor accountability, localisation, equity and inclusion, and Indigenous knowledge systems.
- What domestic (Australian) policy evaluators can learn from adaptive MERL practices in international settings.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to ask questions of panel members.

Presenter(s) details:

Charlie Tulloch is Director of Policy Performance. He consults in Australia and internationally with public sector organisations who seek to better understand and advance their implementation and impact. He has recently completed projects in Vanuatu and PNG, notably compiling National M&E Guidelines for the Government of Vanuatu. He has trained over 100 government managers and evaluators across Vanuatu and Fiji.

Amy Gildea is Managing Director of Cowater International (APAC) and Non-Executive Director of Malu Matriarchs Collective. She is a senior MEL practitioner and humanitarian executive with more than 20 years’ experience working across Australian health and social policy, international development and humanitarian systems. Her evaluation practice spans quasi-experimental design, theory-based and adaptive approaches, and the integration of First Nations and Pasifika methodologies within Western evaluative frameworks. Amy has worked across 33 countries in fragile, conflict-affected and climate-vulnerable settings, and has led billion-dollar government and multilateral portfolios across the Indo-Pacific. Amy works at the intersection of policy reform, localisation, Indigenous knowledge systems and institutional accountability.

Dr. Elissa Mortimer is APAC Lead - MERL, Palladium Group. Elissa is an accomplished international development professional with a Master of Nutrition and Dietetics and a Doctorate of Public Health. With over 25 years’ experience, she has worked with agencies including DFAT, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, WHO and Cancer Australia and has lived and worked in Nepal, Fiji and India and undertaken field work managing MERL programs in Papua New Guinea, Malawi, Sri Lanka and Vanuatu. Elissa’s MERL specialisation includes counterfactual studies using randomized controlled trial designs. She also has in-depth experience managing mixed method and tracer studies, process evaluations, culturally-responsive evaluation and knowledge translation, including data visualisation for dashboarding.

Dr Tessa Hillgrove is Associate Director - Research, Monitoring and Evaluation at Tetra Tech. Tessa is a seasoned MERL Manager and development research expert with over 20 years’ experience in applied research, program evaluation and policy engagement across Australia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. She has built her career at the interface of research and practice, designing and leading studies that translate evidence into action for development, humanitarian and public health systems. Tessa has published on population health, disability inclusion, and participatory methodologies. She has led and contributed to collaborative research and evaluation projects with DFAT, NGOs and regional partners, including in Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, Solomon Islands, and the broader Pacific.

Catriona Flavel, Evaluator at Red Cross Australia. Catriona is an experienced evaluator with expertise undertaking complex monitoring, evaluation and learning processes in a range of sectors including education, civil society, private sector development and governance. She has worked in the private sector, for government and as an independent consultant. She is committed to ensuring that the results of MERL are used to drive policy and practice and has strong focus on stakeholder engagement within donors, partner country governments and implementing partners. Catriona has led a number of meta-evaluations and multi-year portfolio-level reviews of programs. She has worked with policy makers to enhance the relevance, efficiency and impact of policies and programs - particularly in relation to civil society engagement.

If this panel is recorded, it will be available on the member portal only.

Seminar start times:

SA: 4.30pm

VIC, NSW, ACT, TAS: 5.00pm

QLD: 4.00pm

NT: 3.30pm

WA: 2.00pm

New Zealand: 7.00pm

For other time zones please go to https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

Please ensure you have access to your email address just prior to the start time to access Zoom details. Please also check your email address is correct on your registration form before submitting. Thanks.