Date and time: Friday 10 July 12.00pm-1.00pm AEST
Topic:  AES Systems Evaluation SIG: Future Drought Fund MEL Framework - a systems base approach to evaluating complexity
Presenter: Marwan Hassan | Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Venue: Via Zoom. Details will be emailed to registrants just prior to the start time.
Register online by: 9 July 2026

Event description:

In this one‑hour online seminar, Dr Marwan Hassan will unpack how systems theory has shaped the Future Drought Fund Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Framework 2024–2028. The session will walk through the Fund's systems‑based Theory of Change, its nested MEL architecture, and the learning cycles that support adaptive management in a changing climate.

The seminar will:
• Show why the Fund moved away from a single fund‑wide logic model to a systems‑oriented Theory of Change
• Explain how concepts such as resilience, spheres of control/influence/interest, and levers for change were used in practice
• Illustrate how MEL is nested at fund, program and project levels to manage complexity and support contribution analysis
• Highlight how annual learning cycles and key evaluation questions drive real‑time adaptation
• Include time for questions and discussion about how these design choices translate to other complex portfolios and systems‑level evaluations

Presenter(s) details:

Marwan Hassan

Marwan El Hassan is Director of the Program Evaluation and Support team for the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, where he leads the integration of monitoring, evaluation, learning and social‑ecological resilience principles into drought resilience programs. He has a background in agricultural and animal sciences and natural resource management, completed his PhD in sustainability at the ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society on Australian rangeland goats as a complex social‑ecological system, and is an Honorary Lecturer at ANU working on resilience theory and social‑ecological systems for sustainability.

This free event has been organised by the Systems Evaluation SIG Our seminar series provides an opportunity for you to meet with AES members and others in the evaluation community and to share and learn from the experiences of fellow evaluators. 

This seminar will be not be recorded.

 Seminar start times:

VIC, NSW, QLD ACT, TAS: 12.00pm

SA, NT: 11.30am

WA: 10.00 am

NZ: 2.00pm

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.