Cross cutting Them & Ethical Standards in MEAL

The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is implementing a water and sanitation project in Badakhshan. The MEAL team invites local elders, women’s groups, and school staff to co-design the community data collection tools and help determine which indicators matter most. Which MEAL cross-cutting theme is being demonstrated here?

• Critical thinking

• Transparency

• Participation

• Adaptive management

During a stakeholder meeting in Bamyan, an AKF staff member expresses doubt about whether youth representatives are qualified to provide useful feedback in an education project. The MEAL officer facilitates a discussion to examine everyone’s assumptions and evidence behind this concern. What MEAL approach is being used in this scenario?

• Evaluation

• Critical thinking

• Data minimization

• Informed consent

While collecting feedback from internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Baghlan, AKF’s MEAL team ensures participants are clearly informed about the purpose of the survey, how the data will be used, and that they can decline participation without any consequences. Which ethical principle is being upheld here?

• Responsible data usage

• Informed consent

• Data minimization

• Privacy and confidentiality

In Kabul, the MEAL team at AKF creates a system to store participant data securely, restrict access to only essential staff, and deletes the data once it is no longer needed. Which ethical standard does this demonstrate?

• Participant safety

• Representation

• Responsible data usage

• Adaptive learning

An AKF team in Badakhshan is conducting a needs assessment for a girls’ education project. To ensure no group is excluded, they deliberately include voices from marginalized communities and children with disabilities in their data collection process. Which ethical principle is best reflected here?

• Data minimization

• Representation

• Participation

• Transparency

While designing MEAL tools for a project in Bamyan, the AKF MEAL team reviews each question to make sure it directly relates to project goals and avoids collecting unnecessary personal data. Which ethical principle is being applied here?

• Privacy and confidentiality

• Informed consent

• Data minimization

• Accountability