What We Do

Short-term Advice or Support

For teams that have specific questions or need advice to overcome hurdles.

We e.g. give feedback on your Theory of Change, provide templates and resources, or help with survey design. Our short-term support can be limited to a few hours or stretch out to multiple support sessions for up to 3 months, depending on the needs of your organization and our available capacity.

Longer-term Support

For organizations that want to learn how to integrate MEL tools into their standard operating procedures.

For several months to a year, we walk through (parts of) a MEL cycle together. We will practice using tools such as environmental analysis, theory of change, setting up a monitoring system, and chosing and designing the right data-gathering tools.

Community Support

For individuals who would like to know more about MEL and connect with peers in the animal and vegan advocacy community.

The Mission Motor team hosts webinars every two months in which we present and discuss specific MEL-related topics. The meetings are announced via Luma, Hive Slack, and LinkedIn .
On the Hive # MEL sub-Slack channel, you can ask questions to other MEL enthusiasts or our team.

Our Theory of Change

To achieve the change we want to see, we have identified two important groups to work with: implementing charities, and funders in the animal and vegan advocacy area. We believe that when charities and funders make decisions informed by available research and insights stemming from data they gathered about their interventions, they can continuously improve their programs or adapt them to changing contexts.

We focus on working directly with individual organizations. This way, we can help them set up MEL systems that are suitable for the phase and type of interventions and the context of the organizations’ work. This should allow them to gather sufficient (not too much - not too little), relevant, and credible data that they can indeed act upon. We believe this direct support has the highest chance of generating sustained MEL practices.

Although we think most of our impact will come from our 1-on-1 support as outlined above, our experience is that some misconceptions about MEL may prevent organizations from seeking support or building their own MEL systems

MEL is often seen as inhibitively complicated, which it doesn’t have to be.
Some organizations think MEL tools are not useful for their type of interventions, while most of the time it is about choosing the right tool.

We therefore dedicate a small portion of our time to movement outreach and address these concerns. We organize online webinars, support-meetings for MEL practitioners, and will speak about MEL on relevant platforms. Next to addressing some of the barriers to taking up MEL practices, these more general activities will help participants grow their MEL knowledge and assess if and when they might want to reach out for support.

Our Team

Nicoll Peracha

Executive Director
Nicoll Peracha is an inspiring bridge builder with 25 years of experience in the international non-profit sector. She holds a law degree and since 2016 has supported numerous organizations in their development. Find out more about Nicoll here: Nicoll Peracha | LinkedIn
Sophie Gulliver

MEL Advisor
Sophie Gulliver is an evaluation expert in the humanitarian, global development, and animal welfare sector. As an M&E freelance consultant, she works with clients to improve their MEL and impact learning. Find out more about Sophie here: Sophie Gulliver | LinkedIn
Koushik Raghavan

MEL Associate
Koushik Raghavan has a master’s degree in cancer biology with experience working as a Research, Monitoring, and Evaluations Officer for FIAPO. Before joining The Mission Motor, he was a Research Fellow at AIM Training Program. Find out more about Koushik here: Koushik Raghavan | LinkedIn
Jamie Spurgeon

MEL Associate
Jamie holds a master’s degree in physics with nanoscience and worked for Animal Charity Evaluators. A.o. managing their Movement Grants program which aims to build the animal advocacy movement by supporting growth in underfunded regions and novel interventions. Find out more about Jamie here: Jamie Spurgeon | LinkedIn
Tom Billington

MEL Associate
Tom is the Co-founder of Fish Welfare Initiative, an organization focused on improving the welfare of fishes, currently concentrated in India. He is on the board of trustees for Ambitious Impact and has been in the animal movement for 5 years. Find out more about Tom here: Thomas Billington | LinkedIn
Csenge Kertesi

Communications Volunteer
Csenge is a passionate animal advocate of 5+ years with a background in Communication and Media Science. She graduated with a focus on Greenwashing, Marketing and Communication Strategies and is excited to use her knowledge and experience to help animals.

Our Board Members

Jesse van Elzelingen

Chair

Jesse van Elzelingen holds a master’s degree in social and organizational psychology, studied Industrial Management, and recently specialized as an agile/scrum coach. Jesse has experience as a legal advisor for union members, and currently works as Operations Manager and Agile Coach at ProVeg Netherlands. Find out more about Jesse here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesse-van-elzelingen-522682a8/
Lauren Mee

Vice-Chair

Lauren Mee is the co-founder of Animal Advocacy Careers. She is a strategic advisor to Tälist, the AVA summit and EACN. Prior to AAC she worked as a consultant at a global data intelligence organisation and volunteered for the Good Food Institute and The Humane League. Find out more about Lauren here: Lauren Mee 🔶 | LinkedIn
Lauri van Oosterom

Board Secretary
Lauri has master's degrees in Dutch and Russian history and completed several journalism and communication courses. Lauri volunteers for various animal welfare and sustainability organizations in the Netherlands. Lauri van Oosterom | LinkedIn
Michelle Vellinga

Board Member

Michelle is a communications professional holding a master’s degree in health education & promotion. Her passion is to promote healthy behaviours through digital communication with the goal of a better life for people and animals. Find out more about Michelle here: Michelle Vellinga | LinkedIn
Katrina Sill

Board Member
Katrina Sill holds an MPA in Development Practice from Columbia University and is an Associate Director for Innovation for Poverty Action's Right-Fit Evidence Unit. Prior to joining IPA, she was the Impact Division Director at One Acre Fund Tanzania Find out more about Katrina here: Katrina Sill | LinkedIn

Our Partners and Supporters

AIM

Ambitious Impact, the successor of Charity Entrepreurship, is created to help individuals make a large positive difference in the world by assisting them in finding and transitioning to a high-impact career path.
Craigslist Charitable Fund

Craigslist Charitable Fund supports organizations pursuing thoughtful interventions aimed at saving humanity and our planet - by ending the exploitation of animals.
Hive

Hive connects 3000+ passionate animal advocates committed to making a positive impact for farmed animals. They enable The Mission Motor to host the #MEL sub Slack channel, which helps us to build our community of practice.
Animal Ask

Animal Ask supports organizations with in-depth, cross-comparative research to support decision making towards the most promising opportunities for animals.
Caryn Ginsberg

Caryn Ginsberg, experienced board leader and founder of Priority Visions, helps progressive nonprofits and businesses who want to accelerate their results to set strategies and use visuals that move people to action.
EA Animal Welfare Fund

The EA Animal Welfare Fund aims to alleviate the suffering of non-human animals through effective grantmaking, prioritizing interventions that can collectively have the highest impact and help the greatest number of animals.
Effectiv Spenden

Based on scientific studies and analyses by independent experts, Effectiv Spenden recommends the most effective aid organisations worldwide so donations can help up to 100 times more.