Introducing Our New Monitoring & Evaluation Officer

SHARE is delighted to welcome Emily Balls as our new Monitoring & Evaluation Officer. We asked Emily to tell us a little more about herself and her hopes for the role. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself

Most recently I've been working at the British Red Cross on the Ebola response in West Africa as well as pioneering a Regional Performance Framework to better measure and improve the organisation's work in West and Central Africa. Prior to that I worked at Fairtrade International where I led on the development of a monitoring, evaluation and learning framework for Fairtrade Sourcing Programs, a major new business model. My academic background is in social anthropology and I also have a Masters in Education and International Development.

What attracted you to this role?

I was looking for a challenging role that focused on monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning as this is a major area of interest for me. SHARE works across multiple countries and presents some exciting challenges around measuring the long term impact of research projects on policy and practice at the national and international level. I was also keen to learn more about outcome mapping - an innovative methodology that SHARE will be using to measure its influence on different stakeholders.

What are you most looking forward to about working at SHARE?

I am looking forward to applying my previous M&E experience in international development and humanitarian programmes to a major research consortium. I'm really interested in better understanding the intersections between academic research, development programming and policy making. I think SHARE provides a great opportunity to learn more about this area. I am also keen to meet my international colleagues based in SHARE's partner institutions and to better understand the important work they do and how I can help to highlight this work through M&E.

What will you be working on for the next few months?

I will be finalising our data collection tools and systems to ensure the second phase of SHARE has a robust M&E system that is fit for purpose. I will also be getting to know SHARE partners and learning more about what they do so I can figure out how best to provide M&E support. Another priority will be working on SHARE's annual report. This will provide a great opportunity to take stock of SHARE's progress towards its long-term aims and to analyse the key achievements and challenges in the past year.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Outside of work I enjoy cycling, swimming, bouldering and yoga. I also enjoy escaping London to visit the beautiful countryside of Scotland. I love marine life and animals, and try to maintain my scuba diving skills by diving once a year if I can. In addition, I enjoy cooking, travelling and learning how to make new foods from different cultures.