DORCAS MUGALA (Independent)

I am an agile Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) specialist with a strong commitment to applying feminist and participatory principles to evidence generation, learning, and decision-making. I currently serve as the Lead MEL at CivSource Africa and CivFund, where I design and strengthen data systems that enable organizations to measure meaningful change, amplify diverse voices, and improve accountability. I consider myself a facilitator of social change, using evidence and learning to accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). My work focuses on building reliable, inclusive, and efficient data systems that not only capture the contributions of diverse stakeholders but also identify critical gaps and opportunities for collective action. Beyond my professional role, I serve as Chairperson of the Advisory Gender Data Hub Initiative, an organization established in 2024 to bridge the gap between civil society and the Government of Uganda in the use of citizen-generated data for SDG monitoring and policy influence. Through this initiative, we pioneered the Gender Research and Data Hub, a shared digital platform that provides civil society organizations with a centralized repository for gender and SDG-related data. The platform supports research, evidence-based advocacy, collaborative learning, monitoring, and reporting, while strengthening the visibility and use of grassroots evidence in national development processes. I am eager to join Catalyst Now because I believe transformative change is achieved through collaboration, shared learning, and collective leadership. I look forward to contributing my expertise in MEL, feminist data practices, and collaborative data systems, while learning from a global community of changemakers committed to accelerating progress toward the SDGs. I am particularly interested in exchanging innovative approaches to measuring systems change, strengthening locally led development, and leveraging data to drive equitable and sustainable impact.