SOILL Monitoring and Evaluation Guidelines - A complete guideline to the SOILL Monitoring & Evaluation process for Soil Health Living Labs

The EU Mission 'A Soil Deal for Europe' (Mission Soil) calls for the creation of a network of 100 Living Labs (LLs) and Lighthouses (LHs) to drive the transition towards healthy soils. This mission fosters sustainable soil management practices through a structured and collaborative approach, particularly within Soil Health LLs.

To support this network, the SOILL Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) has been designed to establish and run a one-stop support structure for LLs and LHs through various SOILL implementation projects, the first of which is SOILL-Startup. This support encompasses multiple actions, including capacity building, coordination, networking, promotion, and knowledge sharing. Among these, Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) plays a pivotal role in ensuring that LLs and LHs can assess their progress, share insights, and continuously improve their approaches. As part of this effort, SOILL-Startup has designed the SOILL M&E Framework to provide a structured and effective evaluation process for both LLs and LHs.

This document provides comprehensive guidelines for SHLLs to complete the monitoring process developed in SOILL-Startup. It also introduces the SOILL M&E Framework, outlining its structure, methodology, and the key chapters and criteria assessed through the framework. The primary objectives of these guidelines are to provide clear instructions on the M&E process, ensure consistency and quality in data collection, facilitate learning and improvement, and describe how SHLLs can access support throughout the process.