What drives the need for bricolage in complexity-responsive MEL practice?
Content type:
Articles / Papers
Author(s):
Veera Blomster and Akolade Oladipupo
Theme:
OM Resources: Key Community Documents
Language:
English
Published:
14 May 2026
This brief explores why practitioners are increasingly using methodological bricolage. Many programmes work in complex systems with uncertainty, many actors and perspectives, contributing to complex change processes. In such situations, is using one single method for MEL enough? If not, why not? Understanding what drives people to mix and combine methods helps us explain, justify and communicate these choices to managers, donors, or commissioners, and to argue for the time and resources needed.
This series of think pieces explores six learning questions discussed by participants of the OMLC Learning Lab in December 2025. For more details, visit https://www.outcomemapping.org/bricolage.
This brief explores why practitioners are increasingly using methodological bricolage. Many programmes work in complex systems with uncertainty, many actors and perspectives, contributing to complex change processes. In such situations, is using one single method for MEL enough? If not, why not? Understanding what drives people to mix and combine methods helps us explain, justify and communicate these choices to managers, donors, or commissioners, and to argue for the time and resources needed.
This series of think pieces explores six learning questions discussed by participants of the OMLC Learning Lab in December 2025. For more details, visit https://www.outcomemapping.org/bricolage.
