aes18 International Evaluation Conference

Byron Pakula (Clear Horizon), Damien Sweeney (Clear Horizon)

Monitoring and evaluation is broadly accepted as part of good project design and implementation. However, M&E systems regularly fail to feedback information to improve learning or change actions by managers, donors and decision makers. As the aid program transforms itself, focusing more on problem driven iterative adaptation, the emphasis on reflecting, learning and changing is ever increasing. The authors conducted a stocktake of M&E investment level systems across an entire DFAT aid portfolio - including desktop review, key informant interviews, and a detailed rubric based on the DFAT Reporting and M&E Standard.  

While it focused on one country, lessons were further developed based on a broad range of experience. The stocktake found that the majority of M&E Plans were well designed, though sometimes overly complicated. However, the quality diminished along the M&E pathway, in relation to implementing the M&E plans, communicating information, and using information for learning and adaptive management. Additionally, it was identified that implementing partners were often dependent on M&E advisers, often with varying approaches, and in some cases, varying quality.Partner-led, participatory and engaging approaches leads to improved reporting and learning. Good M&E ideally involves the participation of program design and program implementation staff to support ownership and understanding of M&E systems. Moreover, engaging donors in the reflection and reporting processes supports communication and facilitates decision making. Supporting this, embedding evaluation in the implementation team through Evaluation Capacity Building (ECB) is integral to the quality of M&E systems. Making this an "an intentional process to increase individual motivation, knowledge, and skills and to enhance a group and/or organisation's ability to conduct and use monitoring and evaluation" as per Labin et al (2012) helps build and reinforce a culture of M&E, leading to the use of information to generation knowledge that supports adaptive management and learning.