Level of interest in and understanding of M&E

Examples

Colombia has had a long experience of evaluation, especially in relation to government regulations. Since 2020, the National Department for Planning (DNP) has been motivated to improve the use of evaluations and to enhance national capacity. It is keen to approve an institutional document for M&E improvement within the National Council of Social and Economic Policies (CONPES) to include stakeholders beyond the DNP. If this is done, the improvement and its implementation will be sustained long after the current government. Worldwide, COVID has increased governments' motivation to bring evidence to bear on key decision-making. This creates an opportunity for emphasising the importance of sound M&E. In South Africa, in the Western Cape Province, which has a strong M&E system, the decision was taken to undertake some rapid evaluations around key issues related to COVID. This was helpful in seeing the value that rapid evaluations could bring.

Sri Lanka has been through periods of actively championing M&E: in the 2000s and then in 2015–19 – with less interest at other times. This is linked to the roles of individual champions, government changes, and political perceptions of the relevance of M&E. It is important to understand these possible drivers and to be realistic about the current levels of interest, as well as the fact that there is fluidity and always the potential for change.

In Dominica, there is a dual interest in moving towards an RBM approach and having an M&E system. First, as a member state of CARICOM, it has committed to expedite an RBM policy and practices. Second, having set the goal of becoming the first "climate resilient" country in the world, it has created a specific agency, the Climate Resilience Execution Agency for Dominica (CREAD), which has a strong alignment with RBM and M&E practices to reach this goal.

Source: Global Evaluation Initiative, 2022