Governments and organisations face increasing internal and external pressures to demonstrate accountability, transparency and results. Results-based monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems are a powerful public management tool to achieve these objectives. This handbook from the World Bank presents a ten-step model that provides extensive detail on building, maintaining and sustaining a results-based M&E system.
Results-based M&E systems can help build and foster political and financial support for policies, programmes and projects and can help governments build a solid knowledge base. They can also produce major changes in the way governments and organisations operate, leading to improved performance, accountability, transparency, learning, and knowledge. Results-based M&E systems should be considered a work in progress. Continuous attention, resources, and political commitment are needed to ensure their viability and sustainability. Building the cultural shift necessary to move an organisation toward a results orientation takes time, commitment and political will.
The ten steps to building, maintaining and sustaining a results-based M&E system are outlined below:
- A readiness assessment should be conducted to determine whether prerequisites for a results-based M&E system are in place. It should review incentives and capacity for an M&E system and roles, responsibilities and structures for assessing government performance.
- Outcomes to monitor and evaluate should be agreed through a participatory process identifying stakeholders’ concerns and formulating them as outcome statements. Outcomes should be disaggregated and a plan developed to assess how they will be achieved.
- Key performance indicators to monitor outcomes should be selected through a participatory process considering stakeholder interests and specific needs. Indicators should be clear, relevant, economical, adequate and monitorable.
- Baseline data on indicators should be established as a guide by which to monitor future performance. Important issues when setting baselines and gathering data on indicators include the sources, collection, analysis, reporting and use of data.
- Performance targets should be selected to identify expected and desired project, programme or policy results. Factors to consider include baselines, available resources, time frames and political concerns. A participatory process with stakeholders and partners is key.
- Monitoring for results includes both implementation and results monitoring as well as forming partnerships to attain shared outcomes. Monitoring systems need ownership, management, maintenance and credibility. Data collection needs reliability, validity and timeliness.
- Evaluation provides information on strategy, operations and learning. Different types of evaluation answer different questions. Features of quality evaluations include impartiality, usefulness, technical adequacy, stakeholder involvement, value for money and feedback.
- Reports on the findings of M&E systems can be used to gain support and explore and investigate. Reports should consider the requirements of the target audience and present data clearly.
- Findings of results-based M&E systems can also be used to improve performance and demonstrate accountability and transparency. Benefits of using findings include continuous feedback and organisational and institutional knowledge and learning.
- Good results-based M&E systems must be used in order to be sustainable. Critical components of sustaining M&E systems include demand, clear roles and responsibilities, trustworthy and credible information, accountability, capacity and incentives.
