A range of methods can be used to monitor and evaluate whether a programme/workstream has contributed to change in local governance, service delivery and economic development, and to generate understanding and knowledge that can be shared with others to support better governance, service delivery and economic development in a decentralised government system.
This report looks at the following methods, providing an overview of their strengths and weaknesses as highlighted in the literature on monitoring and evaluation methods:
- Political Economy Analysis
- Social Network Analysis
- Positive Deviance
- Qualitative Comparative Analysis
- Outcome Mapping
- Contribution Analysis
The methods covered in this report share several commonalities:
- They tend to require highly skilled individuals to implement the methodology
- They are often time consuming
- They often involve high financial costs
There is a relatively large body of literature on these methods, consisting both of peer-reviewed journal articles and grey literature. However, the body of literature analysing these methods in the context of evaluation is smaller, particularly in the context of local governance.
Particular emphasis was placed on gender and inclusiveness during the literature search; however most of the literature on the methods included in this report is gender blind.
