"The NRF must continually demonstrate the relevance and value of its activities and the judicious use of the public funds entrusted to it. The organisation recognises the demands for greater accountability in the way it conducts its affairs for the sake of those who govern and fund it and for the sake of those it serves. The continuous and critical assessment of the performance of the NRF and of those supported by the organisation is a key competency. The responsibility for these two divergent assessment functions is vested in the Evaluation Centre."

There is often confusion about what M&E entails. The purpose of this M&E Overview is to strengthen awareness and interest in M&E, and to clarify what it entails. You will find an overview of a sample of M&E tools, methods, and approaches outlined here, including their purpose and use; advantages and disadvantages; costs, skills, and time required; and key references. Those illustrated here include several data collection methods, analytical frameworks, and types of evaluation and review. The M&E Overview discusses: Performance indicators The logical framework approach Theory-based evaluation Formal surveys Rapid appraisal methods Participatory methods Public expenditure tracking surveys Cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis Impact evaluation This list is not comprehensive, nor is it intended to be. Some of these tools and approaches are complementary; some are substitutes. Some have broad applicability, while others are quite narrow in their uses. The choice of which is appropriate for any given context will depend on a range of considerations. These include the uses for which M&E is intended, the main stakeholders who have an interest in the M&E findings, the speed with which the information is needed, and the cost.

"The advent of the IDEAS, a voluntary, charitable membership based organization, is timely. A new development consensus has emerged, focused on sustained poverty reduction driven by economic growth; the removal of social and structural constraints to economic and human development; reforms that are owned by those who must carry them out; and an intent, especially in the public sector, to manage for results and measure for performance. In parallel, citizens in developing and developed countries alike, expect more efficient, more accountable and more transparent government and public sector programs and projects that have measurably greater development effectiveness than hitherto. Thus there is need to renew old and established evaluation mechanisms to help deliver results to ensure accountability and learn from mistakes."

"The Australasian Evaluation Society (AES) is a professional organisation for people involved in evaluation. The AES has over 700 members involved in all aspects of evaluation and performance measurement. Members include evaluation practitioners, managers, teachers and students from all levels of government, educational institutions, research agencies, community organisations, businesses and other interested individuals. Members meet regularly through Regional Groups centred in major cities in Australia and New Zealand. Professional development workshops are conducted throughout Australasia on a regular basis."

"The primary goal of the European Evaluation Society is to promote theory, practice and utilization of high quality evaluation especially, but not exclusively, within the European countries. This goal is obtained by bringing together academics and practitioners from all over Europe and from any professional sector, thus creating a forum where all participants can benefit from the co-operation and bridge building. The society was founded in the Hague in 1994. The first official board was elected in autumn 1995 and started its work in January 1996."

"The Society is a Canada-wide non-profit bilingual association dedicated to the advancement of evaluation theory and practice."

"The Cultural Reading began as text conversations among a group of professional evaluators who share expertise in and concern for issues of cultural diversity and cultural context in evaluation. The purpose of the cultural reading was to review The Program Evaluation Standards (2nd edition) with respect to coverage of cultural diversity, treatment of cultural concerns, and attention to cultural competence. This conversation was intended to build knowledge among Diversity Committee members and other relevant stakeholders within the AEA; to identify specific passages that are in need of revision; and to gather ideas on relevant resources and suggested changes for input to The Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation. Throughout this reflection, culture is broadly defined, inclusive of race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, social class, disability, language, and educational level or disciplinary background. It includes both individual characteristics and those of a group or collective (e.g., community or organizational culture)."

"This website is developed by Wageningen International. Our objectives of PPM&E - Managing and Learning for Impact are to: * help build the capacity of individuals and organisations to effectively implement PPM&E systems (courses, advisory services, evaluation). * contribute to innovation in the field of PPM&E / managing and learning for impact. * provide practical web based resource materials, experience sharing and learning with this PPM&E resource portal. The first part of this website ("theories and backgrounds", and "methodologies and approaches") is in the process of being updated. The second part of this website provides a wide range of links to documents and websites which have been sorted in relation to a large number of subject areas. Though there is a lot, it is obviously not complete. We appreciate recommendations of resources that have not been included yet. Please use the comment boxes for this purpose."

"Each year billions of dollars are spent on thousands of programs to improve health, education and other social sector outcomes in the developing world. But very few programs benefit from studies that could determine whether or not they actually made a difference. This absence of evidence is an urgent problem: it not only wastes money but denies poor people crucial support to improve their lives. This report by the Evaluation Gap Working Group provides a strategic solution to this problem addressing this gap, and systematically building evidence about what works in social development, proving it is possible to improve the effectiveness of domestic spending and development assistance by bringing vital knowledge into the service of policymaking and program design. In 2004 the Center for Global Development, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, convened the Evaluation Gap Working Group. The group was asked to investigate why rigorous impact evaluations of social development programs, whether financed directly by developing country governments or supported by international aid, are relatively rare. The Working Group was charged with developing proposals to stimulate more and better impact evaluations. This report, the final report of the working group, contains specific recommendations for addressing this urgent problem."

"This guidebook presents an innovative and thoroughly tested model for organizational self-assessment. The tools and tips in Enhancing Organizational Performance go beyond measuring the impact of programs, products, and services. They integrate techniques of formative assessment, in which the assessment team becomes involved in helping its organization become more effective in meeting its goals. The tools and techniques are flexible, and the model can be adapted to any type or size of organization. Worksheets and hands-on exercises are included. Enhancing Organizational Performance will be of use to any organization that is initiating a process of self-assessment, internal change, or strategic planning. It will particularly appeal to heads and staff of research organizations, university administrators, staff of research-granting agencies, and academics and professionals in organizational development and evaluation."

"In the 1990s an extremely successful strategy for capacity building in the area of monitoring and evaluating the quality of education was developed through the establishment of a Consortium of fifteen Ministries of Education known as the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ). SACMEQs mission is to assist educational planners and researchers to undertake studies of the quality of their education systems by working in a co-operative manner that allows them to share their experiences and to learn from each other. The network works closely with the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) to co-ordinate the delivery of intensive training programmes focussed on the requirements of the research, and also to facilitate access to advanced technical knowledge and computer-based techniques."

The primary purpose of this site is to provide a central starting point for staff of international relief and development agencies to locate resources related to program Design, Monitoring and Evaluation and information about training opportunities. The contents, review and links are contributions from NGOs and consultants.

"APRIL 2005 ” Family Health International has released an important new resource for improving the lives of orphans and vulnerable children. The guide, Conducting a Participatory Situation Analysis of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Affected by HIV/AIDS: Guidelines and Tools, is a powerful tool that builds on experiences from FHI's work in the developing world. Conducting a situation analysis is a complex and delicate process. It gathers and analyzes information to guide planning and action. Done properly, it can help build consensus and among key stakeholders. Collecting data that is not directly linked to specific programs helps identify strengths and weaknesses in national and sub-national responses. Because this resource is focused on children, it features a special emphasis on ethical considerations for information-gathering. The six-chapter, 210-page guide offers sample consent forms, baseline surveys and interview guides, which can be adapted for local use. It was funded by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Reliefe through the U.S. Agency for International Development. It was written by Renee DeMarco with FHI's OVC Team. The accompanying French edition, released in April 2006, was prepared by the nongovernmental organization Plan International."

"The African Evaluation Association (AfrEA) was founded in 1999 in response to a growing demand for information sharing, advocacy and advanced capacity building in evaluation in Africa. It is an umbrella organisation for national evaluation associations and networks in Africa. It is also a resource for individuals in countries where national bodies do not exist."

"This Guide has been written to help project managers and M&E staff improve the quality of M&E in IFAD-supported projects. The Guide focuses on how M&E can support project management and engage project stakeholders in understanding project progress, learning from achievements and problems, and agreeing on how to improve both strategy and operations."

"This site provides evaluation specialists and users with refereed checklists for designing, budgeting, contracting, staffing, managing, and assessing evaluations of programs, personnel, students, and other evaluands; collecting, analyzing, and reporting evaluation information; and determining merit, worth, and significance. Each checklist is a distillation of valuable lessons learned from practice. The site's purpose is to improve the quality and consistency of evaluations and enhance evaluation capacity through the promotion and use of high-quality checklists targeted to specific evaluation tasks and approaches."

"The 'African Evaluation Guidelines' is a working document being jointly prepared by national evaluation associations and networks in Africa. It is a very useful checklist for anyone preparing to undertake an evaluation or wishing to assess the completeness of an evaluation study. It is also useful to people negotiating contracts to do an evaluation. African evaluators are kindly requested to read the guidelines and send in comments either directly to me or through your national associations or networks."

"The IUCN Evaluation Policy (French/Spanish) was developed during 1999-2000 and approved by the IUCN Council in October 2001. It is based on a survey of the policies of bilateral and multilateral agencies and large NGOs, and on a consensus among IUCN programme managers on the key elements of evaluation that are important for IUCN. The Policy is consistent with the OECD DAC Evaluation Working Group principles and guidelines, and thus consistent with the evaluation policies and standards of the major core donors of IUCN. The Policy sets out the aim and purpose of evaluation in IUCN, the criteria, guiding principles and standards, and types of evaluations to be undertaken in IUCN. Given that the evaluation function is new in IUCN, the Policy also elaborates on the management of and the roles and responsibilities in the evaluation process in IUCN. It is expected that as the evaluation function matures and develops in IUCN, the Policy will be updated as required."

"An Africa Gender and Development Evaluators Network has been established by AfrEA and UNIFEM to work on gender and human rights based monitoring and evaluation in Africa. The Network aims to share information, knowledge and evaluation resources. It develops and shares gender evaluation tools and methodologies, and encourages the implementation of gender-sensitive evaluations across the continent. It also aims to strengthen the effectiveness and gender-responsiveness of development programs and projects in Africa through the use of rights based and results oriented participatory systems of monitoring and evaluation."

"This is a collaborative working space to share summaries of interest and current areas of work on Impact Assessment and Monitoring & Evaluation in relation to Sustainable Livelihoods thinking and approaches, including current frameworks in use and key challenges and questions."

"Aimed at newcomers and experienced practitioners alike, Participatory Learning and Action is the world's leading informal journal on participatory learning and action approaches and methods, reaching over 20,000 readers in 121 countries. Since its first issue in 1988, it has provided a forum for those engaged in participatory work - community workers, activists and researchers to share their experiences, conceptual reflections and methodological innovations with others, providing a genuine voice from the field. All the material is copyright free and we encourage photocopying of articles for sharing and training, provided the source is acknowledged."

"This book offers a clear-cut methodology to diagnose institutional strengths and weakness at the onset of development activities. In this way, beneficiaries can respond to growing pressures from donor governments and organizations for accountable and sustainable use of development funding. The authors examine all aspects of organizational performance, including the enabling environment, institutional capacity, management, financial viability, and staff motivation. They also review the methodological issues involved in carrying out an assessment, ranging from the choice and framing of questions to data collection and analysis, the question of who “owns” the assessment, and the reporting of results. Designed for practitioners interested in organizational diagnosis and social change, this book includes a quick guide for organizational assessment, a sample report outline and questions, and a comprehensive assessment glossary."

This page includes summaries of studies identifying lessons learned from communication projects and the use of communication strategies; summaries of articles and publications that address or include evaluation frameworks and benchmarks; and summaries of impact data statistics from communication project evaluations: • Methodologies & Indicators • Project Evaluations • Strategy Evaluations • Excerpted Project Impact Data

"There is now widespread recognition, in name at least, that participatory development is critical for achieving sound resource management. However, this kind of development requires a more flexible and evolving process to planning for change, and poses new challenges for decision-makers and evaluators alike. In particular, this requires major institutional reorientation at the policy level to ensure responsiveness to local demand, and to empower and enable communities to act. At the programme level, it means detailed outlines for action can no longer be drawn up at the outset since problem-solving is based on partnerships and cooperation, and not the quest to achieve some externally identified goal. Because these programmes are designed to be responsive to changing community needs, one of the most pressing challenges is to develop participatory and systems-based monitoring and evaluative processes to allow for ongoing learning, correction, and adjustment by all parties concerned." Covers: evaluation aims; theory of change and logic models, scale and intensity; and different approaches and techniques

"IDRC’s experience with evaluation and institutional assessment corroborates many of the claims by the proponents of participatory approaches in development. For example, Southern research managers at two recent workshops, one in East Africa, the other in South Asia, forcefully emphasized to donors the advantages of involving recipient institutions in assessments of their own performance. They felt their own information needs were being ignored and that they were being assessed against an unknown set of performance criteria. Whereas project-centred evaluations tend to fragment and undermine institutional learning and change, full participation gives the organization useful experience with the process and ownership of the results."