to download PDF of full document - SPARC Nigeria
to download PDF of full document - SPARC Nigeria
to download PDF of full document - SPARC Nigeria
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
with the responsibility <strong>of</strong> evolving creative<br />
national, state, and local processes for identifying<br />
key strategic interventions that are likely <strong>to</strong> have<br />
the greatest impact on achieving the MDGs, and<br />
then designing appropriate systems for tagging<br />
and tracking public expenditure line items that<br />
will impact on the MDGs at all levels.<br />
The Millennium Declaration provided the<br />
opportunity for <strong>Nigeria</strong> <strong>to</strong> re-focus on the MDGs<br />
as important pillars <strong>of</strong> the country‘s development<br />
agenda including its Vision 20:2020. The DRGs<br />
provided the much-needed additional resources<br />
specifically targeted at the MDGs (<strong>to</strong> date<br />
approximately N570billion has been appropriated<br />
for pro – poor MDG related programmes) and<br />
highlighted the importance <strong>of</strong> measuring the<br />
results <strong>of</strong> development initiatives. With the<br />
establishment <strong>of</strong> OSSAP-MDGs <strong>to</strong> track and<br />
coordinate expenditures on the MDGs, <strong>Nigeria</strong><br />
became one <strong>of</strong> the first African nations <strong>to</strong><br />
demonstrate ample political will <strong>to</strong> adopt a resultsbased<br />
approach <strong>to</strong>wards poverty reduction and<br />
improvement in the living standards <strong>of</strong> its people.<br />
The <strong>of</strong>fice became the secretariat for both the<br />
Presidential and Steering Committees on MDGs.<br />
Moni<strong>to</strong>ring and evaluation <strong>of</strong> the inputs, activities,<br />
outputs, and outcomes <strong>of</strong> the DRG investments<br />
was an expected corollary <strong>of</strong> the country‘s<br />
political will <strong>to</strong> build and entrench a culture <strong>of</strong><br />
good governance manifested by a movement<br />
<strong>to</strong>wards accountability and transparency, greater<br />
development effectiveness, and the delivery <strong>of</strong><br />
tangible results at all levels.<br />
OSSAP-MDGs’ Results-Based Moni<strong>to</strong>ring and<br />
Evaluation Framework<br />
To enable systematic tracking <strong>of</strong> the Debt Relief<br />
Gains (DRGs), a Virtual Poverty Fund (VPF),<br />
otherwise known as Overview <strong>of</strong> Public<br />
Expenditure under NEEDS (OPEN), was<br />
established. The VPF is a mechanism <strong>of</strong> tagging<br />
specific poverty-reducing items in the national<br />
budget and tracking their performance. Its<br />
operation entails integrating the MDGs<br />
interventions resulting from debt relief as budget<br />
line items in the relevant sec<strong>to</strong>rs anchored on the<br />
various MDAs or States. OPEN is the wider<br />
process, <strong>of</strong> which the M&E framework is but one<br />
component for tracking the performance <strong>of</strong> DRG<br />
investments and evaluating their impact. Through<br />
the involvement <strong>of</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essional consultants and<br />
civil society organisations (CSOs), this M&E<br />
framework enables OSSAP-MDGs <strong>to</strong> empower<br />
Governments at all levels (Federal, State, and<br />
Local Government) <strong>to</strong> demonstrate the results <strong>of</strong><br />
their efforts <strong>to</strong> use DRGs funds, as well as funds<br />
from other government sources, <strong>to</strong> achieve the<br />
MDGs.<br />
The OPEN is driven by independent moni<strong>to</strong>ring<br />
and evaluation pr<strong>of</strong>essionals comprising a<br />
consulting firm and a CSO at the national level<br />
(jointly constituting the National Moni<strong>to</strong>ring and<br />
Evaluation Team, NMET); supported by) State<br />
Moni<strong>to</strong>ring and Evaluation Teams (SMETs), also<br />
comprising <strong>of</strong> consultants and CSOs or<br />
community based organisation (CBOs). An<br />
important aspect <strong>of</strong> the OPEN process is the<br />
development and application <strong>of</strong> a web-based<br />
NMET M&E portal <strong>to</strong> streamline the data<br />
collected by the state teams for s<strong>to</strong>rage and<br />
analysis. During the 2009 M&E exercise, the<br />
database created using the portal was enhanced <strong>to</strong><br />
capture and key in ―vital information‖ that was not<br />
covered during the 2008 M&E, including<br />
qualitative data from human accounts, background<br />
and supporting information on project utilisation<br />
as well as on the fac<strong>to</strong>rs affecting project<br />
performance. The portal‘s Instantaneous<br />
Reporting System (IRS) that allows the national<br />
and state teams‘ <strong>to</strong> tag projects that require urgent