The CAADP Pillar I Framework

6.0 Monitoring and evaluationMonitoring and evaluation (M&E) is important for strengthening knowledge management,benchmarking and guiding design and implementation of individual investment operations in SLWM.At the country level, this helps strengthen coalition, enhances alignment around shared goals andvision, reinforces trust among actors and, importantly, supports implementation and coordination. Noprogram level M&E may capture the full picture of each individual country or operation. Rather,individual project performance is best captured within those discrete projects‘ M&E systems,depending on country and local priorities. Each project‘s M&E should report on a minimum set ofcommon strategic indicators agreed upon in advance. The program level should add value and allowfor benchmarking, mutual learning via cross-fertilization of experience within the coalition andportfolio level reporting.An M&E system should be formulated for the SLWM Investment Framework, starting with theselection of a shared set of measurable and cost-effective goals and indicators. This M&E frameworkwill then help guide all related interventions in the SLWM Investment Framework. M&E elementsincluding objectives, outcomes and indicators can be presented in a number of ways. Using varioustools, they could include a combination of: Existing outcomes and indicators gathered from current projects and programmes; Additional or new outcomes and indicators gathered from new sources and furtherdialogue within the coalition and with partners; Indicators and targets that can be aggregated and disaggregated (not all indicators areable to be aggregated or disaggregated; some indicators will be locally specific); and Data sources and responsibilities identified.Key suggestions and messages include:Implementation should be through existing delivery mechanisms, institutions and stakeholders;A strong investment portfolio requires strong M&E to support mutual learning and investmentprioritization. M&E is not an ―add-on‖ feature, but an integral part of the effort with great addedvalue;M&E is critical for understanding what works and where, allowing for methodically up scalingsuccesses;A dialogue should start as early as possible on common goals, objectives and ways to measurethem. While preparing the Investment Framework, these metrics can be refined. This will helpdefine the country‘s shared vision for SLWM;The country‘s SLWM Investment Framework must include quantified objectives and outcomes tothe extent possible. These should be derived from existing operations, TerrAfrica‘s benchmarksand indicators and existing country monitoring systems. It may be useful to involve the country‘sspatial and statistical agencies. Targets can be adjusted as the development of the InvestmentFramework proceeds;A country knowledge base and/or management information system with GIS capabilities can beinvaluable to track progress of the SLWM portfolio and the coalition; and.Development of M&E and knowledge management tools, capacities and IT will likely needfinancial support. These activities should be costed and included in the SLWM InvestmentFramework as early as possible, as it takes time to establish data collection and aggregationprocedures.The formulation of a country specific system for monitoring and evaluating the results andperformance of national and local SLWM-related interventions can be implemented under the CSIF.This involves the identification of indicators that can be used to assess the outcome and impact ofspecific SLWM interventions at project and programme levels. This will be undertaken incollaboration with government M&E teams. It will also take into consideration the TerrAfrica indicatorsdeveloped at the regional level, as to ensure a degree of commonality between the indicator setsused by different countries to allow for regional aggregation.53