Proposal and implementation plan for a …

1 Proposal and implementation plan for a government - wide monitoring and evaluation system SEPT EMBER 2005 Prepared by the Governance and Administration Chief Directorate Presidency Fifth dr a ft for c omme nt June 2005 2 Propo sal and imp lementation p lan for a Governmen t-wid e monitoring and evaluation system SEPT EMBER 2005 FOREW O RD A Proposal and implementation Plan for government - wide monitoring and evaluation : A publication for programme managers is the first comprehensive initiative monitoring and evaluation guideline after Cabinet of the Republic of South Africa approved a process to plan a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system for use across government in 2004 The purpose of this publication is to contribute to improved governance and enhance the effectiveness of public sector organisations and institutions in South Africa.

2 It was written to support the improvement of the collection and collation, analysis and dissemination and the application of information on the progress and impact of programmes in order to ensure transparency and accountability, promote service delivery improvement and compliance with statutory and other requirements and a learning culture in the public sector Specifically, the Proposal aims to: focus on the essential elements of results-oriented monitoring and evaluation that respond to the requirements of government s programmes, policies and projects for decision-making, accountability and learning; strengthen the role of the monitoring function within the three spheres of government ; presenting a more integrated approach to monitoring and evaluation functions in government .

3 Introducing simplified, streamlined and harmonized procedures in line with governments a results-oriented framework for monitoring and evaluation combined with practical guidance for the development of selected instruments; guidance on the assessment of results within a clearly defined framework or context of government programme of action and its priorities; greater attention to monitoring than in the past to stress that both monitoring and evaluation are important management functions aimed at ensuring the quality of interventions and supporting decision-making, accountability, learning and capacity development; Fifth dr a ft for c omme nt June 2005 3 This publication is therefore, intended for various levels of management within government , Senior Management, technical, programme and project managers.

4 It is divided into two parts, part one presenting the conceptual and operational framework for monitoring and evaluation and implementation plan; part two offers indicators for monitoring and evaluating programmes and projects at a macro level. The process of developing this Proposal & implementation plan as well as development indicators, coordinated by the Presidency, has been a collaborative effort by many people and we would like to acknowledge their co ntrib u tions . Constructive insights from colleagues in Policy Coordination and Advisory Services (PCAS) were especially helpful throughout the process.

5 Our thanks als o go to the Office of DG- DPSA; M&E T ASK Team ; GCIS for rigorous editorial and publication designs as well as Stats SA for refining and reviewing the indicators in detail and providing useful comments and s ugg es tio ns . I trust that this publication will be a useful tool to those of you responsible for the management of monitoring actions and the effective conduct of evaluation exercises Rev F Chikane Director-General Th e Pre siden cy Fifth dr a ft for c omme nt June 2005 4 Table of Contents 1. Introduction to the government wide monitoring and evaluation system Definition of monitoring and evaluation Background and rationale Lesson s from internation al experi ence T he quality of existing gov ernm ent monitoring and ev aluation syst em s O ther national information system s 2.

6 S ystem u ser s an d th ei r n eed s Meeting th e need s of div erse us ers T he Presidency and Prem iers O ffices Centre of government Decision m akers in public serv ice organiza tions and local authorities Oversight bodies T he Public 3. system aims, objectives and intended results S ystem aim s and objectiv es Result s to be achi ev ed Programme logic and underlying assumptions Indicators of syst em suc ce ss 4. Performance indicators and sources of information O v erview of the system s appro ach to indicators A National Indicator Initiative Departm en tal indicator s T ransv ersal indicators government Programme of Action Links to other sour ces Fifth dr a ft for c omme nt June 2005 55.

7 system reports and their utilization Issue s to be addre ss ed in system report s Composite indicator s: a Governm ent performan ce dashboard Q ualitativ e and im pact st udies Respon se s to information prov ided by the system 6. Roles and responsibilities: S ystem m anag em ent and m ainten anc e Institutional respon sibilities T ransversal responsibilities Capacity building Appendi x: A implementation Strategy and Plan S trategic appro ach Projects required Im plem entation sch edule Appendi x: B T ransv ersal sys tem s Propo sal and imp lementation p lan for a Governmen t-wid e monitoring and evaluation system A pril 20 05 Fifth dr a ft for c omme nt June 2005 61.

8 Introduction to the government wide monitoring and evaluation system Definition of monitoring and evaluation Background and rationale Lesson s from internation al experi ence T he quality of existing gov ernm ent monitoring and ev aluation sys tems O ther national information system s Definition of monitoring and ev a l u a t i on M onitorin g is a co ntinu in g man ag eri al func ti on th at aims to pr ov ide manag ers, decisi on m akers and m ai n stak ehold ers with r eg ular fee dback and ear ly indica tio ns o f pr ogr ess or lack th er eo f in th e achi ev emen t o f inten de d resul ts an d the a ttai nm en t of go als and o bjectiv es.

9 M onitorin g inv olv es rep or tin g on actual per form ance ag ains t what w as pla nn ed o r ex pected acc ord in g to pre-d etermin ed stan da rds. Monitori ng gener ally involv es collecti ng a nd a naly sing data on implem en tation processes, str ateg ies a nd r esul ts, and rec omm end in g corr ectiv e measu res. Ev alua tio n is a time -b ou nd ex ercise th a t sy stema tically and objec tiv ely assesses the r el ev ance, pe rform anc e, chall enges a nd succ esses o f pro gra mmes a nd projec ts. Ev aluati on ca n also ad dress o u tcomes or oth er develop me nt iss ues. E v aluati on usually seeks to a nswer speci fic q uesti ons to gui de d ecisio n-m akers or pr og ramm e ma na ge rs and sho uld adv ise w heth er u nderly ing th eori es a nd assump ti ons w ere valid, w hat w orke d, w hat did n o t an d w hy.

10 Evaluati on co mmo nly aims to de te rmin e re lev ance, effici ency , effec tiv eness, impact an d sustain ab ili ty . Background and rationale Th is doc umen t pr opos es the d ev elopme nt o f a G ov ern me nt- wide mo ni tor in g and evaluation system (GWM&ES) that will del iv er use ful i nform a tio n an d analy sis and imp rove mon itori ng a nd ev al ua tio n (M & E) practices an d capaci ty , contr ib uting to be tter pub lic ma na gem en t in S o uth Afric a. E ffectiv e mana gem en t is a co ntinu ous cy cle th a t sta rts w ith plann in g an d lea ds in to imple me ntatio n and ev aluati on ( the P IE model).