Progressing and sharing experience in development evaluation Context

Transcription

1 Côte d Ivoire: Réseau Ivoirien de Suivi et d Evaluation (RISE) Progressing and sharing experience in development evaluation By Samuel Kouakou, Chairman of Thematic Group on Agriculture, Food Security, Environment and Sustainable Development Context Like many other countries, Côte d Ivoire has joined in the movement of promoting a culture of Monitoring and Evaluation. Though it is a function that is essential to ensure the sustainability of development actions, it has long been neglected in our country. Aware of the problem and urged by certain partners in development, professionals and practitioners of all ranks of the public administration, NGOs, training and research institutions, the private sector, etc., have gathered to reflect upon the issue of Monitoring and Evaluation. It is within this framework that, in 2002, the idea of creating a National Monitoring and Evaluation Network germinated. The idea took shape in 2004 with the creation of a National Monitoring and Evaluation Network, dubbed Réseau Ivoirien de Suivi et d'evaluation (RISE Ivorian Monitoring and Evaluation Network), which was formalised in The first AfrEA conferences, which hosted several specialists and practitioners of Monitoring and Evaluation from Africa and particularly from Côte d Ivoire, revealed that it was necessary for Côte d Ivoire to durably reinforce its evaluation capacity. The creation of a Monitoring and Evaluation Network or Association became, as in Niger, Kenya and South Africa, the subject of many consultations, which took place in Abidjan with the technical and financial support of the local UNICEF field office. The Directorate of Coordination, Control and Evaluation (DCCE), which is answerable to the Directorate General of Planning of the Ministry of State, Ministry of Planning and Development, was the kingpin at the government level for the promotion of RISE. This Central Management furnished RISE with a secretariat during several years. The different consultations made it possible for the first meetings to be scheduled, for an organisational form to be conceived and for statutory texts to be devised. The Constituent General Meeting held on 25 May 2005 under the presidency of the Director General of Planning and with the effective presence of the representatives of the local UNICEF field offices, appointed an Executive Committee of eleven (11) members responsible for polishing the texts, managing RISE during the transition period and organising an elective General Meeting for setting up governing bodies. The Constituent General Meeting was attended by over eighty-three (83) people, all professionals and practitioners of Monitoring and Evaluation. At this occasion a special address was made to honour the six (6) members of the ad hoc committee whose work had led to this important meeting being held. Within the framework of the prerogatives of the Executive Committee, a workshop was held on 1 June 2006 at the National School of Statistics and Applied Economics (ENSEA) of Abidjan to officially launch the activities of RISE. It concerned the dissemination of the findings of the Executive Committee, the establishment of the body of RISE and the adoption of the African evaluation standards published by AfrEA. The first elective General Meeting of RISE took place on 29 October 2008 and led to the adoption of the list of thematic groups. A ceremony organised on 7 October 2010 implemented the thematic groups, whose presidents were elected on the same day. 1

2 RISE is a formal non-governmental thinking group. It is a non-political, non-denominational, non-profit organisation. It regroups researchers, trainers and actors on the ground responsible for Monitoring and Evaluation who advocate the function of M&E and the need for capacity building in that area in Côte d Ivoire. RISE is led by a Coordination Committee whose President is also the President of the Network. The Coordination Committee is a management and administrative body of RISE. It leans on a Permanent Secretariat which is in charge of the day-to-day running of the Network. The Coordination Committee comprises: - A President - A Vice President - A General Secretary - A Deputy General Secretary - A Secretary of Finances - A Deputy Secretary of Finances - The Scientific Committee Coordinator Strategy and implementation Since the Network was implemented, its activities have included: 1. Think tanks on given themes 2. The exchange of documents concerning M&E 3. Experience sharing In 2005 RISE organised a workshop to disseminate the findings of the 3 rd conference of the African Evaluation Association (AfrEA) which had taken place on 4 December 2004 in Cape Town, South Africa. The African evaluation standards were presented at the meeting. Within the framework of a framework for reflection on and the promotion of Monitoring and Evaluation, and in conformity with its 2009 action matrix, RISE organised a workshop on 11 August 2009 to validate its website and logo projects and to disseminate the findings of the 5 th conference of AfrEA held in Cairo (Egypt). August 2010 was marked by the study that was carried out to assess the national evaluation capacity in Côte d Ivoire. The diagnostic study was an initiative run by the Ministry of State, Ministry of Planning and Development, with the financial support of UNICEF. It came after the diagnostic study of the institutional framework of national evaluation practice which had been carried out in 2008 within the framework of the elaboration of the National Control, Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy (SNCSE - Stratégie Nationale de Contrôle Suivi Evaluation). The study is in direct line of the pilot studies already carried out within some countries of Central and West Africa with a view to preparing a global plan for reinforced sub-regional evaluation capacity building. Within the framework of the promotion of Monitoring and Evaluation in Côte d Ivoire, the RISE organised from 21 to 23 June 2011 at the National School of Statistics and Applied Economics (ENSEA) a training workshop on Results Based Monitoring and Evaluation, in co-operation with the Côte d Ivoire-UNICEF 2010 Cooperation Programme. This meeting gave participants the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the practice of Results Based Management (RBM). The first meeting of the new season of RISE took place on 6 March It created an opportunity to review the achievements of 2011, to disseminate the findings of the 6 th 2

3 Conference of AfrEA held in Accra and to validate the 2012 action matrix as well as the revitalisation plan for the Thematic Groups. In summary, since it became a formal structure, RISE has been involved in: A study on the national evaluation capacity of Côte d Ivoire, financed by UNICEF (August 2010) The annual evaluation of Government Action (from 2008) The annual evaluation of the Annual Work Plans (AWP 2009) The elaboration process of UNICEF s Annual Work Plans (AWP 2010) The elaboration and validation of the module on the Prospective-Planning- Programming-Budgeting-Monitoring and Evaluation (3PBME) chain of Côte d Ivoire in 2011 Training on the use of SIGSUP (software for managing development projects financed by the UNFPA) in 2010 The training of members and actors of development in the techniques and methods of Results Based Monitoring and Evaluation in June 2011 The elaboration process of the National Development Plan (PND - Plan National de Développement) The elaboration process of the National Agricultural Investment Programme (PNIA - Programme National d Investissement Agricole) The elaboration and update of numerous projects, the majority of which are awaiting funding The evaluation of the ongoing development projects, in cooperation with the technical ministries The activities during the National Population Days (JNP - Journées Nationales de la Population) in 2010 The mid-term evaluation of the project for securing rural land ownership in Côte d Ivoire The terminal evaluation of the TANDA Rural Development Project In its strategy and in the implementation based on the conceptual framework of the national evaluation and development capacity, RISE is seeking to influence its statutory members, the government and its institutions, the technical and financial partners, the decentralised structures, the NGOs and the training structures. The following actions need to be carried out: 1. The institutionalisation of the statutory meetings of the Executive Committee (e.g. by elaborating a timetable of the periodical meetings, by monitoring the effectiveness of the recommendations resulting from the meetings, etc.) 2. The reinforcement of the governance of the Network through the institutionalisation of a results-based culture (e.g. through the monitoring of the actual implementation of the action plans of each thematic group and the commitments of the action programme of the Coordination Committee) 3. A visit to the main technical and financial partners present in Côte d Ivoire, in order to present the Network and to establish technical partnerships 4. The development of a production culture through the fostering of competition between the Thematic Groups 5. The elaboration, validation and introduction of consensus Monitoring and Evaluation modules in the initial training curricula of schools leading to employment in the public administration 6. The development of evaluation into a profession 3

4 Constraints 7. The creation of an independent national secretariat responsible for the evaluation of public policies 8. The support of the Government Action Matrix (MAG - Matrice d Actions Gouvernementales) according to the principles of Results Based Management (RBM) 9. Contributing to the monitoring of the sectorial Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks 10. Bringing the government to adopt budgeting based on the results of development 11. Instituting quarterly training days for civil servants from the social ministries 12. Assisting the technical ministries in the elaboration of training programmes 13. Helping make mandatory the dissemination of the knowledge acquired during training 14. Encouraging the introduction of a National Evaluation Day 15. Elaborating and making the government adopt a declaration of intent with the aim of allocating a part of the ministries budget to the activities of Monitoring and Evaluation 16. The proposal of a community-based monitoring approach, to be systematically integrated into the development interventions directed at communities 17. The proposal of an information and immersion day on Monitoring and Evaluation aimed at some specialised parliamentary groups and other local elected officials 18. Supporting the government s efforts towards decentralisation through the capacity building of the State s decentralized structures. The main challenges and problems faced included: The insufficiency of financial resources for carrying out all of the activities The limits of voluntary work, which did not allow continuity in the tasks that were carried out by the members of the Coordination Committee RISE's weak national anchoring, as well as the fact that it is not called upon by the government or by the partners in development to carry out evaluations at a national level Progress and outcomes RISE has made a lot of progress in terms of exposure. It has gained official recognition by the government and is present at all the major meetings organised by AfrEA. The latest outcome to date was the prequalification of RISE for the national Associations competition organised during the 6th conference of AfrEA in Accra in January RISE has a detailed Business Plan for 2012 and, especially, a webpage on the LinkedIn social networking website entitled "Réseau ivoirien de Suivi et d Evaluation/ Ivorian Monitoring and Evaluation Network", to keep in better contact with its members and other international Networks and Associations. Thanks to this link in LinkedIn, many internationally renowned evaluators have contacted RISE, and many others living outside of the Ivory Coast have asked to join the Network from their country of residence. Finally, RISE participated in the 10th Biennial Conference of the European Evaluation Society (EES), which was held in Finland from 1 to 5 October This activity has confirmed the presence of RISE in major international meetings on evaluation. It will be one more experience that will surely be capitalised upon. Essential Factors 4

5 The three key factors which allowed RISE to obtain current results were: The technical and financial support of the local UNICEF field office The institutional support of the Directorate of Coordination, Control and Evaluation (DCCE), Directorate General of Planning of the Ministry of State, Ministry of Planning and Development, which provided RISE with a Secretariat until it was formalised The strong motivation of most of its members, who are always keen to promote and professionalise the activity of evaluation. Innovations and lessons learned A VOPE that wants to be well organised and last over time needs to have determined people with a vision centred on the extension of evaluation. The technical and financial support of partners is important if the activities of the Association or Network are to be able to start off, considering the absence of resources during the first few years. Technical support from the government is also essential. Indeed, the technical and logistical support provided by the Ivorian government (e.g. technical Secretariat, offices, etc.) allowed the creation of RISE. Government support was made effective through the technical and logistical support brought by the Directorate of Coordination, Control and Evaluation (DCCE) of the Ministry of State, Ministry of Planning and Development. In order to ensure continuity in its activities, a Network or Association needs to have a permanent secretariat. However, it must first make sure it has the financial resources to hire the staff. Finally, only a strong Network with adequate resources and the support of a government structure such as the Ministry of Planning in charge of the conception of the national development Plan can bring the Government to elaborate and adopt a policy of promoting Monitoring and Evaluation or to get the Ministries and Institutions of the State to allocate a budget to the activities of Monitoring and Evaluation. Next steps In summary of the detailed actions listed above, at an organisational level there will be a need to: Increase computer equipment and consumables; Increase office material and office supplies; Ensure the creation, hosting and updating of the website; Support the publication of the findings of the thematic groups that meet the quality standards. At a national level there will be a need to: Encourage the introduction of a National Evaluation Day Elaborate and make the government adopt a declaration of intent with the aim of allocating a share of the ministries budget to the activities of Monitoring and Evaluation Propose a community-based monitoring approach, to be systematically integrated into the development interventions directed at communities Propose an information and immersion day on Monitoring and Evaluation aimed at certain specialised parliamentary groups and other local elected officials 5

6 At a sub-regional level: The foundations for a sharing of experience between the VOPEs of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) were laid during the 6th conference of AfrEA in Accra. Specifically, RISE is in contact with other national Networks and Associations to share experiences and to build the capacity of their members. 6