Business Environment

Business Environment CASE STUDY (20 Marks) The ENABLE Nigeria case provides valuable experience based on three years of operation during which considerable effort has been paid to measuring impact and value for money. Supporting advocacy and dialogue by the business community requires a specific set of program interventions and monitoring and impact measures. The ENABLE program places strong emphasis on the “business environment reform system”. This refers to a core “transaction” or exchange between the private sector (which demands reform) and the public sector (which supplies reform). These transactions are underpinned by a set of support functions and rules (e.g., media, research). Thus, the challenge for measuring the results of reform is to show how the system has changed as a result of program interventions. ENABLE does this by describing the quantitative and qualitative changes to the way actors engage in reform.

For example, the number of structured engagements (i.e., 22 “dialogues”) between the public and private sector are measured over time, along with changes in the way these engagements are planned and conducted (e.g., better planned, more open, better informed). The relevance of the topics under discussion is also assessed. While ENABLE does not prescribe the topics its partners choose to discuss, it typically focuses on those considered to be a high priority for economic development. The focus on the BER system highlights the sustainability of reform efforts. ENABLE often refers to its approach to reform as a catalyst to systemic change, which once made, will have long term consequences on the potential of actors to participate more effectively. The program anticipates that it will undertake a long-term impact study into its interventions, but these have not yet been finalized and will ultimately depend on financial support from UK Aid. ENABLE’s impact assessment process has a two-fold purpose. First, it is designed to provide robust evidence to donors and other external stakeholders regarding the program’s Highveld impact.

Second, it performs a critical role in the design and management of program interventions. Measuring high-level impact, such as the number of substantive dialogues convened, is not considered sufficient. For example, it is also necessary to understand the capacity and incentives of local actors to convene and participate in PPD beyond ENABLE’s lifecycle. This requires an impact assessment process that can measure the level of capacity of local partners, the degree of commitment and ownership among key stakeholders, the profitability of commercial service providers (e.g., research institutions), and the institutionalization of new activities (e.g., initiatives undertaken without ENABLE’s support). ENABLE describes impact assessment as an integral part of its project planning system. Beginning with the design of program interventions, ENABLE encourages a coherent and strategic management of its activities. ENABLE ensures that from the outset, every intervention has a clear results framework, setting out how the intervention will contribute to sustainable and systemic change and, ultimately, purpose and goal level impacts. During implementation, the intent is that managers receive the right information at the right time, leading to better decision-making and resource- allocation.

A key tool to achieve this is the impact logic or results chain. Each of ENABLE’s interventions, partnerships and portfolios has an impact logic, which sets out a causal map of expected changes. Change is mapped all the way from initial activities though to purpose level and goal level change. The program logical framework also serves as the basis of ENABLE’s measurement planning. The impact logic describes each of the key changes that need to occur if an intervention is to achieve high-level impact; the measurement plan measures whether or not this change has occurred in practice. By measuring change along the whole results chain, it is possible to pinpoint blockages or resistance, and managers can take action as necessary. ENABLE applies a number of recognized best practices in its measurement of high-level impact. This includes the use of baseline information that is collected prior to interventions. This information is based on both quantitative and qualitative indicators, which provide a fuller picture of impact. Furthermore, a range of strategies is used to demonstrate attribution. Here too, the results chain adds value: by measuring change all the way along the causal chain a more convincing account of attribution can be made. While ENABLE veers away from the use of quasi- experimental approaches,

Answer the following question. Q1. How the result of reform is measured by ENABLE Nigeria? Discuss. Q2. What is the purpose of ENABLE’s impact assessment? Explain