1. Enhancing evidence-based policy making through Country-Led M&E Systems* Marco Segone, Regional Chief, Monitoring and Evaluation, UNICEF CEE/CIS, and former Vice President, IOCE E-mail: msegone@unicef.org *: The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of UNICEF. The text has not been edited to official publication standards and UNICEF accepts no responsibility for errors.

2. 1. M&E should be instrumental in ensuring effective decision making, by providing strong evidence. Then: Why is M&E not playing its role to its full potential? What are the factors, in addition to the quality and adequacy of the evidence, influencing the decision-making process in organizations and societies? How can the uptake of evidence in decision-making be increased?

3. Based on book published by UNICEF in partnership with key international institutions  Authors: 21 global evaluation leaders  Partnership: UNICEF, WB, UNECE, IDEAS, IOCE, DevInfo and MICS

4. What is Evidence-based Policy making? An approach that helps people make well informed decisions about policies, programmes and projects by putting the best available evidence at the heart of policy development and implementation.

5. Putting the best available evidence at the heart of policy making? Experimental and quasi- experimental evidence Practice of Political Life JudgementExperience Resources Lobby system ►Think-tank ► Opinion leaders ► Media ► Civil Society Technical quality and trustworthiness Survey and Administrative evidence Evaluation evidence Qualitative research evidence Systematic review evidence Consultative techniques Timing of the analysis LowHigh Low High Enabling policy environment

6. Practice of Political Life Putting the best available evidence at the heart of policy making? Experimental and quasi- experimental evidence Technical quality and trustworthiness Evidence-based Survey and Administrative evidence Evaluation evidence Qualitative research evidence Systematic review evidence Consultative techniques Virtuous circle countries LowHigh Low High Opinion-based Vicious circle countries Evidence-influenced Evidence demand- constrained countries Evidence-influenced Evidence supply- constrained countries Enabling policy environment JudgementExperience Resources Lobby system ►Think-tank ► Opinion leaders ► Media ► Civil Society Timing of the analysis

7. Putting the best available evidence at the heart of policy making? Experimental and quasi- experimental evidence Technical quality and trustworthiness Evidence-based Survey and Administrative evidence Evaluation evidence Qualitative research evidence Systematic review evidence Consultative techniques Virtuous circle countries LowHigh Low High Opinion-based Vicious circle countries Evidence-influenced Evidence demand- constrained countries Evidence-influenced Evidence supply- constrained countries Enabling policy environment JudgementExperience Resources Lobby system ►Think-tank ► Opinion leaders ► Media ► Civil Society Timing of the analysis Practice of Political Life

8. Evidence into practice: Increasing the uptake of evidence in policy making Data Providers (Statisticians, Evaluators, Researchers) Data Users (Policy Makers) Need to improve dialogue Improving “usability” of evidence Reliable and trustworthy evidence Getting appropriate Buy-in Incentives to use evidence What ? Why? When? How? Effective dissemination Wide Access

9. The “quality” challenge: How to match technical rigour and policy relevance? Technical rigour but no policy relevance Policy relevance but no technical rigour Better evidence, technically rigorous and policy relevant.

10. a strategy to match technical rigour with policy relevance Country-led M&E systems (CLES): a strategy to match technical rigour with policy relevance Technical rigour but no policy relevance Policy relevance but no technical rigour Better evidence, technically rigorous and policy relevant Better Policies Better Development Results

11. CLES: what Country (and not donors) leads and owns the evaluation process by determining: what policy or programme will be evaluated (including donors coordination and alignment) what evaluation questions will be asked what methods will be used what analytical approach will be undertaken how findings will be communicated how findings will be used

12. 11 International Organisation for Cooperation in Evaluation – IOCE (Organisational membership) International Development Evaluation Association – IDEAS (Individual membership) Source: Quesnel, 2006 “Country” led? Not exclusively the Government Also civil society, including Professional evaluation organizations (from 15 to 70 in a decade)

13. Mutual accounta bility Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness Managing for results Harmoni zation Alignment Ownership National ownership and capacity development: the key ingredients to CLES

14. Partner countries exercise effective leadership over their development policies and strategies Partner countries exercise leadership in developing and implementing their national development strategies Donors respect partner country leadership and help strengthen their capacity to exercise it. Implications to the M&E Function Strengthen and use country M&E systems M&E capacity development Paris Declaration Commitment

15. CLES: Challenges drive towards ownership is partly supply-driven longer time frame perceived risk by partner countries that independent evaluations of donor support may have political and financial consequences perceived risk by donors of weak national capacities and, in some cases, of weak independence of national M&E systems

16. CLES: way forward Middle income, transition and developing countries cooperation to share good practices and lessons learned National evaluation organizations fostering endogenous demand (and supply) for monitoring & evaluation International organizations strengthening national capacities to design and implement national M&E systems