1. Making development evaluation more coherent through Country-Led M&E Systems* Marco Segone, Systemic Management, UNICEF Evaluation Office, 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. Based on books published by UNICEF in partnership with key international institutions

3. Available at www.mymande.org Click here

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

6. 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

7. 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 118 in a decade)

8. 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

9. CLES: Challenges drive towards ownership is partly externally-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/development agencies of weak national capacities and, in some cases, of weak independence of national M&E systems Priority for donors/development agencies is its own accountability Shifts in power relationships

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

11. National Evaluation Capacity Development

12. UNICEF A Systemic approach to Capacity Development Individual Level (skills, knowledge, experience)

13. Demand side Capacity to strategically plan evaluations, and to identify the key evaluation questions Capacity to manage evaluation for independence and credibility Capacity to use evaluation Supply side: Behavioural independence Independence of mind & integrity Knowledge and respect of evaluation standards Agreed evaluation processes & products Professional competences Formal education (Masters) Specialized training Professional Conferences and meeting On the job training (country-led evaluations) Community of Practices and networking Individual Level

14. UNICEF Individual Level (skills, knowledge, experience) Institutional Level (policies, procedures, frameworks) A Systemic approach to Capacity Development

15. Evaluation culture Set of values and attitudes supporting evaluative (critical) thinking within an organization Institutional commitment to learning from evaluation, support evidence-based policy debate and demand for accountability. Individual more self-directed learners and use information to act; take higher risks but also develop a greater sense of personal accountability and responsibility; consult, coach, and support each other more. Protective culture (Remove repercussions on careers) Understanding of the foundations and principles of Monitoring and Evaluation Institutionalizing independence, credibility and utility Evaluation policies Work programme and budget Independence & adequacy of budget Conduct of evaluations Institutional endorsement of standards In-built Quality Assurance systems Institutional Level

16. UNICEF Individual Level (skills, knowledge, experience) Institutional Level (policies, procedures, frameworks) Enabling Environment (policies, legislation, power relations, social norms) A Systemic approach to Capacity Development

17. Public administration committed to manage for results and accountability Transparency Results-based public budgeting Evidence-based policy making Strong civil society rights holders able to demand for and monitor quality of public services Strong national evaluation association foster indigenous demand for M&E, and strengthen indigenous supply set national evaluation standards and norms Enabling Environment

18. UNICEF Lessons learned and Good practices in Capacity Development (1/2) Capacity development is underpinned by the fundamental characteristic of national ownership Taking a capacity development response to scale requires linking to national and local plans, processes, budgets and systems A comprehensive capacity development response must link to and draw from relevant national reforms to be sustained

19. UNICEF Lessons learned and Good practices in Capacity Development (2/2) Capacity development is not about a technical fix. It is about transformations and must address how best to manage change A capacity development response can and often must show both short- and long-term gains, to ensure continued political commitment and resource support Capacity traps’ more often pertinent to the “soft side” such as power relations, vested interests, access, ethic and attitudes

20. We should always aim at strengthening National ownership and leadership, and not undermining it: Selecting topics of mutual interest Implement evaluations jointly with Governments, as a first step towards country-led evaluation Hiring local experts to the maximum extent possible Not assuming there are weak evaluation capacities, even if none is immediately apparent Co-ordinating with other UN agencies and key international stakeholders Invest in the country-led process, even if it may require additional efforts and less control We need a mind shift to do things differently...

21. Thank you