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UPDATED
POST-IT
 Key
Lessons from the Series +
Seminar Summaries, Full Reports and Presentations:
now available
Seminar Series Successfully Concluded on 19 July 2001
Background
Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and Impact Assessment (IA)
are important for learning about what’s working (or not),
how, for whom and why. They are therefore vital tools to improve
strategic decision making amongst all stakeholders. They should
contribute to strategic policy review and resource allocation
processes to ensure that DFID funds are utilised to maximise
poverty reduction. To be effective and efficient, systems
must deliver the right information to the right people at
the right time.
Historically, donor funded M&E and IA efforts have, to a large
extent, focused on quantitatively measuring inputs, outputs
and activities in ‘policing’ type activities. However, the
international development community is increasingly focusing
on poverty reduction in terms of qualitative developmental
outcomes, as perceived by the poor themselves. The Secretary
of State has recognised the need for qualitative information
to be collected alongside the quantitative data in order to
measure progress towards the IDTs.
As a consequence of these trends, M&E and IA are increasingly
viewed by stakeholders at all levels as tools for learning,
accountability and empowerment. Although, there are conflicts
of interest between different stakeholders on the weight given
to each of these objectives. M&E activities can usefully contribute
to mutual understanding and accountability between partner
governments and poor people.
The seminar series will address the following two questions
from both a practical and theoretical perspective:
1. How do we (development practitioners) monitor, evaluate
and assess our impacts on poverty at a range of levels?
2. How can the measuring and monitoring of poverty also contribute
to learning, accountability and empowerment?
For further information please see
the timetable of meetings: Word
Liz Drake (Rural Livelihoods Department DFID)
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