Introduction To South Africa S Monitoring And Evaluation In Government

The merit of an effective State is measured by the discernment of accountability, transparency, efficient service delivery exemplified in admirable performance of a responsive government that provides for sustainable socio-economic development. The mounting demands for greater accountability and meritorious service delivery structures in government indisputably make Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) a powerful public management tool that can be used to improve the way governments and organizations achieve better results. Introduction to South Africa's Monitoring and Evaluation in Government provides a comprehensive study guide and useful resource for all public sector managers, development practitioners, undergraduate and post-graduate studies in the process of designing and building a results-based monitoring and evaluation system. Edwin Ijeoma is the Chair and Head of Department of Public Administration at the University of Fort Hare. He is a Professor of Policy and Public Sector Economics. Professor Ijeoma is the editor of Africa's Public Service Delivery and Performance Review (APSDPR), a public sector Monitoring and Evaluation Journal.

The merit of an effective State is measured by the discernment of accountability, transparency, efficient service delivery exemplified in admirable performance of a responsive government that provides for sustainable socio-economic development. The mounting demands for greater accountability and meritorious service delivery structures in government indisputably make Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) a powerful public management tool that can be used to improve the way governments and organizations achieve better results.The latest edition of Introduction to South Africa's Monitoring and Evaluation in Government provides a comprehensive study guide and useful resource for all public sector managers, development practitioners, undergraduate and post-graduate studies in the process of designing and building a results-based monitoring and evaluation system.

This blind peer reviewed book systematically records, analyses and assesses for the first time in a single volume the implications of the global development and management of professional evaluation for the African continent.The book deals with the most strategic contemporary evaluation themes. Each of these themes contains discussions of theoretical issues illustrated with one or more short case studies, while selected longer case studies and other relevant documentation are also taken up in annexures at the end of the book. The book therefore comprises a guide to best M&E practices for purposes of systematic policy, programme and project evaluations. It is suitable for both professional M&E institutionalisation and capacity-building projects as well as for evaluation information dissemination and education at different levels in the public, private and voluntary sectors in society, especially in a developmental context.

Africa's Public Service Delivery and Performance Review (APSDPR) is a journal in the niche area of Public Service Monitoring and Evaluation published by the Independent Service Delivery Monitoring Networks (ISDMN) in collaboration with the Department of Public Administration of the University of Fort Hare. The journal is a peer reviewed journal, aimed at the promotion and sharing of knowledge, skills and innovations in government and the wider Public Sector environment in South Africa and abroad. With a multi disciplinary outlook, the journal will stimulate service delivery and scholarly debate with a view to addressing myriads of service delivery and performance challenges being faced in government. The journal aims at providing an innovative approach to Monitoring and Evaluation scholarship through independent monitoring of implementable interventions around public service delivery and its expected outcomes. It thus envisages a role towards the turning point in bridging the gaps that exist between Public Service Delivery and the envisaged "trickle down effects" on the targeted beneficiaries.

This Handbook provides a comprehensive ten-step model that will help guide development practitioners through the process of designing and building a results-based monitoring and evaluation system.

A growing number of governments are working to improve their performance by creating systems to measure and help them understand their performance. These systems for monitoring and evaluation (M & E) are used to measure the quantity, quality, and targeting of the goods and services--the outputs--that the state provides and to measure the outcomes and impacts resulting from these outputs. These systems are also a vehicle to facilitate understanding of the causes of good and poor performance.

This manual explains the skills and steps for making a monitoring and evaluation system that functions well, organizing the people, processes and partnershipsso that they collect and use good information that can be used by decision makers and other stakeholders.

Monitoring systems are essential to Africa’s development effectiveness. Too often, however, monitoring is a time consuming exercise that is done exclusively for compliance. When developed with an understanding of the context within which they are implemented, monitoring systems have the potential to provide an evidence base from which progress can be evaluated and informed decisions made. The establishment, implementation, and institutionalisation of monitoring systems is a nuanced process, shaped by the unique characteristics and culture of each organisation. While ‘how to guides’ on the subject are abundant, their focus is often technical, and they do not sufficiently consider how monitoring practice links to the context of governance and development in the region, and what role monitoring systems can play to strengthen processes of reform. Monitoring Systems in Africa balances a strong theoretical foundation in governance and development with a practical approach to asking some of the big-picture questions about why and how we could more effectively build and institutionalise systems for useful monitoring. Given the scale of resources already being invested in monitoring, taking a systemic view and theoretically informed approach to monitoring can support decision-making around compliance, accountability, development effectiveness, and performance.