A stakeholder view of the development of national evaluation systems in Africa

This journal article compares developments in National Evaluation Systems in Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia.  

The research is based on a combination of self-administered questionnaires to key informants, validated by other key informants, five situational analyses conducted on five of the six countries covered, and the use of the 2018  Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) to measure the enabling environment dimension. 

The paper discusses National Evaluation Systems in terms of four dimensions: government-wide monitoring and evaluation system; the functioning of parliament; professionalisation of evaluation, and the existence of an enabling environment. This framing is used to develop a conceptual framework for understanding key actors of national evaluation systems. 

The paper includes a discussion of the importance of good governance for the enabling environment for M & E in terms of safety and the rule of law and participation and human rights: 

“The findings point to the fact that the rule of law, transparency and accountability are key pillars of better governance and enabling conditions for M&E to be truly valuable and used by governments to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of policies and programmes.”