Internal staff capacity for M&E refers to the abilities and skills the employees within an organisation or institution possess to carry out M&E activities effectively. This can encompass several aspects:
-
Number of staff: There are enough personnel dedicated to M&E tasks to manage the workload without compromising quality.
-
Skills and knowledge: Staff should have the necessary technical skills, including data collection, statistical analysis, research methodologies, and evaluation design. They should also be knowledgeable about the specific sector or program they are evaluating.
-
Experience: Employees have practical experience in implementing M&E processes, which allows them to manage and adapt to real-world challenges.
-
Role clarity: Staff roles and responsibilities in the M&E process are clearly defined and understood.
Examples
The following extract from a past MESA diagnostic illustrates a mix of strengths and weaknesses in a country:
"M&E arrangements and practice at all levels – national, line ministry, provincial, and district – were found to be poor. Sector ministries, provinces, and districts did not have permanent M&E units and dedicated M&E staff, except for the central planning ministry, and a few sector ministries, such as health and education. The country-level M&E system was not providing stakeholders with adequate information for informing critical development processes, such as policy making, decision making, planning, budgeting, resource allocation, and advocacy. Capacities for M&E were acknowledged as lacking across the system. However, a structure responsible for coordinating M&E across government and automating data management and information flows was being set up. The government was making other positive changes, including the adoption of a national planning and budgeting policy five years prior to the diagnostic, and the development of a national performance framework, an M&E plan, an M&E management information system, and had recently adopted a national monitoring and evaluation policy. There was however no M&E capacity building program in place. Development partners were providing support that was considered key to the strengthening and institutionalization of M&E practice in the country."
In the case of Mexico, the Ministry of Finance, together with CONEVAL in Mexico, decided that all social programs should have a results framework (Matriz de Indicadores para Resultados) (MIR) and they should update it every year. As this was new for programs, a large training process started in 2007 and has continued every year since then. CONEVAL received assistance with this from Chile through the Latin American and Caribbean Institute for Economic and Social Planning (ILPES-ECLAC ). The monitoring capacity increased dramatically in a few years. Today in Mexico, talking about MIRs in ministries and states is common.
Source: Global Evaluation Initiative (2022)
Sources
Global Evaluation Initiative (2022). MESA Guidance Note: Diagnostic Tool for a Monitoring and Evaluation Systems Analysis. Retrieved from https://www.globalevaluationinitiative.org/mesa
This page is a Stub (a minimal version of a page). You can help expand it. Contact Us to recommend resources or volunteer to expand the description.
'Internal M&E capacity' is referenced in:
Framework/Guide
- National M&E Systems :