Combining the ‘best of two worlds’ in monitoring and evaluation of capacity development

In this chapter, David Watson compares and contrasts conventional results-based approaches with more innovative M & E options and demonstrates how these combine 'the best of two worlds.'

"The term ‘monitoring and evaluation’ (M&E) tends to conjure up the immediate impression that it is ‘something which donors want done’. This chapter attempts to demystify the term and argues that this function needs a broader interpretation and can be seen as an integral process in all effective organizations or systems." (Watson, 2010)

Contents

• Notions of capacity: ‘Reductionism’ to ‘systems thinking’
• Case study evidence of where different approaches to M&E have worked best
• Planned approaches to capacity development
• Complex adaptive systems approaches
• Recent innovations in M&E methodology and applications: The way forward?
• The accountability issue: Exogenous and endogenous
• How M&E can contribute to effective capacity development
• Conclusions for practitioners: Building capacities to deliver