Public Sector National Monitoring & Evaluation Policy Review Workshop
On the 28 April to 2nd May 2025, Twende Mbele was invited to the Public Sector National Monitoring & Evaluation Policy Review Workshop in Kampala, Uganda. This workshop was hosted by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Unicef Uganda Office and CLEAR-AA. This workshop included group work, presentations and, question and answer session to interrogate ideas for improving the National Monitoring and Evaluation Policy (NMEP).
Some of the key highlights emerging from the workshop are:
– Policy should be clear deliberate on the interoperability data sharing protocols for the M&E systems.
– Policy should emphasise the integration of various sectors and sub-programmes into the National M&E system.
– Policy should emphasise the adoption of information systems that are compatible to A.I integration, especially for reporting, analysis, and interview levels.
– Policy should emphasise the need to capacitate Technical staff in basic use of ICTs
– Policy should propose rewards and sanctions for the non-use of the evaluation findings.
– Institutionalise evaluations for projects and programs across all levels of government.
– Encouraging Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) and Local Government (LGs) to establish improvement and management plans in response to evaluations.
– Institutionalising learning feedback loops, where findings are formally discussed and actioned.
– Making evaluation findings a prerequisite for program continuation and/or expansion.
– Establishing formal communication strategies at the national and subnational level for communicating findings.
– Enacting the M&E Act.
– There is now a shift from Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) towards Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) across all levels of government.
– Main sources of funding includes 1)the Government of Uganda, 2)Donors Such as: 3ie, World Bank, UNDP, EU, UNICEF,CSOs, 3)Projects.
– The current proportion (5%) allocated for government M&E is not adequate. It was proposed the the proportions should be increased to 10-15%.
– Untimely disbursements of funds. It was proposed that M&E operationalisation should be ring-fenced funding so that the allocations are not easily “cut” or “diverted” to other priority areas.
Some of the key quotes emerging from the workshop includes:
1) “Do we need an M&E Act when we already have an M&E Policy. At what point can we say we need both?”
2) “How can the revised National Evaluation Policy better integrate LEARNING in a deliberate and intentional manner?”
3) “How do we align this policy to our own Regional frameworks (EAC Vision 2050) and AU Agenda 2063?”
4) “Should you undertake a regulatory impact assessment, which assesses how much resources allocated by governments into M&E before updating your National Monitoring and Evaluation Policy?”
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