Designing monitoring and evaluation systems : issues and opportunities

An increasingly recognized way of identifying and correcting these problems is through use of a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system. This paper discusses issues pertaining to the design of M&E and related information systems. After summarizing the problems commonly found in past M&E activities (poorly defined data collection needs, reliance on overly sophisticated data collection and analysis methods, inadequate data analysis, insufficient staffing and funding levels), the paper presents guidelines for future M&E planning. (1) No single approach to M&E is uniformly applicable. (2) Direct measurement of project impacts is not always necessary or feasible. (3) M&E systems should begin by identifying user needs, and should let the nature of the project, not research criteria, determine information requirements. (4) Multiple data collection methods (including informal methods) and multiple data sources should be used. (5) Collaborative implementation of M&E systems can build host country data collection and analysis capabilities and increase host country responsiveness to M&E findings. A final section describes three alternative approaches to organizing M&E units.