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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 8, No. 8

Publication Date: August 25, 2021

DOI:10.14738/assrj.88.10667. Kanyamuna, V. (2021). Towards Building a Functional Whole-of-Government Monitoring and Evaluation System for Zambia: The

Supply Side. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(8). 163-195.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

Towards Building a Functional Whole-of-Government Monitoring

and Evaluation System for Zambia: The Supply Side

Vincent Kanyamuna, PhD

School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department of Development Studies, University of Zambia

Lusaka, Zambia

ABSTRACT

Monitoring and Evaluation Systems have been identified the world over as powerful

tools for good governance, they provide relevant information about development

projects, programmes and policies. For that reason, governments, bilateral and

multilateral development agencies, including civil society organisations have

adopted M&E systems to better their performance through accountability, feedback

loops and continuous learning mechanisms. This study investigated the functional

status of Zambia’s public sector M&E system. Using a designated diagnostic

checklist and analytical framework, the country’s whole-of-government M&E

system was found to be weak in several aspects. Specifically, the study argues that

for any M&E system to function satisfactorily, it is required that both its ‘supply- side’ and ‘demand-side’ are well developed and sustained. The diagnostic findings

have revealed that Zambia’s whole-of-government M&E system had both its supply- side and demand-side weak. However, the study has not focused on both sides,

instead, the supply-side has been fully explored and clear suggestions for

improvement are made herein. Consequently, the study has proposed a new model

which when implemented would holistically strengthen the Government –wide

system for M&E. It remains to the powers that be to adopt and implement the

recommended model. Government will need to strengthen and sustain its M&E

political championship, restructure all government functions towards a results- based management approach—statistics, information technology, skills, policies,

laws, etc to support an M&E regime. Likewise, the issues covered in the proposed

model could also be of use to other organisations seeking to strengthen their M&E

systems. Particularly, the methodology used to undertake the needs analysis could

be of utmost applicability by others before embarking on a fuller process of building

and strengthening their systems for M&E. Another study was underway to support

the demand-side of Zambia’s M&E system.

Keywords: whole-of-government monitoring and evaluation system; monitoring;

evaluation; monitoring and evaluation system; LEADS; diagnostic checklist, demand-side,

supply-side, good governance, Zambia

INTRODUCTION

Several experts and practitioners in the field of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) articulated a

number of key requirements for a successful national M&E system. These few fundamentals

that have a holistic effect on functional country level M&E systems. Any national system for

M&E that seeks to function to the satisfaction of its stakeholders requires two aspects to be fully

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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 8, Issue 8, August-2021

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

functional [2, 18, 55, 64, 80]. These are capacity to supply M&E information, and capacity to

demand and use M&E information. The contention is that once these two aspects were fully

developed, they would help to generate country-specific information and assist in identifying

roles and responsibilities of stakeholders in pursuit of building and sustaining a stronger

Whole-of-Government Monitoring and Evaluation System (WoGM&ES). When these two sides

of an M&E system are strengthened, opportunities, limitations, and options for building and

strengthening a realistic system for M&E are identifiable and remedial actions are determined.

For Zambia, all these aspects were found by this research study to be weak in various degrees.

Although some aspects were reported to be working fairly well, compared with others, the

holistic status of the WoGM&ES still required fixing and ownership by government institutions

and citizens. A whole-of-government monitoring and evaluation system (WoGM&ES) is a

robust system that not only provides an integrated and all-encompassing framework of M&E

practices, principles and standards to be used throughout government institutional structures,

but also functions as an apex-level system for information and draws from the component

systems in a framework meant to deliver essential M&E products tailored to satisfy information

needs of users [6, 17, 20, 26, 60].

It is based on the study findings that this paper explores the supply-side of Zambia’s

Government Monitoring and Evaluation system. In essence, this is a blue print proposed model

for a better and strengthened system for M&E of Zambia’s public sector. The suggestions herein,

when adopted and fully implemented will re-engineer the Zambian Government spirit of

evidence-based poverty reduction agenda delivered using principles of sustainable

development and inclusiveness. It is noteworthy to mention that while this research paper

articulates the M&E supply-side, another study is underway seeking to provide cornerstones

critical to building the demand-side of Zambia’s WoGM&ES.

STUDY BACKGROUND

According to [10, 14, 29, 46, 55], a country monitoring and evaluation system should deliver

timely and reliable data and analysis to feed into the policy process. To accomplish this, it must

include a range of functions that are specifically institutional in nature, including coordination

among data producers to establish a common set of indicators and eliminate gaps and

redundancies; the development of common standards, procedures, and platforms; a

strengthening of monitoring capacity across the government administration; the organisation

of information flows among stakeholders inside and outside government; the compilation and

analysis of data from various sources; data analysis and program/intervention evaluation; the

generation of annual progress reports and other outputs; the provision of advice and support

to policy makers; the dissemination of outputs across government and to the public; and the

organization of the participation of civil society and parliament. Conceptually, these elements

all form part of the national M&E system. However, it is important to recall that, at the outset,

most of the actors involved will not recognise their activities as part of a national system.

Whether they will participate vigorously in making the country M&E system operational

depends largely on their interests and incentives. The rules, both formal and informal, that

govern these incentives are therefore a key dimension of the country-level M&E system.

Organising the supply side of a country’s M&E system is not an easy undertaking. It requires a

great deal of capacity and determination from those who pursue the task [47, 55, 70]. The

complexity of developing and strengthening the supply side comes in view of having in place

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Kanyamuna, V. (2021). Towards Building a Functional Whole-of-Government Monitoring and Evaluation System for Zambia: The Supply Side.

Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(8). 163-195.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.88.10667

many stakeholders who are expected to invest resources in building M&E systems to serve

nationwide information needs. In the process, several systems may be created that work in

parallel and at times in conflict, leading to problems of duplication and redundancies in data

collection, gaps or imbalances in M&E, lack of data compatibility, and poor information flows

[31-33, 52, 55, 66, 67, 80].

a) Institutional context and design

The institutional context and design is concerned with the recognition that for a successful

WoGM&ES to exist, stakeholders and their buy-in are critical. Positive relationships and

collaborations among these stakeholders in the functionality of M&E are understood to be the

foundation for a thriving culture of M&E in the country. However, [106, 69] and [55] caution

that attaining stakeholder buy-in should be dependent on the nature of the system design and

its process, which include mapping existing M&E arrangements that identify the main

stakeholder dynamics. Similarly, the process should involve identifying and analysing strengths

and weaknesses and providing clear statements of political commitment to effective M&E;

having transformative champions, who advocate for a shared system across all government

administrative structures; and putting in place an arrangement to serve as a consultation and

facilitation platform that assists stakeholders in articulating their needs and expectations.

b) Leadership

Experience has suggested that the choice of any institutional leadership for the system is

critical, because the function of leadership is better located close to the centre of government

or placed under the budget function, depending on where effective power and authority over

the NDP process is situated. Regardless of location, the leadership role must be given serious

attention in every institution and needs to benefit from skilled and dedicated staff and adequate

resources [55, 70, 79, 80].

c) Coordination

Organising a coordination mechanism that is effective from among the development agencies

could be one of the most challenging undertakings in creating a WoGM&ES. Effective support

from a secretariat or central agency could ensure that stakeholder meetings were focused and

substantive [23, 54, 55, 65]. However, such an agency or secretariat would need to be

conversant with national priorities as listed in NDPs and possess skills and experience in

mediating stakeholders to find common ground. Thus, the secretariat should be a relatively

small but highly competent unit at central level. To be effective, such a unit needs strong and

stable qualified and practically committed staffing that focuses on unifying all state and non- state M&E mechanisms.

d) Liaison with line ministries

In practice, a WoGM&ES is dependent on the quality of sectoral and other decentralised

information systems. The national level M&E system may be required to incorporate strategies

for promoting M&E among line ministries, provinces and districts, using rules and guidelines

that demand the incorporation of M&E functions in departmental work plans, budgets and staff

job descriptions [55, 70]. To design and implement such institutional environments, M&E

capacity strengthening programmes across line ministries will be needed to produce the data

for the system.