African Community of Practice Managing for Development Results February 2008
ONLINE
A newsletter about the African Community of Practice on Managing for Development Results
In this issue: Update Report: A frica – Asia Paci fic CoP Experience and Possible Linkages Asian CoP-MfDR
Up-com ing Events
This ONLINE is a monthly newsletter that provides a forum for members of the African Community of Practice on Managing for Development Results (AfCoPMfDR) and other interested parties to share experiences, discuss issues, and post upcoming events. ONLINE is available in English and French on the African CoP website, www.cop-mfdr-africa.org.
Update December was a very exciting month for the African CoP. The first annual meeting was held in Mukono, Uganda from December 11 – 14, 2007. Over 40 people attended including 28 AfCoP members from 12 different countries (Benin, Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe), two members of the Asian CoP and 10 representatives from four different donor agencies (African
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Development Bank, Canadian International Development Agency, UK Department for International Development, and the World Bank). Please visit www.cop-mfdr-africa.org for a
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full list of participants and proceedings from the conference. The Interim Management Team has been retired and a newly formed Core Management Team (CMT) has been created. This team has organized itself into five thematic working groups based on five priorities that emerged from the meeting. Each team appointed a team leader who will oversee the work of each group. The African CoP is pleased to introduce you to this new core team according to their working groups (* denotes the team leaders): 1. 2. 3.
4. 5.
Decentralization and Membership *Zaam Ssali, Uganda; Jared Ichwara, Kenya; Sephania Mwakipesile, Tanzania Knowledge Management, Organizational Learning, and Publicity *Ali Doungou Boubacar, Niger; Dev Ruhee, Mauritius; Richard Ssewakiryanga, Uganda Capacity Building *Solomon Mhlanga, Zimbabwe; Mayacine Camara, Senegal; Joy Mukaire, Uganda; Mbayani Yudica Saruni, Tanzania Monitoring and Evaluation *Claude Kakule, Congo; Tamirat Yacob, Ethiopia; Seydou Yaye, Niger Networking, Recognition, and Sustainability *Peter Ssentongo, Uganda; Sylvester Obong’o, Kenya; Abdou Karim Lo, Senegal Peter Ssentongo was confirmed as chair of this new management team. If you are
interested in getting involved with the work of any of these teams please contact the team leaders directly. Team Leader contact information is listed at the end of this newsletter. In addition, all of the teams have created discussion groups on the new website and you are welcome to contribute to their work on-line. In December, an exciting new website was launched. You can sign up as a member of this site by visiting: www.cop-mfdr-africa.org. This new site offers greater flexibility and is more user-friendly than our old site. Please let us know if you have any comments regarding this new and improved electronic space.
February 2008, Issue No3
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Report: Africa – Asia Pacific CoP Experience and Possible Linkages At the end of November 2007, Mr. Mbayani Yudica Saruni, represented the African CoP’s Interim Management Team in attending the Asian CoP annual meeting and the Shanghai International Program for Development Evaluation (SHIPDET). Mr. Saruni files this report on his experience in Shanghai.
Background Strengthening result based monitoring and evaluation, and improving development performance are increasingly becoming a focus of world attention, and the reason behind this trend can be attributed to the changes in mentality in public sector administration and the advent of globalization. Mounting financial and competitive pressure alongside the influence of the international community require greater responsiveness to the demands for good governance, accountability and transparency, development effectiveness, and the delivery of tangible results. Developing countries need to manage their development processes to achieve the outcomes they want, and thus the quest for development results is critical. They need to define the results they want to attain and—working in partnership with development agencies, civil society, and other stakeholders—design policies and program to achieve those results. Furthermore, countries need information on which to base this work, and statistical capacity and monitoring and evaluation systems to generate the information. The role of development agencies is to support developing countries in strengthening their capacity to manage for development results. Managing for Development Results (MfDR) means going beyond the traditional focus on input delivery (mostly financing) and output quality and to focus on the achievement of outcomes. Through this shift, countries will be able to improve not only the relevance and effectiveness of aid, but also prudent use of domestic revenue to achieve the desired results. The African Community of Practice in MfDR is one of the initiatives of the international community geared to helping countries to achieve the intended results. The African CoP-MfDR is a virtual learning network that promotes learning and knowledge exchange among public managers, organizations, executing agencies and practitioners on how to manage better for development results. It is an informal network – a group of people who share a common sense of purpose and desire to exchange knowledge and experiences in an area of shared interest. Through mutual learning and sharing of information, a CoP can develop and strengthen core competencies by (i) developing and spreading good practices; (ii) connecting “islands of knowledge” into self-organizing networks of professionals; and (iii) fostering cross-functional collaboration.
Report of the SHIPDET Program & CoP Asia Annual Meeting Asian CoP-MfDR has a well-established training program on M&E called the Shanghai International Program for Development Evaluation (SHIPDET). The program’s objective is to enhance the M&E capacity of CoP – MfDR members through a range of activities, such as training workshops, research and network building. This new program has been proposed to be held twice a year for 3 years, from 2007 to 2009, with the spring program focusing on Chinese participants and the autumn program focusing on international participants, preferably the Community of Practice (CoP) members from the Asia and Pacific region. Members from Africa CoP counterpart were also invited to share their experience and learn from CoP Asia colleagues and I happen to be the only CoP member able to attend,
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representing African CoP. Each participant was awarded with a certificate after successfully completing the SHIPDET program.
Program Components The two week workshop program had three components as follows: (a) Intensive training on the establishment of results-based M&E system; (b) Field trip and video conference on real case studies of results-based evaluation in the Zhejiang Multicities Development Project, supported by the World Bank; and Suzhou Creek Project in Shanghai supported by Asia Development Bank (ADB); and, (c) CoP-MfDR Asia Pacific Annual Meeting. The Training Program - Second Cohort of SHIPDET Program On 22nd October–3rd November 2007, nearly 60 practitioners with diverse backgrounds in MfDR from 19 countries participated in the second phase of the SHIPDET, which was held at the Asia-Pacific Finance and Development Center (AFDC), Shanghai, PRC. As we all know, there is no universal model when it comes to performance evaluation, but the purpose of the training program was to study, and discuss globally-recognized M&E theories and methodologies, to share experiences, and to work out locallyfeasible performance evaluation system. The resource persons for the training were senior performance evaluation specialists from World Bank, Mr. Ray Rist and Ms Linda Morra-Imas. Others were from ADB (Mr. Keith Leonard and Mr. Bruce Purdue - Head of the Results Management Unit); Carlton University (Ms Nancy Porteous – through video conference from Canada); and from Global Environmental Facility (Mr. Robert Van Den Berg). Some of the topics covered included the description of the ten steps to build “Result-Based Monitoring and Evaluation Systems”; the role of evaluation; and different models to conduct and report evaluation data and findings. Most of the topics were also accompanied with case studies, some of which were practical, real-life cases such as the evaluation of Zhejiang Multicities Development Project. Field visits Having covered the theoretical aspects of the training program, we visited WB-Financed Zheijiang Multicity Development Project in Hangzhou, the capital city of Zheijiang province to get a feel for the actual process of project design, plan, implementation, monitoring and evaluation processes. The project comprises eight components including a water treatment plant and its supporting pipelines; road construction; environmental protection; and urban renewal and land development. Prior to visiting the sites, we were briefed about the project background, challenges and deliverables (project output and outcomes) by government officials who spearheaded the implementation of the project. All the project components were successfully implemented within the agreed timeframe and the overall outcome was rated “satisfactory” by the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank which conducted post project evaluation in 2006. A video conference with the IEG officials in Washington, DC who conducted the evaluation offered the opportunity to discuss various issues such as methodologies they used.
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CoP- MfDR Asia-Pacific Region Annual Meeting The training coincided with the second annual meeting for the CoP Asia Pacific Region. The meeting provided an excellent opportunity for sharing theories and best practices in the area of international performance evaluation. Participants were asked to prepare papers on MfDR practice (e.g. design, implementation and management) in their respective countries. Eighteen papers were submitted but given the time constraints, only eight were given the opportunity to present. Africa was among these privileged and I presented the case of the MKUKUTA Monitoring System in Tanzania. Along with the presentations, participants also reviewed the progress of CoP-MfDR activities since its launch in 2006 and the proposed action plan for 2008.
Lessons learned (Can they be replicated in the African context?) ⇒
From Zheijiang Multi-city Development Project Implementation
(a) Strong technical and administrative personnel are key to a successful project implementation: In the case of the Zheijing project, the internal capacity of project management team was extremely strong. The Team “knew exactly what they needed” and were able to work in a coherent manner to pursue their objectives. Some capacity building efforts were also undertaken to this end. Given their competence, most of the preliminary work (e.g. feasibility studies, environment impact analysis) was done by local consultancies unlike in LDCs where work of this kind is typically commissioned to foreign consultancies; (b) Strong stakeholder support is essential for a successful project: Stakeholders at every level were involved and were very supportive of the project despite the fact that some of the communities (especially in the slum areas) were relocated to give way for the project; (c) Government willingness and commitment is the key: The government of the city also was committed and attached importance to the project; (d) Accountability is vital: Project responsibility systems were set up, each project manager was accountable for the results and routine supervision was carried out to ensure successful project implementation. ⇒
From the Training (SHIPDET)
(e) The demand for evidence based data for decision-making is crucial: The supply of data and information in most countries is not a problem, but what is missing is the demand for it (lack of ownership) for informed decision making. Through the training, we have come to realize that, what matters with M&E is not so much the data that is collected or the facts that are available, but how the data are used to inform choices in the different stages of planning and public service delivery. (f) Evaluations that are placed on a shelf provide no return on investment: The highest value can be realized only when what is learned from evaluation impacts decision making and improves the practice effectively and efficiently. Evaluation creates opportunities to: identify shortcomings; address issues and problems; increase capacity to manage for development results; and inform audiences about project performance. Only when evaluation reports are utilized will the desired changes to the project be realized. Therefore, it is important to get the right knowledge to the right people at the right time, and help them to apply it.
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(g) Need for champions and active country participation: The African CoP is in the nascent stage of its development and hasn’t made as much progress as the Asian Pacific CoP. Thus, more needs to be done to sensitize and encourage active country participation. It is in this context that I encourage you to join in the AfCoP’s activities, with the hope that it will help us not only share the experience and knowledge but also move steps ahead in terms of developing and implementing CoP-MfDR activities in our respective countries. Your involvement in the CoP-MfDR’s activities is a necessary condition to leap-frog the development of African CoP and the sufficient condition is your power to influence decisions in your organization and country. In other words, we need to have highly placed champions who are willing to assume political risks in advocating results-based M&E in every country. To that end, we should involve our top leaders in the process so as to win their support as most Asian countries have done.
MfDR challenges The most generic challenges facing countries on MfDR in almost all regions include: (a) The existence of many different M&E frameworks within the same agency/country; that is, the frameworks are not standardized especially at the sectoral level and thus do not feed directly into the overall national framework; (b) On MfDR capacity, there are two challenges: first, many countries have low level MfDR capacity and second, there is wide variance in capacity between member countries; (c) Tendency by some partner countries to resist MfDR, especially with its added work loads, pressures for greater transparency and accountability, and sometimes contradictory MfDR requirements emanating from multiple donors; (d) Language barriers between countries; and (e) Data and information related problems: Availability, Accessibility, Timeliness and Reliability. These challenges can be addressed through much greater focus on building sustainable government capacity to plan, implement, manage, monitor, and evaluate by results – since, these are key aspects of enhancing development effectiveness.
Potential for linkages with Asian CoP Capacity Building: Both experience and lessons have been gained by nations and international communities engaging in result-based management work. However, the most pressing challenges faced by developing countries are information gaps, the capacity to monitor and evaluate how effectively public funds are being used to achieve the desired results, and how to use these results for informed decision making. CoP-MfDR Asia-Pacific Region has introduced the SHIPDET as a means to address these challenges. Since the African Region is facing similar challenges, we may wish to request to participate in the SHIPDET program and/or establish our own training centre. I happened to be the first African CoP member to participate in the SHIPDET program under the auspices of the World Bank, so it is not impossible to establish a linkage. Two or three CoP members can travel to Asia for the purposes of enhancing their knowledge on M&E and sharing experience.
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Dialogue on MfDR: Each country in Africa has its own unique path, approach, style, and level of development. Furthermore, different countries are at different stages in the creation of results-based M&E systems and we can all benefit by exchanging ideas and maintaining regular dialogue on MfDR. Through dialogue, we can learn important lessons on how to design and implement results-based M&E techniques. Such dialogue can take place through teleconference, cross postings, online discussions, forums and annual meetings. ⇒
Annual Meetings: We have just held our first annual meeting while the CoP MfDR Asia-Pacific region conducted their second annual meeting in November. This is an opportunity to invite and send participants to either side so that participants can gain an insight into how others are doing their business (e.g. implementing their action plan) and how can it be replicated to suit the local environment.
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Online Discussion: Every year CoP-MfDR Asia-Pacific region chooses a discussion theme where participants are encouraged to actively participate in the dialogue, raise questions, and share good practice stories. The discussion theme for this year (still on going) is “Establishing a Results-Based M&E System on the Ground”, and they have a well-known M&E expert from the USA who assists them in tackling some difficult issues. We can also follow the same approach or link up with them for the discussion. However, we need to find some ways of addressing the “time difference” between USA, Asia and Africa so that the discussion can take place simultaneously.
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Cross Postings: The African and Asian CoPs have already started to work together to cross post items. We could coordinate the cross posting of up-coming events, CoP newsletters, MfDR publications, and general case studies.
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High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness: The Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (“HLF-3”) will be convened in Accra, Ghana, September 2008. As developing countries (and aid recipients) we need to reach a consensus on the agenda for the core discussion and the issues to be addressed with our development partners regarding the effectiveness of aid. So, we should collaborate with our Asia-Pacific counterparts who have already shown willingness to participate to address issues on a “team work spirit” during the HLF - 3.
South-South Cooperation: Some of the greatest challenges in managing for development results can be best addressed through a regional partnership (South-South Cooperation). Some countries in Asia-Pacific region (e.g. Singapore and Malaysia) have made substantial progress in MfDR. South-South Cooperation is therefore needed to assist countries in developing the MfDR. i.e. support to generate reliable and timely data to assess progress on the development programs (MDG, PRS); and to strengthen reporting mechanisms.
The Way Forward You may recall that the “HLF-3”, will be held in Accra, Ghana, this year and the main theme of the forum is the prudent use of financial resources to achieve the desired results. As the African CoP, we need to get prepared for this event with concrete proposals on how to improve aid relevance and effectiveness. It should also be noted that financial support is not the only means to end our problems, but we should each play our own role to achieve the results
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Asian CoP-MfDR We invite all members of the African CoP to take part in our current discussion, which began in late September. To read a summary of our online discussions, to see more information about the 2008 discussion series, and to register to become a member, please visit: cop-mfdr.adb.org.
Up-coming Events JV Meeting on Managing for Development Results Members of the Core Management Team will be attending the OECD-DAC Joint Venture on MfDR meeting at the beginning of March. They will be participating in the planning process for the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF3), which will take place in Ghana the beginning of this September.
IPDET 2008, Ottawa, Canada The International Program for Development Evaluation Training (IPDET) will take place from June 9 to July 4, 2008 in Ottawa, Canada. The program managers are Linda Morra-Imas and Ray Rist. For a preview of this year’s workshops and instructors please visit www.ipdet.org. Applications are being received now. If you know of any up-coming MfDR events and would like to have them included in this listing, please contact Sheila Daunt Escandon at sdaunt@worldbank.org.
If you know of any up-coming MfDR events and would like to have them included in this listing, please contact Sheila Daunt Escandon at sdaunt@worldbank.org.
African CoP Library We are continuing to collect resources that will be posted on the African CoP website. If your department, organization, or colleagues have recently written anything that you would like to share with your fellow CoP members, please contact Sheila Daunt Escandon at sdaunt@worldbank.org.
Join Us If you are interested in becoming a member of the African Community of Practice, please visit our website, www.cop-mfdr-africa.org and submit a request to join. For more information, please contact Sheila Daunt Escandon at sdaunt@worldbank.org.
Contact Us If you have any questions, comments or suggestions in regards to either this newsletter or the Africa CoP, please feel free to contact sdaunt@worldbank.org or any team leader within the Core Management Team (CMT): • •
Networking, Recognition, and Sustainability -- Peter Ssentongo, Uganda: peter.sentongo@nimes.go.ug or peter.ssentongo@gmail.com Decentralization and Membership -- Zaam Ssali, Uganda: zaam.ssali@gmail.com or zssali@yahoo.com
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Knowledge Management, Organizational Learning, and Publicity -- Ali Doungou Boubacar, Niger: doungouali@yahoo.fr Capacity Building -- Solomon Mhlanga, Zimbabwe: solo9088@yahoo.com Monitoring and Evaluation -- Claude Kakule, Congo: claudeK@unops.org or claudekakule@yahoo.com
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