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The National Evaluation Policy landscape in Africa: A comparison
The NEP landscape in Africa The demand for National Evaluation Policies (NEPs) has gained traction in Africa as more countries acknowledge the value of evaluation in enhancing efficiency, effectiveness, and equity in public and development management. As these countries implement developmental programmes and proj…
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POLICY BRIEF
The National Evaluation Policy landscape in Africa: A comparison
The demand for National Evaluation Policies (NEPs) has gained traction in Africa as more countries acknowledge the value of
evaluation in enhancing efficiency, effectiveness, and equity in public and development management. As these countries implement
developmental programmes and projects they require appropriate and effective monitoring and evaluation systems to measure
performance, assess impact and draw lessons for future programmes and projects. Similarly, the Sustainable Development Goals call
for country-led systems to measure effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, sustainability, and the impact of development interventions.
National evaluation policies are an important framework to structure, systematise and guide monitoring and evaluations at country
level. Mwaijande (2018) cautions that the absence of such policies can potentially leave programmes and policy planning unchecked,
and allow for inefficiency and ineffectiveness in policies and development programme
implementation and accountability. It is upon this basis that this brief advocates for
the formulation and implementation of national evaluation policies across the
continent.
Hojlund (2015:430) defines a national evaluation policy as “a systematic and
institutionalised monitoring and evaluation framework in several interdependent
organisational entities with the purpose of informing decision-making and securing
oversight function”.
Mwaijande (2018) also defines a national evaluation policy as that which guides the
evaluation process, activities, resources, and utilisation of evaluation results.
There is a direct link between national evaluation polices and national evaluation
systems (NES). These systems are put in place to implement the evaluation policies.
Effective evaluation systems are dependent on evaluation policies for framing the
purpose, responsibilities, and organisation of the public sector evaluation function in
a particular country (Segone, Bamberger and Reddy 2015). NES are systems put in
place to implement NEPs; they complement each other.
National evaluation policies provide a normative framework, while national
evaluation systems build the mechanisms that operationalise the principles dictated
in the policy.
However, the presence or absence of evaluation policies or systems does not
necessarily hinder the undertaking of evaluations. This is demonstrated in South
Africa, where government departments carried out evaluation before the National
Evaluation Policy Framework was passed. The policy was developed before the
development of National Evaluation System, and in Uganda the NES was developed
prior to the development of the policy. While the system and policy increase the demand for and use of evaluations, governments
USING MONITORING AND EVALUATION TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF AFRICAN GOVERNMENTS
WHY IS A NATIONAL EVALUATION
POLICY IMPORTANT?
• Increase demand and use for evaluations:
An NEP places an obligation on ministries
and sectors to increase demand and use
evaluations findings to improve
programme design.
• Structure the National Evaluation System:
NEPs can define what evaluation is,
determine what needs to be evaluated,
what methodologies are to be used and
how evaluation findings should be used
and will be communicated, creating a
common approach and guiding principles
across the public sector.
• Allow for budgeting and capacity
building: A NEP integrates evaluation into
policy and budgeting cycles. Since there is
a need to strengthen the technical
capacity of government departments to
design, implement, disseminate and use
evaluation information, a NEP is the hook
for integrating evaluation into a
department’s programme cycle. NEPs
provide a plan, which includes addressing
capacity development to support
implementation of the plan.
This policy brief examines key elements of national evaluation policies among selected African countries with a view to inform policy-makers
on good practices for the development of such policies. This brief draws from a comparative study conducted by CLEAR-AA in 2018 of the
status of national evaluation policies of South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Kenya.
In addition, a desktop review of the national evaluation policies was conducted. For comparative purposes of the policies, two analytical
frameworks were utilised: Segone, Bamberger and Reddy (2015); and Holvoet and Renard’s framework for effective national evaluation
systems (2007).
The National Evaluation Policy landscape in Africa: A comparison
The demand for National Evaluation Policies (NEPs) has gained traction in Africa as more countries acknowledge the value of
evaluation in enhancing efficiency, effectiveness, and equity in public and development management. As these countries implement
developmental programmes and projects they require appropriate and effective monitoring and evaluation systems to measure
performance, assess impact and draw lessons for future programmes and projects. Similarly, the Sustainable Development Goals call
for country-led systems to measure effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, sustainability, and the impact of development interventions.
National evaluation policies are an important framework to structure, systematise and guide monitoring and evaluations at country
level. Mwaijande (2018) cautions that the absence of such policies can potentially leave programmes and policy planning unchecked,
and allow for inefficiency and ineffectiveness in policies and development programme
implementation and accountability. It is upon this basis that this brief advocates for
the formulation and implementation of national evaluation policies across the
continent.
Hojlund (2015:430) defines a national evaluation policy as “a systematic and
institutionalised monitoring and evaluation framework in several interdependent
organisational entities with the purpose of informing decision-making and securing
oversight function”.
Mwaijande (2018) also defines a national evaluation policy as that which guides the
evaluation process, activities, resources, and utilisation of evaluation results.
There is a direct link between national evaluation polices and national evaluation
systems (NES). These systems are put in place to implement the evaluation policies.
Effective evaluation systems are dependent on evaluation policies for framing the
purpose, responsibilities, and organisation of the public sector evaluation function in
a particular country (Segone, Bamberger and Reddy 2015). NES are systems put in
place to implement NEPs; they complement each other.
National evaluation policies provide a normative framework, while national
evaluation systems build the mechanisms that operationalise the principles dictated
in the policy.
However, the presence or absence of evaluation policies or systems does not
necessarily hinder the undertaking of evaluations. This is demonstrated in South
Africa, where government departments carried out evaluation before the National
Evaluation Policy Framework was passed. The policy was developed before the
development of National Evaluation System, and in Uganda the NES was developed
prior to the development of the policy. While the system and policy increase the demand for and use of evaluations, governments
USING MONITORING AND EVALUATION TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF AFRICAN GOVERNMENTS
WHY IS A NATIONAL EVALUATION
POLICY IMPORTANT?
• Increase demand and use for evaluations:
An NEP places an obligation on ministries
and sectors to increase demand and use
evaluations findings to improve
programme design.
• Structure the National Evaluation System:
NEPs can define what evaluation is,
determine what needs to be evaluated,
what methodologies are to be used and
how evaluation findings should be used
and will be communicated, creating a
common approach and guiding principles
across the public sector.
• Allow for budgeting and capacity
building: A NEP integrates evaluation into
policy and budgeting cycles. Since there is
a need to strengthen the technical
capacity of government departments to
design, implement, disseminate and use
evaluation information, a NEP is the hook
for integrating evaluation into a
department’s programme cycle. NEPs
provide a plan, which includes addressing
capacity development to support
implementation of the plan.
This policy brief examines key elements of national evaluation policies among selected African countries with a view to inform policy-makers
on good practices for the development of such policies. This brief draws from a comparative study conducted by CLEAR-AA in 2018 of the
status of national evaluation policies of South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Kenya.
In addition, a desktop review of the national evaluation policies was conducted. For comparative purposes of the policies, two analytical
frameworks were utilised: Segone, Bamberger and Reddy (2015); and Holvoet and Renard’s framework for effective national evaluation
systems (2007).
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