Susan Davis

By Susan Davis, Executive Director, Improve International

I recently completed an online course on Country-led Monitoring & Evaluation Systems through My M&E.  It was encouraging to learn about some governments that are leading the way, because institutionalizing monitoring and evaluation can lead to improved services.

However, we also learned that the potential benefits of monitoring and evaluation are often limited because:

• Many monitoring surveys and evaluations are one-off with no follow-up
• Many evaluations are largely funded and managed by donors with little country ownership. National governments might not even get the opportunity to see the reports.
• Much monitoring and evaluation is method-driven, not utilization driven – that is, even if the findings are actionable, programs or policies aren’t actually updated based on the findings

This image below, from a summary of one of the sessions at the Monitoring Sustainable WASH Service Delivery Symposium, shows how desperately some coordination and leadership is needed.

In an earlier blog I identified several national water point mapping initiatives, which is a great start.  Having a comprehensive atlas of water points and their functionality is vital for governments to make decisions about resource allocations. However, for ongoing management of services, it’s important to have ongoing data.

It is important that development organizations, as they consider how to ensure services monitoring (post-implementation) of the water systems they have helped to build, coordinate with governments. Kerstin Danert talks about joint sector monitoring initiatives here and Cor Dietvorst about a central role for government in monitoring sustainable WASH services here.

Below are a few examples of government-led development monitoring systems.  This doesn’t necessarily mean they have a water services monitoring component, but it shows capacity for one.

• Uganda
• Ghana DIMES
• Panama, Honduras, & Nicaragua SIASAR
• Colombia: SINERGIA
• Mexico: CONEVAL
• Sri Lanka Department of Project Management and Monitoring

If you work with an implementing organization, you could contact the national water network to find out whether a government-led water services monitoring system exists or is under development.  If there isn’t one, maybe you could work with others to see how you can help the government get a system going.  Also see Country-Led Monitoring & Evaluation Systems.