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ME in Crisis Country ContextUNDP Somalia

• Evaluation Policy Regional Workshop Amman 5
  February 2007
• Louise Chamberlain

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Presentation will cover

• Country context
• Country ME challenges
• UNDP ME practices
• UN Country Team ME perspective
• Lessons learned in the evaluation function
• What we monitor, and why

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Country Context in Somalia

• Central South emerging from war
• Three regions at different stages in the
  crisis-development continuum, widespread
  instability
• Recurring clan-based armed conflicts
• Transitional Federal Government, 2004
• Regional governments provide stability
• Protracted emergency
• In a population of 7-10M, 400,000 IDPs
• 4 in 5 children do not attend school, only 1 girl
  in 10 attends school
• Child and maternal mortality, gender challenges

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UNDP Somalia

• Rapidly growing programme, delivered 36M in
  2006, doubled since 2003
• Focus on democratic governance rule of law,
  security, capacity building, recovery
• Cross-border operation
• Reorganizing for increased field presence
• Security a key constraint
• One progr document, three counterparts

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Somalia ME Context

• Country in transition development plans
  emerging
• MDG monitoring by the UN system
• Regional plans
• No cohesive, universally adopted development
  strategy for all of Somalia
• Planning ministries limited capacity, no
  ME function
• Mostly humanitarian assistance sustainability
  an issue

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UN system planning

• Joint Needs Assessment (PCNA) Reconstruction
  and Development Framework (RDF) for Somalia
• UN 6-month Stabilization plan
• UN Transition Plan 2008-2009, builds on and
  implements the RDF, UNDAF
• One UN Unified approach and face, joint
  services, programmes, offices

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UN Country Team perspective

• Weak monitoring of joint UN plans to date
• Little joint monitoring
• Real Time Evaluation drought response
• New commitment to joint tools for
• Standard setting
• ME
• Planning
• Support natl capacity development

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Emerging office ME practice

• Donors requesting better demonstration of
  results, supporting ME capacity
• Strategic partnerships with key donors
• Set up prog development unit to drive ME
• PRINCE2 certification in 2006/7
• Outcome monitoring system
• Regular outcome evaluations

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Programme development unit

• Intent was to
• Increase office capacity for ME
• Create an objective impact assessment and
  evaluation function
• Strengthen reporting to donors on results
• Supported financially by donors (DFID)
• Unit integrated ME, RBM, donor relations
  intelligence, reporting, programme oversight and
  communications functions

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Lessons Learned so far

• Little demand for in-house evaluation capacity
  Not independent, no specific expertise
• Improving the self-assessment of impact requires
  strengthening data collection
• Monitoring inadequate due to security constraints
• Weak reporting skills among field staff
• Secondary data not available
• Strengthening donor reporting also requires
  strengthening data collection
• Field-Nairobi gap in reporting and analysis

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Relevance of PRINCE2

• A culture of project management
• Impact on project design ( of awards)
• Institutional and practical challenges in
  introducing Outcome Boards
• Does it change the way we work?
• At best More structure, better documentation
• At worst Only different terminology
• Probably not much room for learning, still

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Increased field presence

• Decentralized/regionalized programme planning to
  improve client service
• Sub-Office structure
• Delegate day-to-day management and monitoring to
  Sub-Offices
• Responsiveness to clients
• Build partnership with counterparts
• Improve performance
• Strengthen data collection and reporting

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What we monitor

• Country political developments
• Project risk (risk logs)
• Project issues (issue logs)
• Project progress (quarterly report)
• Annual Report
• Outcome progress (outcome monitoring)
• Relevance (management assessment)

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Ex Outcome Monitoring System
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Challenges for ME Government

• No national institution for data collection
• Lack of reliable population data (census,
  recurring population movements)
• Weak information sharing among aid agencies
• Weak capacity for policy making
• Weak internal government coordination,
  cooperation, coordination

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UNDP Support to ME functions

• Institutionalize MDG, poverty monitoring
• Aid coordination needed
• Better coordination and systematic use
• Improve sustainability of aid
• Feedback and accountability of the UN system for
  its performance
• Need best practices for ME, tools, methodologies
• Dealing with culturally sensitive issues

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Thank you!