M&E: Terms of reference for those who monitor and evaluate

The definition of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) has been misunderstood by most actors in the development arena. For instance, evaluation has been suspiciously seen as a detrimental tool for judging (rather than for better assisting management), especially as we step down hierarchy ladders. In theory, everyone understands its merits, as I personally have witnessed. However, when the process goes alive, people become defensive mostly because they aren't involved in it. And would you blame them?

Evaluation could work coercively enough to refrain people's creativity and capacity to be unleashed by fueling self-preservation responses. That means human resources efficiency is being slowed down, thus damaging social transformation. On the other hand, self-evaluation engages actors. It gives them ownership of the results of the processes, stimulating and consenting them to change, to improve, to evaluate once again and repeat all over again.

Hence, collecting qualitative and quantitative data should be done using methods that people are able to work with. By designing complex surveys, and using complex statistical packages and proxies that people do not even understand how they showed up, only distance M&E from development. Fortunately, PRA and MSC tools and other working methods such as CBMS come in hand to help building trust and engaging local people. That only happens because they level to people's capacity and they are tailored to suit people's needs. For instance, CBMS enhances accuracy by involving the communities themselves in the process of validating data, which in turn contributes even more to empower them, as they take matters on their own hands, plan and develop their own programs, that respond effectively to their needs.

Based on what has been said, M&E could be defined as a continuous management tool that aims social transformation, through the participation and empowerment of local people.

Unfortunately, terms of reference for international M&E positions are still less holistic and more abundant in technical complex details, involving detached highly technical consultancies (with deliveries that are top-down defined and that do not contribute for enhancing learning processes) rather than assistance that aims participatory M&E, that stimulates self-determination, autonomy, and effectiveness.