The Case of M&E in Chile: Comparisons with Peru, Mexico, Colombia and Uruguay

 

Chile has an M&E system geared towards making budget decisions; however it important to note that it has taken more than a decade to reach this point. For 20 years the Chilean government has worked to establish agency goals linked to strategic government goals. Currently approximately 65% of the budget is programmatic, further development of budget classification tied to results is a challenge. The process of identifying good indicators is an intensive exercise. An important component of the M&E system has been the management improvement program which increases the capacity of the government administration; this standardized program is implemented in each department and introduces training in for example the identification of goals. Within the RBB system the evaluation component is the strongest, when the budget is submitted to congress for approval the findings of evaluations are included in the documents. These evaluations are widely read and a key tool used by congress for government accountability. The evaluations are contracted out to third parties such as universities. The Chilean system is very centralized, Hacienda has a lot of power and ministries follow their bidding. A big challenge for the system to create a sense of ownership in line ministries of the system, it is unclear if all ministers read the evaluations and use them.

 

Presentation   Recording   www.dipres.cl

 

Islands of Best Practices at the Sub-national Level: The Cases of Medellín and Pasto in Colombia

 

Medellín:

 

The main objective of the Municipal Results Based Budgeting system is to monitor the performance of municipal development plan goals using performance indicators. To date progress has been made in a number of areas including, the creation of a Development Plan Coordination Unit and the implementation of an integrated IT monitoring system. From the legislative perspective the City Council has already approved a Performance Based-Budget Annex and two proposals have been prepared which will be vital to the functioning of the system: an organic budget law reform and a performance based institutional arrangements restructuring proposal. Future challenges include the development of a Medium Term Expenditure Framework as a guide to the Municipal Development Plan 2008-2011, the implementation of an evaluation strategy for programs and projects and to strengthen the demand side of the system and accountability.

 

Pasto:

 

The monitoring system which Pasto is using Sistema de Información de Resultados de la Gestión Pública (SIGER) is based on the national system Sistema de Programación y Gestión (SIGOB). It has been developed to support the municipality in the programming, monitoring, control and management needed for the achievement of the Municipal Development Plan goals. Pasto Municipality is unique in its emphasis on the importance of citizen participation, as such a local alliance has been developed with citizens, and community based NGOs and Pasto’s chamber of commerce in order to promote accountability and co-responsibility. There have been numerous initiatives to increase citizen participation including a citizen perception survey and sectoral analysis, long term indicators and participatory planning, citizen oversight of the SIGER.

 

Medellín Presentation  Pasto Presentation  Recording 

 

www.medellin.gov.co  

 

Views from a Partner Aid Agency: UNICEF and M&E in Latin America

 

UNICEF strives to contribute to the mainstreaming of evaluation around the world through advocacy, knowledge of concepts, methods and tools, institutionalization and professionalization. This presentation outlines in detail the work of three different initiatives which focus on the professionalization of evaluation. UNICEF is the leading a program to certify UN Evaluators which will be applied throughout the UN system at all levels of positions. Six core competencies have been identified including ethics, data collection and analysis, and evaluation design. The second initiative is a strategic partnership between ReLAC, a regional M&E network and UNICEF. A e-Masters in Evaluation has been developed by ReLAC and universities in the region will implement the e-course and administer certification. ReLAC aims to be recognized as a professional body providing accreditation. Furthermore it is hoped that the curricula and competencies included in the e-Masters will become a benchmark for universities in the region. Finally, UNICEF and WBI are collaborating to set up a certification program in South Asia. This initiative involves cooperation with numerous western and south Asian universities; the objective is to set up an institution which will become a centre of excellence in evaluation training in the region.

 

Presentation     

 

The first steps of Building a successful M&E system: The Case of Bolivia

 

In 2006 a Ministry of Planning was established in Bolivia. Within its legal mandate a priority was to establish a national development plan which was approved last year. The overarching goal of the national development plan is an integral concept of living well ‘Vivir Bien’. In this sense Bolivia is a country who is advancing in the conceptualization of more integral national goals. Bhutan is another example of a country which has been innovative in its use of the Happiness Index to gage the well being of its citizens. Eight strategic goals for the country have been identified including: the transformation of the productive matrix, social empowerment, equity and equilibrium and economic growth. Currently the ministry of planning is working to rationalize and understand existing institutional planning systems (national, sectoral, regional/territorial entities) and public finance mechanisms, so as to build a solid foundation for a results based management system. Part of this process is articulating the link between projects and the national strategic priorities and identifying which exact indicators can provide the best information.  

 

Presentation   Recording   www.planificacion.gov.bo

 

M&E at the National Level: The Case of Honduras

 

In a little over a year Honduras has made great strides in the introduction of a national M&E system. In July 2006 a presidential decree established the Results Based Management System (RBSM). The system works as follows: each ministry has a planning and M&E unit (UPEG) which sets the goals and indicators of its own institution. 16 ministries have identified 250 goals and 55 decentralized institutions have identified 430 goals. The technical support unit of the presidency (UNAT) gives supports to the UPEGs on the methodology of RBMS, conducting workshops and trainings. The information from the progress reports (two were conducted in 2006 and the most recent in 2007) have shown that public investment execution levels have gone up. Furthermore the progress report which are available to the public online have resulted in wide spread interest from the media and public in the system. The online information is extremely user friendly using colors to indicate status of indicators.   Future challenges include linking the information with the 2008 budget, consolidation of the system through the integration with sector strategy boards, poverty reduction strategies and the financial administration system, and introducing audit systems and other tools to improve the quality of data produced.

 

Presentation

 

M&E in Mexico: Building a National M&E System

 

The National Council of Evaluation for Social Development (CONEVAL) was given the mandate to evaluate and coordinate the evaluation of social programs and policies in 2005. In 2006 a Budget law introduced the requirement that all programs must have external evaluations. In a 2007 Budget decree the Government of Mexico vastly expanded the initiative mandating that all ministries must have Strategic Goals and a logical framework linked to those goals. With the decree also came an increased role for CONEVAL who in collaboration with Ministry of Finance and the Audit Ministry has been responsible for the development of new Monitoring and Evaluation Guidelines to be used by every ministry, these were published in March 2007.

 

Presentation

 

M&E at the Sectoral Level: Building a Results-based M&E System for Social Programs in Mexico: The Case of a Line Ministry

 

The Secretariat of Social Development (SEDESOL) in Mexico has steadily been building a results based management and evaluation system (RBM&E) with a focus on accountability and outcomes for its social programs since 2000. An assessment conducted in 2004 with support from the World Bank showed that some of the challenges faced by SEDESOL included the reporting of too many indicators with limited use, disconnect between outputs and outcome measures and insufficient linkages between strategic planning, program operation and budgeting. Since then large strides have been made to improve the system. By 2006 all social programs within SEDESOL’s charge had been brought through the log frame process, in addition, the process of aligning the RBM system and the annual external evaluations of programs mandated by congress was started with a number of pilot programs in 2006. Next steps include the further consolidation of the RBM&E system through for example the decentralization of the system to State SEDESOL offices and program benchmarking.

 

Presentation