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Regional Programme to Strengthen Managing for Impact (SMIP) in Eastern and Southern Africa

M&E as Learning – rethinking the dominant Paradigm

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How have we done? Despite large amounts of aid the development

record is very patchy (cf Asia) Meta-analysis of IFAD/WB projects reveals that

we are repeating mistakes eg FTCs in Ethiopia Development is still heavily donor-driven Although there are some good examples….. We cannot continue to do business as usual

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Current trends in development

Need to be able to demonstrate impact - convince donors that worthwhile results are being achieved

Similarly, increasing pressure for donors to justify investment

This means a need to combine technical solutions with social and institutional change - Participation and empowerment

Need for a flexible process approach to development where implementing partners and beneficiaries (primary stakeholders) learn together

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What is impact? Impact on livelihoods, policies, institutions

and processes

“The changes in the lives of rural people, as perceived by them and their partners, plus sustainability enhancing change in their environment to which the project has contributed”

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Barriers to impact1. Analysis of situation inadequate and driven by external forces2. The ways organizations operate and the institutional context top-

down and leads to lack of participation and ownership3. Projects and programmes not adaptive to changing situations4. Catastrophes (shocks and stressors) undermine current situations5. Lack of proven and effective service delivery models at local level6. Lack of sufficient and quality human resources7. Lack of organizations working together in effective partnerships8. Power and vested interests influence the development agenda9. Non-enabling institutional framework10. Alternative conflicting development paradigms

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Alternative paradigm for M&E being outlined presupposes that M&E system fulfils the following purposes:

Accountability – demonstrating to donors, beneficiaries and implementing partners that expenditure, actions and results are as agreed or are as can reasonably be expected in a given situation.

Supporting operational management - providing the basic management information needed to direct, coordinate and control the human, financial and physical resources required to achieve any given objective.

Supporting strategic management – providing the information for and facilitating the processes required to set and adjust goals, objectives and strategies and to improve quality and performance.

Knowledge creation – generating new insights that contribute to the established knowledge base in a given field.

Empowerment – building the capacity, self reliance and confidence of beneficiaries and implementing staff and partners to effectively guide, management and implement development initiatives.

Purpose of M&E

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Challenges within M&E The LFA The demand for accountability and impact Quantitative indicators only, please The tyranny of participation Lesson learning Everything for nothing

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The basis for an alternative M&E paradigm (1) Increased demand for integrating learning in our

work: Learning organisations Integrating lessons learned in our work, Making M&E more reflective and learning oriented Collaboration with stakeholders in multi-stakeholder

processes: important to facilitated (social) learning processes and generating and documenting lessons learned

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The basis for an alternative M&E paradigm (2) Learning from a constructivist perspective - what is perceived

as “real” is influenced by history, culture & language; value of experiential learning

“Learning” is not just about the accumulation of knowledge & skills but also the ability to constantly improve the efficacy for action

Recognising dynamic environments and uncertainty, need for responsive & adaptive management - the environments in which pro-poor initiatives operate is dynamic & often difficult to predict

Moving from external design and evaluation to internal learning

Types and sources of information for learning and management is increasingly impact and results based

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The basis for an alternative M&E paradigm (3) Integrating action learning into development

initiatives which can improve efficiency and effectiveness

Capacities, incentives and resources – need to acknowledge innovation and be open to failure

Emphasis on critical reflection

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The managing for impact approach …a participatory management and learning

approach, which seeks to address the needs of people, communities and organisations to bring about positive change

…at it’s heart lies people and organisations, where all involved in a development initiative become part of a learning alliance that seeks to achieve the greatest possible impact

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Principles of managing for impact (1) People-centred development – where it is realised that the

focus needs to be on benefits to groups of people, not just development of a sector

A rigorous and shared understanding by stakeholders of theories of change which underpins the strategy of intervention

Empowering of stakeholders at all levels Learning is recognised as a self-conscious process of

reviewing and reflecting on experience, generating and applying knowledge in innovative and creative ways to improve action

Appreciates and builds on existing strengths and capacities

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Principles of managing for impact (2) Promotes participatory development at all levels and ensures

the inclusion of disadvantaged and vulnerable people Requires effective partnerships between stakeholders

including civil society, public and private sectors Based on a holistic understanding of livelihoods and systems Promotes sustainable interventions (economically,

environmentally, socially and institutionally) Recognition of the need for leadership and management

which is consistent with learning and participatory approaches

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Managing for impact – Key Components Guiding the strategy towards impact – taking a strategic perspective

whether an initiative is heading towards its goals (impacts) and reacting quickly to adjust the strategy or even the objectives in response to changed circumstances or failure

Ensuring effective operations - managing the day to day coordination of financial, physical and human resources to ensure the actions and outputs required by the current strategy are being effectively and efficiently achieved.

Creating a learning environment – establishing a culture and set of relationships with all those involved in an initiative that will build trust, stimulate critical questioning and innovation and gain commitment and ownership.

Establishing information gathering and management systems - ensuring that the systems are in place to provide the information that is needed to guide the strategy, ensure effective operations and encourage learning.”

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The genesis of SMIP SMIP = Strengthening Management for

Impact Grew from acknowledgments within IFAD of

need to think more creatively about how projects are learning

Regional programme with implementing partners from South Africa, Kenya and Ethiopia.

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SMIP – overall goals & objectives Increasing impact of rural poverty reduction initiatives in

Eastern & Southern Africa Enhancing the capacity of key stakeholders to manage

towards impact through: Enhanced service delivery and application of M for I Increased availability & access to innovations and new &

existing knowledge Advocacy aimed at ensuring that policy/institutional

environment is supportive of efforts to manage for impact

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SMIP’s key approaches to enhancing capacity for managing towards impact

Improving internal learning processes to guide design & evaluation

Building capacity to influence and guide the “people processes” – relationships between & commitment of different actors

Strengthening abilities to identify and react to problems related to Project/Programme theories and/or implementation

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Current SMIP activities Training for service providers Responding to requests for support from

projects/ programmes on developing managing for impact approaches

Identifying action learning sites where we can test and improve the approach

Developing ERIL (electronic resource,information & learning centre)

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Contact details SMIP Regional Programme Facilitator

Mine Pabari – mine.pabari@gmail.com Eastern Africa Sub-Regional Institution:

IFPRI-ISNAR – Cosmos Ochieng c.ochieng@cgiar.org.orHaramaya University - Shimelis Wolde Hamriat shimelis65@yahoo.com

Southern African Sub-Regional Institution Khanya-aicdd - Rachel Searle-Mbullu rachel@khanya-aicdd.org.