Table Of ContentPROCEEDINGS FROM thE SECOND
INtERNAtIONAL CONFERENCE ON NAtIONAL
EVALUAtION CAPACItIES
Theme: use of evaluation in Decision making
for public policies and programme
co-hosted by the evaluation office of the
united nations Development programme and
the public service commission of south africa
12–14 september 2011
Johannesburg, south africa
we woulD like to immensely thank the following sponsors:
NAtIONAL EVALUAtION CAPACItIES:
PROCEEDINGS FROM THE 2ND INTERNATIONAL
CONFERENCE, 12–14 SEPTEMbER 2011
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NAtIONAL EVALUAtION CAPACItIES: PROCEEDINGS FROM III
THE 2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 12–14 SEPTEMbER 2011
contents
Acknowledgments .............................................................. 2
Foreword ........................................................................ 4
Opening Session: Introductory Remarks ........................................ 6
Conceptual Note ............................................................... 10
Main Outcomes ................................................................ 23
country papers
use of evaluation for public policy and programmes –
challenges, factors and opportunities: country case studies ................ 31
South Africa: The Use Question –
Examples and Lessons From the
Public Service Commission ..................................................... 31
by inDran a. naiDoo
Sri Lanka: Use of Evaluation in Public Policy –
Sri Lankan Experience ......................................................... 39
by Velayuthan siVagnanasothy anD VaiDehi anushyanthan
Colombia: Evaluation Processes –
Experiences to Share ........................................................... 43
by Diego DoraDo
China: The Roles of Users in
Enhancing Utility of Evaluation ................................................ 55
IV NAtIONAL EVALUAtION CAPACItIES: PROCEEDINGS FROM
THE 2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 12–14 SEPTEMbER 2011
by Zheng yonghe anD chen Zhaoying
Uganda: Giving National Direction
Through Evaluation ............................................................ 63
by mr. albert byamugisha anD mr. DaViD riDer smith
Mexico: Key Elements of Evaluation
as a Decision-Making Tool – Specific
Performance Evaluation experience ........................................... 71
by hortensia péreZ anD thania De la garZa
Costa Rica: Using Evaluation in the Public Sector –
Current Situation and Challenges .............................................. 75
by melania núñeZ Vargas
Malaysia: Programme/Project Evaluation –
The Malaysian Experience ...................................................... 83
by shahraZat binti haJi ahmaD anD
muhammaD hiDayatullah bin nasrul
Benin: Practice and the Use of the Evaluation
of Public Policies ............................................................... 88
by mr. aristiDe n. DJiDJoho anD mr. ambroise agbota
Guatemala: Multi-Stakeholder
and Multi-System Evaluation Systems
in the Field of Public Policy .................................................... 95
by Dr. henry morales lópeZ
Brazil: Promoting Accountability and
Enhancing Programmes and Policies
Through the Instrumental Use of Evaluations
Carried Out by the Brazilian Court of Audit .................................... 102
by selma maria hayakawa cunha serpa with
carlos alberto sampaio De freitas anD tiago goZZer Viegas
Malawi: The Use of Evaluation in Managing
for Development Results – Evidence From Malawi ............................ 109
by ronalD mangani
Morocco: The Evaluation of Public Policies –
The Case of Gender-Responsive Budgeting ................................... 117
by professor mohameD chafiki
CONtENtS V
monitoring and how it facilitates use of evaluation ..........................123
India: Indian Experience with the
Performance Monitoring and Evaluation System
for Government Departments ................................................. 125
by Dr. praJapati triVeDi
Morocco: Information System and National Observatory
of Human Development Household Panel for the
Evaluation of Public Policy on Human Development .......................... 131
by mohameD mouime anD mohameD benkassmi
Dominican Republic: Community-Based Monitoring
System to Evaluate the Millennium Development Goals
and the National Development Strategy: The Experience
of the Dominican Republic .................................................... 140
by hernan roDrigueZ minier
Costa Rica: Assessment of the Impact of Strategies
to Reduce Child Mortality – The Experience of Costa Rica ..................... 147
by ana morice
Niger: The Process of Project Advancement Control
of the German Agency for International Cooperation ......................... 156
by seyDou yayé anD mamaDou abDou gaoh sani
Tanzania: The Importance of Monitoring and Evaluation
in Achieving National Development Policies and
Programmes’ Targets ......................................................... 166
by ekingo magembeanD rafael waiDa
anneXes
Annex 1: Agenda of the 2nd International
Conference on National Evaluation Capacities,
12–14 September 2011, Johannesburg, South Africa .......................... 171
Annex 2: List of Participants ................................................... 175
Annex 3: Conference Assessment ............................................. 180
2 NAtIONAL EVALUAtION CAPACItIES: PROCEEDINGS FROM
THE 2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 12–14 SEPTEMbER 2011
acknowleDgments
Several organizations and key people made the 2011 International Conference on National
Evaluation Capacities a success.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Evaluation Office and the Public
Service Commission of South Africa, as co-hosts, worked effectively as partners to organize
the event. Both offices are grateful for the opportunities this yielded for the respective offices
and look forward to further collaborations.
The Conference was made possible thanks to generous support provided by develop-
ment partners: the Governments of Finland and Switzerland. The organizers also appre-
ciate their substantive contributions as members of the Advisory Group and participants of
the conference.
Advisory Group members were most valuable for effectively guiding the organizers in
the conceptualization, organization and implementation of the conference. Advisory Group
members include:
zzProfessor Chen Zhaoying, Deputy Director-General, China National Centre for
Science and Technology Evaluation;
zzMr. Diego Dorado Hernandez, Director de Evaluacion de Sinergia, Departamento
Nacional de Planeación in Colombia;
zzMs. Riitta Oksanen, Senior Advisor, Development Evaluation, Office of the Under-
Secretary of State, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland;
zzDr. Rachid Benmokhtar Benabdellah, President de le Observatoire Nationale de
Developmment Humain in Morocco;
zzMs. Angela Bester, Director of Deloitte & Touche, Republic of South Africa;
zzMs. Ronette Engela, Deputy Director-General of Department of Performance
Monitoring and Evaluation, Republic of South Africa; and
zzMr. Hans Peter Wyss, Program Manager Focal Point, Management for Development
Results Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation SDC, Division Global Institutions.
ACkNOwLEDGEMENtS 3
The organizers acknowledge and thank the presence of Dr. Sean Phillips, Director General of
Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency of South Africa; Mr. Ben Mthembu,
Chairperson of the Public Service Commission of South Africa; Mr. Agostinho Zacarias, UN
Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in South Africa and other distin-
guished participants, for taking part in the conference.
In addition, the organizers appreciate their UNDP colleagues, including their Johannesburg
Regional Service Centre colleagues, UN in South Africa and evaluation professionals from
evaluation offices in the UN and multilateral systems for their participation in the conference
and logistical support, and the Evaluation Office staff that made the event possible: Azusa
Kubota, Charita Bondanza, Conception Cole, Roberto La Rovere, Sukai Prom-Jackson, Marina
Blinova, Ana Rosa Soares as well as the support by the Conference Intern Harshi Hettige. From
the Public Service Commission administration support team, the organizers thank Noqobo
Gcwaba, Ricardo Mahakanya, Barry Momberg and Mocheta Monama.
The reflections and the proceedings of the conference also depended on the work of the
Chairs and Rapporteurs, and we thank them for their contribution.
4 NAtIONAL EVALUAtION CAPACItIES: PROCEEDINGS FROM
THE 2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 12–14 SEPTEMbER 2011
foreworD
obJectiVes of the conference
The broader purpose of the conference was to provide a forum for open discussion on issues
confronting evaluation in countries, enabling participants to draw on the innovative experi-
ences of others. The conference was also intended to promote the understanding of inter-
national standards in evaluation and to advocate for evaluation as a means to manage for
development results, thereby improving public accountability and learning. To enhance the
understanding and appreciation of evaluation as a powerful tool of public accountability,
the conference’s objectives were to:
1. Share experiences from countries that have different levels of development of
national monitoring and evaluation systems (including those that may be consid-
ering creating one), or that have important experiences with other types of evalua-
tion efforts;
2. Identify lessons and constraints in implementing national monitoring and evaluation
systems; and
3. Identify supply and demand for technical assistance in strengthening institutional
capacities for national monitoring and evaluation systems under the umbrella of
South-South and triangular cooperation.
premise for this framework report
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Evaluation Office and the Office of
Public Service Commission of South Africa co-hosted the second International Conference
on National Evaluation Capacities (NEC). The Conference was a follow-up to the 2009
Conference on National Evaluation Capacities held in Casablanca, Morocco. The 2009
Conference brought together national partners from over 20 countries and regional/global
experts in evaluation, generating collective peer exchange and learning, which provided
opportunities for South-South partnerships and cooperation in evaluation.
Evaluating public policy performance is a fundamental step towards fostering
FOREwORD 5
accountability and good governance and improving the overall effectiveness of develop-
ment efforts. Efforts to build and sustain effective national evaluation systems face several
challenges, including institutional design, political dynamics, limited technical skills, poor
access to tools and resistance to change.
To guide the selection of topics and enhance the quality and value of the conference,
the UNDP Evaluation Office and the Office of Public Service Commission of South Africa
surveyed evaluation practitioners in the UN system and select countries that have public
policy evaluation systems. Participants of the 2009 NEC Conference chose the theme of the
2011 Conference, ‘Use of Evaluation in Decision-making for Public Policies and Programmes’.
The 2011 Conference identified the main elements that support the development of national
evaluation capacities: enhancing the quality and use of evaluations, developing technical
capacities and securing adequate funding to conduct evaluations.
Similar to the 2009 Conference, lessons and outcomes were summarized in the confer-
ence proceedings, which will further contribute to knowledge sharing and South-South
cooperation among countries that are strengthening their evaluation-related efforts.1
This report provides a conceptual framework for the conference theme in order to
introduce and support the discussions and experiences shared by papers submitted by partic-
ipant countries. To increase relevancy for policy makers, this report presents a set of select
papers by conference participants and provides country examples that support its analysis.
Mashwahle J. Diphofa Juha I. Uitto
Director General Deputy Director
Office of the Public Service Commission Evaluation Office
South Africa UNDP
1. Available at <http://www.undp.org/evaluation/workshop/nec/2011/index.html>.
