Monitoring and Evaluation in a Digital Environment

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) has been crucial for social sector projects where it is implemented with an intent to track project performance in achieving the intended outcomes. Operationally, the M&E process is often treated as part of support activities to the overall project delivery. Under this traditional approach, most of the M&E activities are around indicator selection to enable reporting per donor preferences.

However, in recent times, the interest in M&E has expanded beyond the donors, as multiple stakeholders (like the beneficiaries, communities, government bodies) are keen to track the M&E indicators that can not only measure the progress of these projects but also assess the impact on both the beneficiary level and the overall social sector.

This deepened focus on M&E has engendered a discussion around the current M&E practices and systems, and the need for transformation in this space. Additionally, with the advent of the digital economy and open data architecture, technology has a crucial role in shaping the M&E landscape. A potential future state of this transformation is a centralized approach to M&E that can effectively leverage a digital ecosystem.

Open the full whitepaper for a full discussion of the key factors driving, as well as the barriers limiting this transformation.

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