Learning purposefully in capacity development

ME of CD final version--v2.pdf 420.8 KB

Many capacity development (CD) programs and processes aim at long-term sustainable change, which depends on seeing many smaller changes in at times almost invisible fields (rules, incentives, behaviours, power, coordination etc.). Yet, most evaluation processes of CD tend to focus on short-term outputs focused on clearly visible changes. This opinion paper will offer some ideas on how to deal with this paradox, by examining how monitoring and evaluation (M&E) does, or could, make a difference to CD. It explores whether there is something different and unique about M&E of CD that isn’t addressed by predominant methods and ways of thinking about M&E, and which might be better addressed by experimenting with learning-based approaches to M&E of CD.

Author(s): Alfredo Ortiz and Peter Taylor