Original Research

Using systems thinking to conceptually link the monitoring and evaluation function within development interventions and public policy

Kambidima Wotela
The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa | Vol 13, No 1 | a398 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/td.v13i1.398 | © 2017 Kambidima Wotela | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 01 December 2016 | Published: 30 October 2017

About the author(s)

Kambidima Wotela, Wits Graduate School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

Abstract

The monitoring and evaluation function provides for accountability and to some extent transparency and, therefore, governance. However, this function can only be effective if it is conceptually linked within development interventions and public policy. There is an explicit discussion of the middle-third tier (how to monitor and evaluate) as well as the bottom-third tier (data collection and storage, data processing and analysis, reporting results and findings, integrating results and findings into planning and implementation as well as overall decision making). Unfortunately, the top-third tier that links monitoring and evaluation within development interventions (the what) and public policy (the how) is implicit, if present. The discussions often point out that monitoring and evaluation is a management and decision-making tool but they omit or fail to link it to development interventions and public policy, leadership and governance. In this paper, we interrogate literature from a systems thinking perspective to derive a model that conceptually links the monitoring and evaluation function within development interventions and public policy. In doing so, we point out and link the five components (cultural, political, economic, social and environmental) and two processes (imminent and immanent) of development. Similarly, we point out and link the five components (leadership, governance, political-economy, institutional arrangements and organisation arrangements) and three processes (research, decision-making and the public policy cycle) of public policy. It is in the latter that we point out, situate and link the monitoring and evaluation function. We envisage that the proposed model may be useful in reconfiguring institutional and organisational arrangements to foster effective monitoring and evaluation of development interventions.


Keywords

systems thinking; development; development interventions; public policy; public policy cycle; diagnostics; formulation; implementation; management; monitoring and evaluation

Metrics

Total abstract views: 6963
Total article views: 7373


Crossref Citations

No related citations found.