CoP-MfDR-Africa


The Malaysian Evaluation Society held its 4th Evaluation Conference during the period March 29- April 2 2010 in Kuala Lumpur. More than 150 delegates from 13 Asian countries, 2 African countries (Zimbabwe and Botswana) as well as several bilateral and multilateral organizations attended the conference. Its theme was “Evaluation and Managing for Development Results (MfDR): Approaches and Tools for Results Improvement”. I had the opportunity to represent the Modernization Department of Zimbabwe at this meeting.

My interest in this conference comes out of my quest for strategies for the economic development of Africa. This continent is well endowed with natural resources and human talent which give it the potential to provide good living standards for its people. Yet, it has remained underdeveloped and has grown increasingly dependent. MfDR points at some of the strategies Africa can use to move out of this quagmire.

The Conference was organized in a manner that allowed discussions and insights into the finer details of MfDR principles. It offered the participants an opportunity to learn about the Integrated Results Based Management (IRBM) and Monitoring and Evaluation frameworks, strategies and models that are being implemented in Malaysia and other countries. Representatives also experienced direct exposure to evaluation planning tools and techniques linked with Development Management and Results-Based Budgeting. Most importantly, it was a unique occasion to meet and discuss with officials from other countries their results management and evaluation strategies and challenges.

One area of focus that was of great interest to me is the Outcomes–Based Approach to Development Planning. It is a powerful tool to address issues of national and sector priorities in a country. MfDR focuses on demonstrating results achieved but our planning approaches have not caught up. Case studies from a country like Sri Lanka, which until recently has been in a prolonged civil war situation and emerged as a middle income country, were presented at this meeting. They are indeed of interest to African countries which have had similar conflicts but are regressing.

What I got out of attending this conference is the fact that trends in the area of MfDR are moving fast and AfCoP members need to continuously look for best practices to get Africa onto the path of development.

Solomon Mhlanga, AfCoP Core Management Team members, is the Principal Director of the Modernisation Department, Office of the President and Cabinet, in Zimbabwe.

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Solomon Mhlanga Comment by Solomon Mhlanga on May 8, 2010 at 7:40am
Hello Mr Sithole,
Sorry my connectivity went down so I could not respond to you on May 5.

Thank you for your interest in Outcomes-Based Approach to Development Planning. As you are aware, when we are Managing for Development Results, Outcomes are what every manager will be looking for because they are directly linked to the problems which are supposed to be solved. In simpler terms, what it means is that if we have an Outcome- Based Approach to Development Planning, our plans will be more focused on the problems at hand thereby increasing our chances of resolving the needs and problems of the beneficiaries in a shorter period of time.

The pace of development throughout Africa is taking much longer for the citizens of Africa who are increasingly getting impatient. The need for governments to have a second look at planning strategies becomes paramount. More often than not, our development plans lack integration across sectors and organisations leading to lack of integrated implementation leading to failure to attain results. The Outcomes based approach is therefore assisting in having our planning focused on development outcomes.

On the issue of getting uploads of the presentations that were made at this conference, I have directed that request to the Conference organisers and we look forward to their response.

Regards

Solomon Mhlanga
Sithole Humbe Comment by Sithole Humbe on May 5, 2010 at 2:51am
Hie big brother
Thanks for this feedback. However, can you shed more information on Outcome-Based Approach to Development Planning so that we can correct the current mishap. Can uploads of the M&E presentations done at the Workshop be done for our access.

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