IPEN

Dear Colleague,

Governments in a number of developing countries are devoting considerable efforts to strengthening their monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems and capacities. They are doing this to improve their performance -- by ensuring that policy making, budget decision making, management, and accountability are evidence-based.

The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) has published a book that distills its considerable experience in this topic. This book -- How to Build M&E Systems to Support Better Government -- draws on IEG's program of research and technical assistance in this area, focusing on the experience of governments in a wide range of countries and public sector environments.

The book is recommended for government officials, donor staff and others who are working to help countries build their capacities to systematically measure their performance, and to use this information to achieve results on the ground.

Some highlights of this book are:
°   profiles of countries that have built well-functioning government M&E systems, such as Chile, Colombia, and Australia
°   a discussion of the special case of Africa, which has many severe capacity constraints
°   checklists of ways to strengthen a government M&E system and to strengthen government demand for M&E, using a mixture of "carrots, sticks, and sermons"
°   the importance of conducting a country diagnosis and preparing an action plan
°   commonly asked difficult questions -- and their answers -- such as:
°°   How much should a government spend on evaluations?
°°   How many performance indicators should be collected?
°°   Should evaluations always be conducted externally?
°°   How to ensure that M&E findings will be used in the budget process?

To download a copy of the book go to:
http://www.worldbank.org/ieg/ecd/better_government.html

To request a free hard copy of the book, please go to:
http://www.worldbank.org/ieg/ecd/order_better_government.html

Additional copies can be purchased from:
http://publications.worldbank.org/ecommerce/catalog/product?item_id=6872665

To see a video of the formal launch of this book at the World Bank, go to:
http://info.worldbank.org/etools/BSPAN/PresentationView.asp?PID=2147&EID=968

Sincerely,
Vinod Thomas
Director-General, Evaluation
Independent Evaluation Group

Please send feedback to:
http://www.worldbank.org/ieg/contact.html