Mid-Term Review of the AGIR Programme - Sida
Mid-Term Review of the AGIR Programme - Sida
Mid-Term Review of the AGIR Programme - Sida
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4 R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S<br />
cutting issues and should establish clear shared indicators for evaluation as<br />
well as for <strong>the</strong> level <strong>of</strong> attainment <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> outcomes.<br />
<strong>AGIR</strong> Monitoring and Evaluation<br />
The <strong>AGIR</strong> programme and <strong>the</strong> implementation <strong>of</strong> a results-based management<br />
system <strong>of</strong> collection and analysis <strong>of</strong> performance information demands considerable<br />
capacity from <strong>the</strong> partner organisations. To make this set <strong>of</strong> approaches<br />
more effective for management and impact monitoring, <strong>the</strong> <strong>AGIR</strong><br />
programme should consider unbundling <strong>the</strong> management cycle – from planning<br />
to reporting/accountability – identify bottlenecks and <strong>the</strong> difficulties<br />
partners face at each stage <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> cycle and direct its capacity streng<strong>the</strong>ning<br />
support to <strong>the</strong>se gaps, taking into account <strong>the</strong> specificities <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> partner (organisation<br />
or network).<br />
The programme should pay particular attention to <strong>the</strong> information management<br />
systems involved in assessing performance and ascertaining results and<br />
impact. However, since it is unrealistic to expect all CSO partners to manage<br />
complex information systems, <strong>the</strong> <strong>AGIR</strong> programme could focus on setting<br />
methodologies and standards for information collection and analysis, which in<br />
an initial phase could be centrally managed by <strong>AGIR</strong> and eventually replicated<br />
in organisations at a smaller scale. This could have <strong>the</strong> instrumental value<br />
<strong>of</strong> assessing <strong>the</strong> impact <strong>of</strong> <strong>AGIR</strong> as a programme, while at <strong>the</strong> same time contributing<br />
to <strong>the</strong> streng<strong>the</strong>ning <strong>of</strong> <strong>AGIR</strong> partner monitoring and evaluation systems<br />
to become effective instruments for results-based management.<br />
The adoption <strong>of</strong> results-based management is a key outcome <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>AGIR</strong><br />
programme and part <strong>of</strong> its capacity development strategy, <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong> programme<br />
has to ei<strong>the</strong>r restrict <strong>the</strong> principle <strong>of</strong> respecting partners’ existing monitoring<br />
systems and put in place a more uniform system for <strong>the</strong> use by partner CSOs<br />
or drastically ramp up its capacity streng<strong>the</strong>ning processes concerned with<br />
M&E activities.<br />
The <strong>AGIR</strong> programme should fine tune reporting on impact in <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>matic<br />
areas, clarifying <strong>the</strong> results chain and revisiting <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>ory <strong>of</strong> change implicitly<br />
proposed to constantly check to what extent those specific achievements represent<br />
steps towards <strong>the</strong> intended change proposed by <strong>AGIR</strong>. This should inform<br />
incremental changes in scope and <strong>the</strong> nature <strong>of</strong> interventions that <strong>the</strong><br />
partners make in <strong>the</strong> implementation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir strategic plans, aligning <strong>the</strong>m<br />
with <strong>the</strong> programme objectives. On <strong>the</strong> basis <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> above, it is recommended<br />
that <strong>AGIR</strong> review <strong>the</strong> result matrix in light <strong>of</strong> new partner recruitment and<br />
systematise <strong>the</strong> annual planning matrix so as to clearly demonstrate how partner<br />
activities feed into outcomes (and <strong>the</strong>n adjust <strong>the</strong> result matrix accordingly).<br />
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