"A Common M&E Framework for CAADP" presentation by Sam Benin at the NEPAD, IFPRI, AGRA and World Bank Meeting to Align Efforts on Agricultural Policy and Knowledge Systems, Dakar, Senegal, January 6-7, 2009.

1. A Common M&E Framework for CAADP
by
ReSAKSS
in collaboration with the AU and NEPAD
NEPAD, IFPRI, AGRA, and World Bank Meeting on
Aligning Efforts on Agricultural Policy and Knowledge Systems in Support of CAADP
January 6-7, 2009
Dakar, Senegal
Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System – Africa Wide

2. The Challenge
• At 2nd CAADP Partnership Platform (PP) meeting,
September 27-28, 2007, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
– Need common M&E Framework for implementation at the
national, regional and continental levels
– Identify benchmarks/indicators capable of measuring
progress towards achieving CAADP goals and targets at
all levels
– Crosscutting issues such as gender, sustainability,
HIV/AIDS and other critical factors should be included
– Common benchmarks, indicators, reporting formats, and
timelines established by next PP Meeting
– The AU and NEPAD should work with ReSAKSS to
develop the framework
Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System – Africa Wide Page 2

3. Achievements to date
• CAADP M&E working group established, beginning with a
workshop at the AU (Addis Ababa, Dec 3-4, 2007)
• M&E framework developed and presented at CAADP PP
meeting in Seychelles, March 2008
(www.resakss.org/publications/DiscussionP6.pdf)
• Based on recommended indicators, developing formats
(mostly one-page surveys) for data collection:
– Agricultural policies, strategies and institutions
– CAADP implementation process
– Total and agricultural expenditures
– Agricultural performance indicators
– Macro- and socio-economic performance indicators
Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System – Africa Wide Page 3

4. Rationale for common M&E framework
• Assess impact more broadly: whether and how
investments and policies associated with CAADP are
having desired growth and poverty-reduction impacts
more than sum of pillars: individual pillar M&E frameworks focus on
specific targets without considering how they interact with those of other
pillars (e.g. through price effects, complementarity of investments) to
affect overall CAADP goals and objectives
• Tell a compelling story about progress and performance
with CAADP implementation for: progress review at
country level; peer review at regional level; and mutual
review at continent wide level
selected indicators should be standardized and consistent across
different countries and regions (and measurable at all the three levels)
for comparisons and cross-country learning
Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System – Africa Wide Page 4

5. What to monitor and evaluate?
some guiding principles
• Selected indicators must be considered within at least two
broad dimensions of impact assessment:
– Outcome of interest
– Attribution
• In addition to outcome variables of interest, need to monitor
other factors likely to influence realization of the outcomes
– Sound theoretical framework of causality (inputs outputs outcomes)
is needed
• Remain simple enough to be practical
– Over-engineering an M&E system will likely not only be a wasted effort
but can eventually undermine the M&E system
– Simply believing that an M&E system has inherent value is a typical
mistake. The information in the system is only valuable if it is used
– An M&E system is as good as the data underlying it
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6. Types of indicators to be monitored
• Input indicators. What is the overall level of effort invested?
– Processes, policies, strategies, institutions, expenditures, etc.
• Output indicators. What is the level of provision, utilization and
coverage of investment programs?
– Access to infrastructure/services, adoption of technologies, etc.
• Outcome indicators. What is the effect on assets and activities that
affect goals?
– Yields, production, trade, prices/wages, etc.
• Impact indicators. What was the ultimate impact on higher-level
goals?
– Growth, income, poverty, food security, hunger, etc.
• Conditioning indicators. How confident are we that any observed
effect is due to the intervention?
– Resources, rainfall, prices/wages, employment, policies, etc.
Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System – Africa Wide Page 6

7. Level of M&E analyses
• Trend and situation analyses to monitor annually at
country, regional and continental levels (no attribution)
– Progress towards achieving main CCADP targets:
• 10 percent government agricultural expenditure
• 6 percent agricultural growth
• Halving poverty
– Progress in other agricultural and macro- and socio-
economic performance indicators
• Impact analysis using case study approach (e.g. for
select countries and/or programs)
(www.resakss.org/publications/DiscussionP7.pdf)
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8. Key questions for impact analysis
• How effective have different types of policies and investments been in
the achievements realized so far?
• What factors have shaped the level of impact that has been achieved?
• What are the trade-offs and complementarities, if any, among different
types of policies and investments?
• What are the projected impacts if policies and investments proceed as
currently planned?
• Are these projected impacts compatible with the growth and poverty-
and hunger-reduction goals?
• Could greater or better distributed outcomes and impacts be obtained
by reconfiguring the policies and investment portfolio?
• What are the different policies and types of investments that can lead
to greater and more sustainable growth as well as greater and better
distributed outcomes and impacts?
Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System – Africa Wide Page 8

9. Some operational challenges
• Getting hold of the data
– Requires sufficient detail on projects and services by all sources
across all four pillars of the CAADP
• Promotion and endorsement of standardized and
harmonized set of core indicators across countries
– Countries have varying degrees of availability, quality, quantity,
frequency and measurement of data, as well as analytical
capacities
– Requires the development of a standardized protocol for data
collection, measurement and reporting, which will depend on
how countries follow through in adhering to the demands for
improve data systems and reporting
• How to maintain the M&E System as useful, practical
and timely in the long run
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10. Roles and responsibilities for
operationalization of the M&E system
• Data collection at country level must be with the country itself
(i.e. CAADP Focal Point will be key). The ReSAKSS nodes
will help facilitate it
• Given the challenges with data requirements and availability,
it makes sense for a phased-in approach.
– Short term (first year): ReSAKSS nodes already tapping into
network of data providers at the country level (select countries only)
– Medium term (second to third year): build on above when sufficient
resources are made available to include other countries
– Long term (post second and third years): commitment and process
put in place by RECs and countries to internalize it within their own
systems. This must be tied with serious efforts to improve national
data and M&E systems in general
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11. Dissemination and reporting
• ReSAKSS annual trends and situation analysis of the
agricultural sector. Full report and briefs to be completed by
end of September of each year―timely for CAADP PP
meeting
• ReSAKSS website (www.resakss.org) to view and download
trends, data, charts, supporting research publications, etc.
• Various other media and presentations to review information
and results of analyses:
– CAADP PP (Africa wide)
– CAADP advisory councils at REC level
– ReSAKSS steering committee meetings (REC level)
– Other regional and country level policy dialogue gatherings
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12. Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System – Africa Wide Page 12

13. Next steps
• Finalize data collection formats/surveys
– linked with finalizing set of core indicators and depth of
analyses to be undertaken
• Resources to be allocated for collection of the data
• Establish contacts (and contracts) with key institutions (or
individuals within those institutions) to begin collection of
the data
• Set up data entry format and database to be linked to the
website
• Use data in trends and impact analyses
Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System – Africa Wide Page 13

14. Thank You
Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System – Africa Wide

15. Indicator level
Logical conditioning factors
framework of Hunger
Goals
CAADP Household assets and
Poverty Goals
endowments
Natural disasters
Conflict
Intermed. Goals
Income Non-agricultural production
Employment
Intermed
Rural wages
Prices Inflation
Goals
Outcomes
Resources
Sus. Land Ag Prod & Food Ag Trade Rainfall, natural disasters
Mg’t Supply Outcomes
Trade policies
Exchange rate
Prices
Outputs
Physical Capital in: Human Capital Initial conditions of capital
Irrigation systems Social services (education,
Rural roads health, social security)
Information,
Marketing
Knowledge, and Outputs
Food reserves Technologies
1 2 3 4 Inputs
Political economy
Land Mg’t & Infras & Governance
Food Sec & Ag Res &
Water Control Trade-Rel Institutions
Safety Nets Tech Dev’t
Sys. Mk’t Access Inputs
Total government revenue
Private-sector
investments/FDI
Capacity Strengthening ODA (and harmonization)
Investments in: