Monitoring and Evaluation: New Developments and Challenges – conference report

As development organisations, we are all finding ourselves placing a greater emphasis on measuring for results, on looking for evidence of impact, on justifying our effectiveness and on responding to a growing demand for accountability. Development organisations are continually experimenting with innovative approaches to monitoring and evaluation (M&E).

In response to this perennial challenge to get the measurements right, INTRAC (UK), PSO (the Netherlands) and PRIA (India) brought together over 170 participants from 41 countries in Soesterberg, the Netherlands to share their experiences and approaches through case studies and workshops, exchanging ideas and reviewing new initiatives that are being developed. The conference’s overall aim was to contribute to improving understanding and action on M&E within international development. There was a particular emphasis on the capacity of civil society organisations to use M&E for international learning and management purposes, whilst at the same time striving to meet the increasingly complex demands of multiple stakeholders.