At the SAMEA conference this year, in South Africa, Dugan Fraser made a very interesting presentation entitled 'How to avoid Feeding Enemy M&E'. He presented how M&E can cause harm or beenfit a project, if used well.
From his presentation:
How Enemy-M&E does harm?
Enemy-M:
- data gaming
- goal displacement
- data corruption
Enemy-E:
- wrong answers leading to incorrect decision-making
- dissingand reputational damage
- opportunity costs
What feeds Enemy-M&E?
- Reductionist managerialism
- Technology that leads instead of supports
- Lack of expertise
- Methodological chauvinism
How to feed Friend-M&E?
- Develop and use theories of change for HOW M&E will have its intended results
- Collaborative practice with content specialists
- Humility: know limitations
- Iterations and revisions
Dugan Fraser ended his presentation by asking 'How do you feed YOUR Friend-M&E?' Send your comments about his presentation and your experience with Enemy and Friend-M&E.
Tags:
Monitoring
Evaluation
SAMEA
M&E
Forums:
