The Ministry of Public Service and stake holders held a meeting at Hotel Africana on 12th July 2011 to review and consolidate the Monitoring and Evaluation framework. The one day work shop was presided over and officially opened by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Service Mr. Jimmy Lwamafa
In his opening remarks, the Permanent Secretary said that the Ministry of Public Service and stake holders have been implementing the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP) since 1991 with the aim of improving the performance of Public Service Institutions and facilitating the delivery of quality of services to people.“The objective is to ensure that the public service as the main implementing arm of the government is well managed, motivated, and has the required capacity to perform efficiently and effectively.”

The Public Service Reform Programme (PRSP) has been and continues to be implemented with in the overall mandate of the Ministry of Public Service which is to initiate, develop and maintain human resource policies, public management systems and national development as a whole. The Monitoring and Evaluation framework is, therefore, initially focused on the Public Service Reform Programme (PRSP) which has been the Ministry’s Strategic Planning and Implementation framework for the key result areas. It will gradually be expanded to include all activities of the ministry.The workshop provided an over view of the Monitoring and Evaluation frame work for the Ministry of Public Service at various levels which include;
• The purpose of the monitoring and evaluation frame work;
• Specific objectives of the Monitoring and Evaluation framework;
• Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP) objectives and key result areas;
• Monitoring and evaluation of the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP);
• Results monitoring and evaluation matrix for Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP) and UPSPEP;
• Roles and responsibility centers for implementing the Monitoring and Evaluation frame work;
• Assumptions and conclusions.

1). The purpose of the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework

As part of strengthening performance management in Government institutions today, the need to demonstrate results is placing new demands on both monitoring and evaluation which focus on assessing inputs, processes, activities, outputs, out comes and impacts. Without Monitoring and Evaluation, it would be impossible to judge if implementation is going in the right direction, or whether progress and success can be claimed and how future efforts could be improved.The overall purpose of this Monitoring and Evaluation Framework therefore is to provide a basis for measuring and assessing the performance of the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP) at all levels in order to effectively manage its out comes and impact on public sector performance and service delivery. Monitoring and Evaluation provides a better means of learning from past experience and is a critical input in planning and resource allocation.

2). Specific objectives of the Monitoring and Evaluation frame work.

The specific objectives of this result based Monitoring and Evaluation frame work are to:
• Promote Accountability to stake holders on the contribution of the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP) and the UPSPEP to Public Sector Performance and ultimately improved service delivery.
• Facilitate Evidence-based decision making and reporting on achievements and performance;
• Enhance Cross-Organizational and Development Learning;
• Support Substantive Accountability and value for money;
• Aid Information Education Communication (IEC) on achievements of the PSRP for buy-in of stake holders.
The above will contribute to the objectives of the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP) and UPSPEP which include: enhanced performance and accountability; strengthened human resource capacity; efficient and affordable organization of the public service; enabling and empowering work environment; improved policy and regulatory environment; and enhanced leadership and management capacity in the public service which are all crucial in facilitating the delivery of quality services.

3). PSRP objectives and key result areas.

The Monitoring and Evaluation framework is based on the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP) phase 3 (2005/06-2009/10) which focused on six strategic objectives:
• Enhanced Performance and Accountability of Public Service Organizations
• Adequate numbers of Skilled and Able Personnel Attracted and Retained in Public Service Organizations.
• Efficient and Affordable Organization of the Public Service.
• A more Enabling and Empowering Work Environment.
• Motivated and Adequately Remunerated Personnel in Public Service Organizations.
• Effective Leadership and Change Management.

4). Monitoring and Evaluation of the Public Service Reform Programme.

Monitoring and evaluation of the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP) is done at various levels as follows:
• Activity level;
• Quarterly level
• Annual reporting
• Joint annual reviews of the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP)
• Independent assessment of the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP) by an external consult.
• Review of implementation of specific reform interventions.
• National Service Delivery Surveys.
• Staff surveys.
• Evaluation/ Impact assessment of Public Service Reform Programme.
• Results monitoring and evaluation matrix.

5). Results Monitoring and Evaluation Matrix for Public Service Reform Programme PSRP and UPSPEP.

Under this, a table of matrix was presented which represents the key results under the PSRP and UPSPEP at two levels.
a). Out come level- this is the first section of the matrix which highlights the strategic level outcomes and measurable indicators.
b). Output level- this is the second section of the matrix which high lights the key outputs and out put indicators under the various out comes.
At both levels, the base line status has been compiled and the targets for the next three years indicated. The matrix will be reviewed annually, basing on the previous years’ performance and lessons learned during implementation of the frame work.

6). Roles and responsibility centers for implementing the Monitoring and Evaluation

The Ministry of Public Service (MoPS) provides technical leadership and coordination of the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP) initiatives in close partnerships with the public service commission and the office of the President/cabinet secretariat. While the Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDA’s) and Local Governments (LG’s) are the key implementers of the interventions. The top management of Ministries, Departments and Agencies are expected to take the principle role in the implementation and monitoring of the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP) strategies and initiatives in their respective institutions.

The Monitoring and Evaluation frame work is, therefore, focused on the status of Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP) Implementation and its out comes in the MDA’s and LG’s. The latter is the first section of the results matrix, followed by the out puts matrix. The JAF/JBSF actions and PSRP undertakings annexed to this document reflect detailed priority actions which are monitored at activity level and feed into the overall results matrix. The roles and responsibilities for implementing the Monitoring and Evaluation frame work are presented below:

a) Ministry of Public Service

• Planning and budgeting for the reform interventions with the strategic frame work of the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP) and other upcoming priority interventions such as the JBSF commitments;
• High light the key result areas of the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP) at output and outcome levels;
• Identify the strategic partnerships required to achieve out puts and out comes;
• Provide Technical support and coordinate the implementation of reform activities in MDAs and LGs. And ensure that planned activities and out puts meet targets;
• Popularize the Monitoring and Evaluation framework and constantly update it in collaboration with stake holders.
• Collect and compile performance data on outputs and outcomes of PSRP implementation.
• Analyze the data/information on results of the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP) implementation and provide feedback to stake holders.
• Progress reporting to Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), National Planning Authority (NPA), and stake holders on the key result areas of the PSRP.
• Conduct or coordinate the execution periodical surveys and impact studies on key reforms and disseminate findings to stake holders for necessary action.
• Enhance technical capacity of Ministries, Department and Agencies and Local Governments in Monitoring and Evaluation and in development of institutional Monitoring and Evaluation systems.

b) Ministries, Departments, Agencies and local Governments.

• Develop or strengthen institutional Monitoring and Evaluation systems, indicating the key results at output and outcome levels.
• Study the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP) results frame work and appreciate the key results towards which they contribute.
• Incorporate the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP) indicators in the institutional Monitoring and Evaluation systems.
• Track implementation of activities, outputs, outcomes and indicators including those under the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP).
• Generate data on performance to support evidence-based reporting as required including the Annual Performance Reports and Policy Statements.
• Submit performance data/information on the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP) to the ministry of public service as reflected in the Monitoring and Evaluation matrix.

7) Assumptions and Conclusions

The development of this Monitoring and Evaluation framework took into account the fact that Monitoring and Evaluation in the public sector should be simple, but effective, and should be implemented in such a way that is understood by everybody.
The data against the indicators should be easy to generate so that it can be produced in a consistent way to allow aggregation and benchmarking, and be used for decision-making and accountability. The ministry of public service will, in due course, organize stake holders’ consultative sessions to popularize the framework, obtain further input and clarify the respective roles of all the key players in implementation of the frame work. This will improve the timely availability of data to populate the framework.
The framework should therefore be viewed as a living document which is subject to continuous review and refinement.
Efforts will be made to develop and/ or refine the data collection tools and consolidate the data sources. Ultimately these will be institutionalized as part of strengthening the Monitoring and Evaluation function in the ministry.
In his concluding remarks, the Permanent Secretary pointed out that the overall framework is based on the several assumptions which include the following;
• Collaboration of key stake holders reflected in the responsibility centers.
• Continuous review and improvement of the framework including constant updating of data against the indicators.
• Availability of adequate resources to implement the various reform interventions to achieve the set targets.
• Adequate staff capacity, resources and equipment to efficiently and effectively execute the Monitoring and Evaluation functions.
As he concluded, the Permanent Secretary noted that the Ministry wished to acknowledge the contribution of stake holders including the development partners in the development and operationalization of the framework and in strengthening monitoring and evaluation of the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP) as a whole.