Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation: A Meta- Analysis of Anti-Poverty Interventions in Northern Ghana By Obure, Jerim Otieno (Student No. 5762936) A Thesis submitted to the International School of Humanities and Social Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science (International Development Studies) of The University of Amsterdam University of Amsterdam August, 2008 i DECLARATION This Thesis is my original work and has not been presented for examination in any study programme of any institution or University. No part of this Thesis may be reproduced without permission of the author and/ or that of The University of Amsterdam. __________________________ ________________________________ OBURE JERIM OTIENO DATE This Thesis has been submitted for examination with my approval as the University Supervisor. _________________________ ___________________________ PROF. TON DIETZ Date (First Supervisor) _________________________ ____________________________ DR. FRED ZAAL Date (Second Supervisor) ii DEDICATION Dedicated to my brother, Frankline Obure and my fianceé Patricia Ong’wen, in recognition of their special perseverance, encouragements and support during my times away from home as I pursued this degree. My special respect and love to both of you!! “Courage and Perseverance have a magical talisman before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into the air” John Quincy Adams (1767 – 1848) iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I express my gratitude to the Almighty God for His providences that have made me get to this accomplishment. The programme has been demanding with enormous resource requirements, but by God’s unfailing blessings I have made it through. Great is Thy faithfulness! I am profoundly grateful to Prof. Ton Dietz and Dr. Fred Zaal for giving me the chance to be part of the Evaluation project that became the basis of this Thesis, and for their subsequent diligent supervision. Similar gratitude extends to the Amsterdam Metropolitan and International Development Studies Research Institute (AMIDst) for all the support accorded during this study. Much thanks too to Prof. David Miller and Dr. Francis Obeng’ of The University for Development Studies, Tamale for effective guidance during the field data collection stages. My profound appreciation also goes to the Amsterdam Merit Scholarship Committee who financed my studies during this programme. I acknowledge Marjan Kuiper, Sarah Kobus and the immediate former dean of ISHSS, Prof. Rob Hagendijk, on behalf of the AMS team. Alongside the mentioned, I acknowledge some really special people at ISHSS and in the IDS programme; Edwin VanderVlist, Niels Beerepoot, Nicky Pouw, Sarah Coulthard and Mario Novelli. You bring much warmth, intellectual resource and expert management to the programme. I sincerely thank the various programme officers of the three Northern Ghana regions who assisted me logistically and otherwise in effectively carrying out this field research. Without their invaluable contributions, this work would not have been a success. Particularly, I acknowledge the support of Marlex (Exec. Secretary, ACDEP, Tamale), Emmanuel Morna (M & E Co- ordinator, ACDEP, Tamale), Zechariah Naandam (M & E officer, Presbyterian Agricultural Station, Tamale), Jonas Dzodzodzi (M & E Coordinator, EPDRA, Yendi), Mohammed Bukari (M & E officer, Presbyterian Agricultural Station, Garu) and John Abugre (Manager, Presbyterian Primary Health Centers, Bolgatanga). I acknowledge diverse assistance from all the other officers who contributed in their various capacities, though their names have not been listed above. More profoundly I thank Dan Kolbila, a.k.a Director, (Manager, Presbyterian Agricultural Station, Tamale), his wife Tina, Irene and the rest of that family for their warmth and hospitality during my stay in Tamale. I had a memorable time with you all! My gratitude also go to Heramn Lauwerysen, Senior Policy Advisor (Cordaid Headquarters, The Netherlands) and Peter De iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (CONTINUED) Lange, Programme Officer for Ghana- Fair Economic Development Department (ICCO Alliance Headquarters, The Netherlands) for information provided on their funding programmes in Ghana. I also thank my family for their great support. The endurance that goes with my absence from home has been a great sacrifice from every one. I deeply thank my dad, Gordon and my mum, Rhoda. My heart-felt gratitude to my brothers Geofrey, Frankline, Collins, and Jeconia and my two lovely sisters Eliza and Rose. Thinking about you all has kept me focused till now! I do appreciate the love of my ‘hard-core’ friends; B. Mulemi, H. Kilonzo, J. Nyanyiega, Kweku, P. Ojur, P. Ong’wen, D. Zena, my cousin P. Ochieng’ and W. Okumu. Your true and undying friendship has been a dependable inspiration to me till this time. I also thank my ISHSS friends like Anita, Apostolos, Bastian, Herman, Manel, Rahel, Rose and Sophie among others. That was an interesting team! In a very special way I wish to appreciate my friends Gijs van Driem and Tonnike Esman, who were ever available and were really understanding during my times of need. You became my immediate contacts and verily stood in place of my family during my stay in the Netherlands. Thanks for the diverse support you have accorded me, not only during this study, but for the entire time that I have known you. You are wonderful people! Finally, I do acknowledge my own efforts towards this course. This achievement needed great endurance, determination, discipline and focus. It was an intense programme. Despite all the challenges and deterrents, I did not stop till the ship was home! Jerim Obure v ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate how participatory methodologies have been integrated into Monitoring and Evaluation (M & E) of anti-poverty interventions. The key aims were; First, to understand the structural designs of the studied M & E systems/ models, and secondly, to understand how the systems engaged the participation of various stakeholders, as a relatively new genre of Evaluation Practice , distinct from the previous models that have been criticized for being exclusive and expert- driven. The adoption of participatory principles in Evaluation has been a concern among many practitioners and theorists alike. Philosophies of public participation emerged strongly in the late 1980s and have since become a preferred approach among many development actors. Presently, Evaluation Practice is seriously engaged in developing appropriate participatory models. It has been argued that developing appropriate (participatory) M & E models would make development initiatives more stakeholder owned and more effective, especially in poverty alleviation domains. Data collection in this study was done from February to April, 2008 in Northern Ghana, comprising of the three regions of North, Upper West and Upper East. The study sampled 15 interventions in total from Agriculture, Health and Microfinance sectors. The study design was a Rapid Appraisal Design and involved administered surveys, focus group discussions and documentary analysis. Findings show that almost all the interventions adopted Results Based Management system, though in a manner that blended both Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (PME) and Logical Frameworks (Log Frame), the second being a key component of conventional Results Based Management. Secondly, contrary to arguments that significant inclusion of stakeholders potentially compromise Evaluation standards, results show that it is possible to balance both professionalism and stakeholder participation effectively. This however depends on the effectiveness of capacity building. Third, findings show that participation from beneficiaries was more from an ‘inclusion perspective’ but little from the ‘decision making’ perspective. This study concludes that integration of participatory principles into M & E practice has made significant advancements. However power relations and data management in the M & E processes still remain some of the salient issues that need to be addressed to enhance empowered stakeholder participation and evaluative competence in participatory Monitoring and Evaluation. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration…………………………………………………………………………………………………...ii Dedication………………………………………………………………………………………… iii Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………………iv Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………… vi Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………………… viii List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………………… ix List of Figures………………………………………………………………………………………ix List of Acronyms…………………………………………………………………………………… x Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 General Background .............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Problem Statement ................................................................................................................ 2 1.3 Rationale ................................................................................................................................ 3 Chapter 2: Literature Review ...................................................................................................... 4 2.1.1 General Background ........................................................................................................... 4 2.1.2 Theoretical Framework .....................................................................................................