lia, Canada, Chile, and Mexico. There is also some discussion of other countries that utilize M&E information heavily, such as Colombia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Each of these countries has its own, somewhat unique M&E system, and this reflects different historical factors, institutional contexts, key champions of M&E, and the manner in which the M&E system was developed. These country cases yield many insights into success factors that have determined the extent of utilization, as well as into the obstacles facing high levels of utilization. There is a range of evidence concerning the extent of utilization of M&E in these countries. A common feature is that the M&E system has been regarded as highly cost-effective in each country. Another dimension of a fully “successful” M&E system is its sustainability—its ability to survive changes in government and to endure as a continuing feature of a government’s approach to public sector management. Most of the countries that have built an M&E system whose outputs are highly utilized have spent a number of years in progressively improving the system. It takes time to create or strengthen data systems; to train or recruit qualified staff; to plan, manage, and conduct evaluations; and to train officials to use M&E information in their day-to-day work. Australia and Chile were able to create well-functioning M&E systems within four or five years, but Colombia has taken more than a decade. An M&E system that achieves high levels of utilization but that proves not to be sustainable cannot be regarded as fully successful. Nevertheless, such systems provide valuable lessons for other countries. A good example here is Australia (see Chapter 14). Its M&E system lasted for a decade (1987 to 1997) and was generally considered to be one of the most successful in the world at that time, achieving a high level of utilization of the M&E information that the system produced. But a new government elected in 1996 was hostile to the civil service and it wanted to cut what it regarded as “non-core” government activities; it decided to significantly reduce the central role and functions of the powerful finance ministry that managed not just the M&E system but the entire budget process. This led to the dismantling of the M&E system; that said, a later government elected in 2007 is taking a number of steps to reinvigorate monitoring and evaluation. Some outside observers have expressed surprise that a successful M&E system might be abolished, arguing that once evidence-based decision making and management have been established within a government, they will have demonstrated their value and will thus survive indefinitely. However, while it takes time and considerable effort to build an M&E system, that success can be undermined quickly. This has occurred when a new government does not place the same premium on having M&E information available to Introduction
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