Development Management and Monitoring and Evaluation System - The Case of West Africa

Abstract

This article introduces and analyzes the most relevant existing literature that explores Development Performance Management and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system for improved Results-Based Management (RBM), Knowledge and Information (KI) sharing and Evidenced-Based Decision Making (EBDM) to advance development objectives in West Africa. As we argue here, Development theory as a purely market drive strategy for improved welfare of people is not limited to Economics approaches, instead, it includes Development Management with structured actions and coordination among organizations and institutions responsible for development policies and programs design and implementation.

Development, as defined by Sen (1999), is an expansion of real freedoms that people enjoy for greater livelihood opportunities and improved welfare.  As such, there is need to build effective frameworks that guide and coordinate development actions and programs. This article explores development policy and programs in West Africa at levels that show the effective need of coordination: local, national and regional.  The article used a systematic review approach to show how development theories and programs outspread from the early cold-war to the recent period and shaped the linkages between development performance, the knowledge, learning, and evidence- based decision-making process in managing development activity.

In its last section, the article presents the concept of monitoring and evaluation system and its role in development management and performance measurement. It analyzes the basic elements of M&E in the development approach and how it is viewed by academics and practitioners. This helps to understand the context in which M&E is linked to institutions, organizations responsible for development actions and performance management. Finally, the article grounded the discussion on how to build effective M&E systems for improved evidence-based decision making and measured risks-taking in development management.