Strengthening Capacity for Monitoring and Evaluation of Agricultural Training and Research in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa - Final Report

Abstract

The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) received a grant of CAD 55900 to help design strategies for both short and long capacity strengthening courses and build capacity of universities to track agricultural research and training programs. The small grant was designed as a planning grant support an initial regional planning workshop to scope and design a regional strategy for short and long training in evaluation as well as other capacity strengthening approaches for RUFORUM member universities on both monitoring and evaluation for agricultural research and training. The grant has enabled RUFORUM to collate university specific and regional M&E capacity, capacity needs and demand for conducting M&E as well as for teaching and doing research in M&E and in designing specific strategies for M&E capacity strengthening at the Secretariat and in the member Universities. RUFORUM has also used the grant to design an M&E capacity building strategy as well as curriculum for MSc and short courses in M&E. Through the project RUFORUM has solidified the central role of learning and M&E in agricultural capacity building and research in Africa as lead by universities. Although the first workshop (20th to 22nd July, 2011) recommended not developing a full MSc course, subsequent work, engagement with universities and studies led to the need to organize a second workshop which developed full MSc curriculum in M&E together with short course modules. The workshop was held in June 2012. The project has revealed that inadequacies exist in the mechanisms, tools and competencies for gathering, managing and disseminating reliable data, information and knowledge for improved regional agricultural knowledge management, learning systems and M&E expertise. Specific strategies have been designed for improving M&E Capacities Structures and Systems of the RUFORUM Secretariat and the Grantees as aligned to effectively managing, monitoring and evaluating small grants, regional post- graduate programs; and effectively use the results of M&E to build evidence based knowledge for dissemination and advocacy. The project has also developed strategies for having M&E established in the universities, and strengthening capacity to do M&E in the universities and the broader agricultural sector. The main project outputs include clearer understanding and documentation of various aspects and levels of individual and institutional (university) M&E capacities; increased awareness on the M&E capacity gaps, demands and strategies for capacity building; a broad buy-in by university administration and RUFORUM corporate organs of the project; new MSc and short course curriculum in M&E as well as comprehensive strategy for building M&E capacity for RUFORUM and its member universities. RUFORUM has used a variety of dissemination channels to broadcast the outputs of the project. This final report recommends continued engagement with universities, development partners including IDRC to implement components of the strategy and institutionalize sustainable ways of implementing the MSc program in universities on pilot basis. RUFORUM also recommends the convening of specialized M&E skills enhancement courses for universities and roll-out of on-line versions of the courses to widen access by many students, lecturers, administrates and stakeholder.