Drivers for the institutionalisation of public sector monitoring and evaluation in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The continued failure to monitor and evaluate the performance of public sector programmes and projects over the years prompted the institutionalisation of public sector monitoring and evaluation in Zimbabwe. Owing to the scant attention paid to monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and the fact that its emergence as a practice is a nascent development in Zimbabwe, this study contributes to this under-researched area by assessing the factors that accounted for the institutionalisation of public sector M&E. Guided by the qualitative research methodological approach coupled with a case study research design, the study established that the institutionalisation of M&E in Zimbabwe was an internally-driven process underpinned by the need to continuously improve government performance, the enhanced quest for evidence-based public decision making, programme and policy development, and to ensure compliance with regulations from the donor world, the fulfilment of the requirements in the Constitution of Zimbabwe, 2013 and the need for improved transparency and accountability in the public sector