For years, the development sector has wrestled with a simple, frustrating truth: our monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems, designed to ensure success, often feel like administrative burdens. In too many organisations, monitoring has devolved into a routine exercise in compliance, generating stacks of reports that are rarely read and even less frequently used to change programme direction. This obsession with ticking boxes creates a system that is rigid, slow to adapt, and ultimately prevents truly impactful monitoring and evaluation.

But what if the function designed to provide continuous learning was rescued from this managerial boredom? The answer lies in a powerful new synthesis that unites the best of two worlds: Thoughtful Monitoring (TM) and Value for Investment (VfI). TM is a call to action, demanding that we shift monitoring from an administrative chore to a core management function. Fundamentally, it rejects an overreliance on pre-determined indicators, acknowledging that the most crucial information is often unknown or unmeasurable at the outset. Instead, TM focuses on strengthening relationships and trust with communities, ensuring that learning is adaptive, relational, and immediate.

Impactful Monitoring and Evaluation

However, a learning-focused approach still needs rigour. This is where the structured, economic lens of Value for Investment (VfI) steps in. VfI brings essential discipline by framing clear questions about utility and return. This ensures that our resources are aligned with our purpose. When TM and VfI merge, we don’t just get better M&E; we create a system of mutual accountability. This hybrid model demands that managers step back and understand the deeper political and economic contexts, empowering them to ask better questions that lead to richer evidence.

Ultimately, the fusion of TM and VfI gives us a clear path to impactful monitoring and evaluation. It moves accountability away from mere report-signing and toward real-time adaptation. This approach ensures monitoring is not just an end-of-quarter requirement. Rather, the start of a robust, continuous conversation about how to truly deliver on the promise of lasting change. Managers who embrace this shift will find they are not just reporting on progress, but actively driving it.

Special thanks to our guest, Daniel Ticehurst (Monitoring and Evaluation specialist), for his invaluable insights.

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