FIFTEEN staff of the Ministry of National Planning and Development Coordination (MNPDC) and their field supervisors will this week begin rolling out the Monitoring and Evaluation Systems Analysis (MESA) diagnostic study.
Solomon Islands is the first country in the Pacific Region to conduct MESA – a pilot study that aims to understand the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) enabling environment, systems and practices, and organizational and individual capacities.
It also identifies gaps and opportunities – what is working well, what is not working well, and the priority areas for improvement and adopting evidence-based policy making.
MNPDC Directors, Chief Planning Officers and Principal Planning Officers attended a one-day training last week purposely to prepare themselves for this nationwide study which begins in Honiara this week with government line ministries and agencies, commencing Wednesday 26th October 2022.
The training enabled MNPDC officers to understand MESA survey methods, the protocols and guidelines for selecting participants, conducting consultations using MESA questionnaires, working together as a team to conduct the survey and quality control of data.
The pre-training was conducted by a Honiara based research consulting firm, Dignity Pasifik in partnership with a New Zealand based consulting firm, Alinea International. These consulting groups are assisting MNPDC on conducting the MESA exercise on the ground.
The World Bank (WB) and the Global Evaluation Initiative (GEI) are providing funding and technical support to assist Dignity Pasifik, Alinea International and MNPDC to conduct the MESA diagnostics study survey.
At the opening of the training, MNPDC Deputy Secretary Strategic Planning and Program Quality, Travis Ziku reminded officers to conduct the survey in a more coherent and systematic manner, taking into account confidential information, survey tracking and other research and survey procedures and protocols.
Mr Ziku adds, the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) MESA Advisory Committee has approved the MESA Inception report.
“The Inception report will be taken to Cabinet in the coming weeks to get formal endorsement,” Mr Ziku said.
MNPDC Permanent Secretary Ms. Susan Sulu earlier said: “The results of the study will inform the development of a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Capacity Development Plan which will be then used to guide systems and process improvements and capacity strengthening.”
The study will be rolled out to include selected Donors and Development Partners, Provincial Governments, Honiara City Council, NGOs and CSOs in the coming weeks.
The outcome of the MESA report is expected to be launched in March 2023.
MNPDC PRESS RELEASE
