CLEAR Pakistan & Central Asia, a joint programme of Global Evaluation Initiative and CERP, conducted a customised Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) training for the officers of the M&E wing at the Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives (PD&SI), Pakistan. The training was held from 20-22 September, 2022 in Islamabad.
The top management of both the organisations were part of the training programme. The event was attended by the Federal Minister of PD&SI, Mr. Ahsan Iqbal, where he addressed on the importance of building the organisational capacity and emphasised on the value of an effective M&E system for government projects in Pakistan. Furthermore, he expressed his thanks to Maroof A. Syed, President and CEO, CERP for their assistance in integrating international best practices with local context to help the government make evidence-informed decisions.
The training was held as part of the MoU signed between CLEAR PCA and PD&SI with the objective of strengthening the M&E capacity of the government through a result-based M&E framework to improve its impact evaluation methodologies, diagnostic and indicator measurement.
The objective of this training was to equip participants with critical tools, frameworks and skills required to design data driven M&E systems, using robust data collection and analysis methodologies which are applicable globally as the most reliable standard methods for impact evaluation of programmes and policies in the development sector.
Each module of the training focused on key components of the M&E requirements used for PC-1 such as Project Objectives, the Results Based Monitoring tool, Cost-Benefit Analysis etc. The training deployed interactive teaching methodology using localised case studies to enable participants to tackle and address pertinent policy issues which the Planning Commission team typically encounters when designing and monitoring development projects or programmes. The instructors used group activities and led case study discussions to create simulations to make this an immersive learning experience for all participants.
The modules were conducted by some of the leading practitioners in the industry including but not limited to Athar Osama, Founder & Managing Partner, INNOVentures Global (Pvt) Ltd, Founder & CEO, Pakistan Innovation Foundation (PIF), Maroof A. Syed, President & CEO CERP and Senior Fellow at Princeton, Maria Qazi, Survey Consultant Gender Platform, World Bank, and Rehmat Karim, Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Lead, USAID Pakistan Capacity Development Services.