COMMUNITY BASED MONITORING AND EVALUATION SYSTEM

(CBMES)  

Since 2002, UDN demystified the monitoring methodologies and approaches through establishment of Community Based Monitoring and Evaluation System (CBMES).  The CBMES is an approach for engaging communities in continuous monitoring and evaluation of government programs. The CBMES was piloted in four districts of Bushenyi, Tororo, Kanungu, and Kamuli districts.

The CBMES aims at empowering grassroots communities through learning processes, skills and knowledge formation that enables them to articulate their development needs and priorities. Its a long-term process aimed at mobilising communities to participate fully and effectively in identifying and monitoring the quality of delivery of services by government agencies. It seeks to involve the people at the grassroots to measure the performance of government agencies, the relevance of these programmes and impact on the community and how this contributes to poverty eradication and improved quality of life of the ordinary people. The system involves grassroots people in decision-making; ensures broad participation and empowerment, through participatory learning and action.

UDN believes that citizen participation in monitoring and evaluation of poverty eradication programmes should be viewed within the broader agenda of increasing democratic space, public accountability and transparency for the benefit of the poor people under decentralized governance.

Therefore, involving the poor in decision-making and getting resources to them requires strengthening their ability to act for themselves. This occurs through investments in human development such as skills development and participatory processes and support for community based development efforts planned and implemented from bottom up and top-down.

Purpose of the CBMES

To enhance the relevance and performance of poverty reduction programmes through provision of information and capacity building on poverty to empower and improve the lives of poor people.

Objectives of the CBMES

The main objective of the CBMES is to promote the interests of poor and marginalized people at the grassroots at all levels of policy formulation and implementation so that poverty reduction strategies effectively target and benefit them.

Specific objectives include:

1. Increasing citizen’s participation in public expenditure planning, management and implementation.
2. Involving citizens in decision- making processes at all levels.
3. Improving service delivery through transparent and accountable management systems at local level.

Who participates in the CBMES?
To ensure optimal inclusion and participation of the marginalised people, the following are some of the factors that are critically addressed the CBMES:

1. Gender balance (representation of both male and female community members)
2. Representation by the interest groups namely the elderly, youth, women, people with disabilities (PWDs), religious groups, opinion leaders, elderly e.t.c.)
3. Voluntary participation
4. Establishment of monitoring framework (e.g. monitoring committees at all levels)
5. Collaboration among local authorities especially local governments, UDN and communities.

Who are the beneficiaries of the CBMES?
Primary Beneficiaries
The major category of beneficiaries are poor and marginalised people at the grassroots. The CBMES ensures that marginalised group of people such as women, youths, children, elderly are enabled to participate and benefit directly from the development programmes.

Secondary Beneficiaries
Policy makers, implementers (at local government levels). These benefit from the synergies of interfacing with the poor in determining choices and priorities for development programmes and processes.  This strengthens confidence and respect for those in power thereby improving working relationships with the grassroots people.

The other beneficiaries are development partners at national and district levels, donors and who are partners to government in financing the development programmes and therefore are keenly interested in the outcomes of development policies and programmes from a beneficiaries perspective.

Lastly, the other beneficiaries include academic and research institutions and CSOs both local and international that need enhanced knowledge to monitor and influence pro-poor policies.

2.1 Launching of the CBMES- Pilots

UDN piloted the CBMES in four districts to test the usefulness and practicability of the systems in causing social economic change in terms of service delivery and community involvement in participatory monitoring at local level.

Participatory approaches are used in selecting monitoring sites , selecting community representatives , developing monitoring tools, identifying monitoring areas, collecting and analysing of information, presentation of findings without limiting community involvement. The whole exercise takes place with in a period of about two weeks in the community involving mobilisation, selection of community participants, training / skills development, monitoring trial, data collection and analysis, sharing of findings at each local government level, and district level feedback where overall findings are shared to a wider audience.

The process ensures that the communities understand their rights, obligations, and entitlements. Part of the methodology applies a socio- economic rights approach to build the confidence of the community to participate actively in public expenditure monitoring. This has led to creation of a conscious civil society at grassroots level capable of demanding open, accountable and transparent utilisation of public resources.

Roles of Various Stakeholders in the CBMES

UDN appreciates the importance of working with other stakeholders in order to have a successful community monitoring. For long-term sustainability of the CBMES, various stakeholders should appreciate the following:

1. CBMES should not be considered sorely as a UDN concern, but all development actors should strive to promote the system.
2. Local Governments should take participatory community monitoring as one of their primary interests since it feeds into their implementation of development programmes.
3. Provision of stategic support to the CBMES. Local leadership and other stakeholders should understand, apprecaite and provide physical, financial and moral support to the community monitors
4. Facilitate the replication process of the CBMES to other non pilot areas/ districts
5. Encourage regural diologuing among the communities, local leadership and other stakeholders. Actionable areas should be acted on timely and comprehensively to restore community confideence in monitoring.