Building the Evaluation Field Through Strengthening a National Evaluation Association[1]

Benedictus Dwiagus Stepantoro, Chairman/President

Umi Hanik, Deputy Chairman for Advocacy and Networking

Contextual Background

Since the Reform (Reformasi) or Post-Soeharto Era started in 1998, Indonesia has been struggling to improve the governance for delivering development outcomes. With greater emphasis on decentralisation and higher degree of democratisation at sub-national and local levels, the public now has more voice to demand better government performance in delivering development results. It is also accompanied with the re-emerging New Public Management thinking that drives most public organisations to find better ways to manage their performance.

Every government agency in Indonesia has moved towards an evaluative culture. But it is still a long journey to go. At this stage, the main focus is still on the monitoring for performance and not yet on evaluation. It is supported in the form of legal framework through different kinds of laws and government regulations. At the national level most national government agencies have established monitoring and evaluation as they are trying to meet the expectation of having a more structured way/mechanism in operationalizing their institutional imperative or directive pressures towards managing for performance.

On the other hand, Indonesia has also been receiving development aid. With the global pressure to increase aid effectiveness, all the development stakeholders have put their hopes on the implementation of the Paris Declaration to increase the effectiveness of aid. It was then followed by a growing demand for M&E specialists, particularly from 2006 up to now, especially from agencies in the development aid sector which are expecting transparency and accountability for the programs they execute in Indonesia.

All those mentioned above have been affecting the way the people look at the development process. Issues around quality, coverage and reach of development results have emerged. The M&E function was then perceived by all to become the prerequisite for better achievement and distribution of development results.

Members of the Indonesian public are now more active and critical in monitoring the way government implement their mandate to deliver public service. Each program now is considered to be important for scrutiny through an M&E process and to get publicly published in a more transparent way. Thus it triggered significant demand for M&E person to support government (national and local) in measuring performance, evaluating their development programs and disseminating the success (and failures). 

Now we have significant numbers of development professionals entering the M&E field, and regretfully sufficient competence and skill is still flagged questions. However, for more quality work and output, these new-entry M&E professionals knew their need for a platform of knowledge exchange and capacity building. Therefore there is a growing need to establish an M&E community in Indonesia...

To download the full paper, click this link

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[1] The paper is presented at the EvalPartners International Forum on Civil Society’s Evaluation Capacities in Chiang Mai, Thailand 3-6 December 2012. The writer would also thanks to the editor Mr Jim Rugh and Mr Marco Segone for the excellent editing and remarkable works. We would also thanks to Ms. Ada Ocampo for the continuing support and assistance pre and during the event. Gratitude to InDEC family, yes we can!

*) Disclaimer: The paper is shared mainly for knowledge and experience sharing. None of the concepts, approaches or statements in this paper should be taken as any official viewpoint of neither the Government of Indonesia nor any other agency (mentioned in the paper).

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