NIPPS, dRPC decry poor implementation of socio-economic policies targeting households, women

*Floats pilot policy on WEE monitoring, evaluation

The Director General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, (NIPSS), has decried the lack of effective monitoring, evaluation and clear indicators for the government’s socio-economic interventions targeting Women’s Economic Empowerment, (WEE), households and families.

The DG made this known during a National Dialogue on the National Monitoring and Evaluation between the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru and the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning in partnership with the development Research and Project Centre (dRPC), and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in Abuja.

Represented by the Director of Research, NIPSS, Pam Dung, he explained that it has become very important for the government at all levels to ensure inclusivity through effective monitoring and evaluation as well as effective, clear and strong indicators that will facilitate inclusive development.

According to him, Ministries, Departments and Agencies, (MDAs), at federal and state levels have been implementing the WEE intervention projects without performance monitoring indicators and with no scientific framework for the assessment of performance and socio-economic benefits of the projects to households and families.

Further, he said the national dialogue is being held not only to help in getting things done in terms of strategies for policy and programme implementation in Nigeria but also to “deal with the challenges around the institutional positioning of government’s M&E Policy coordination unit, the data collection support structure of MDAs, the linkage between M&E, budgeting and appropriation processes including systems of reward/incentives for performance and funding framework”.

“The identification of this gap led the National Institute to partner with the National Monitoring and Evaluation Department of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.

“This partnership was facilitated by the development “Research and Project Centre (dRPC), through the Partnership for Advancing Women’s Economic Development (PAWED) project which the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded.

“The project was a pilot application of the New Monitoring and Evaluation National Policy as it relates to Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Policies, Projects, and Programs in Nigeria,” he said.

Representative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Katja Schiller said the foundation finds a huge gap in the M&E framework of a delivery system in the country. She said the foundation is willing to partner with major stakeholders in collecting data on M&E policies and WEE.

UNICEF’s Country Representative in Nigeria, Cristian Munduate said UNICEF is encouraged by the leadership of the ministry of finance and is committed to supporting the M&E policy. She said UNICEF will continue to support in driving the processes.

dRPC representative, Emmanuel Osaghie explained that the centre has worked for several years towards promoting WEE and is committed to strengthening the M&E policy document and also to provide technical support for subnational-level domestication of the policy, focusing on WEE.

Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, said the said dialogue will provide a platform to sustain the M&E policy document and sensitise all stakeholders towards the attainment of the government’s mid-term National Development Plan 2021-2025.

According to him, the NDP is a medium-term blueprint designed to unlock the country’s potential in all sectors of the economy for sustainable, holistic and inclusive national development. He said it is developed by the different facets of the private sector, Sub-National Government, and Civil Society Organisation (CSO) and facilitated by the Nigerian government.