Monitoring and Evaluation

2.20 Monitoring is the collection of data, both during and after policy implementation. This data can be fed back into implementation, current decision making and the appraisal process to improve future decision making. It requires the collection of data before implementation to act as a baseline.

2.21 Evaluation is the systematic assessment of an intervention's design, implementation and outcomes. It tests:

if an intervention is working or worked

if the costs and benefits were as anticipated

whether it had any other consequences

whether the consequences were anticipated

how well it was implemented

2.22 Monitoring and evaluation of all proposals should be planned, costed and provided for as an integral part of the proposed intervention under consideration. This helps ensure that they will be systematically carried out. Taken together monitoring and evaluation can identify what lessons can be learned to inform the design and delivery of future interventions.

2.23 The key stages in appraisal are summarised in Box 2.

Box 2. Description of Key Appraisal Steps

The key steps in the appraisal process are:

The first step in appraisal is to provide the rationale for intervention. This should be used to identify the objectives or outcomes the government wishes to meet through intervention.

The next step is to consider how best to meet the government's objectives by considering a long-list of options, including a wide range of possible approaches. These should be assessed for viability and filtered down to a short-list.

Short-list appraisal follows and is at the heart of economic appraisal where expected costs and benefits are estimated and the trade-off is considered. This is done using Social Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) or Social Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA).

Identification of the preferred option is based on the detailed analysis at the short-list appraisal stage. It involves determining which option provides the best balance of costs, benefits, risks and unmonetisable factors.

Monitoring is the collection of data, both during and after implementation to improve current and future decision making. Evaluation is the systematic assessment of an intervention's design, implementation and outcomes. Both monitoring and evaluation should be considered before, during and after implementation.