Overview : Background: Over the years, the Government of Malawi with support of various partners embarked on a programme to develop a “whole of government” M&E system seeking to develop capacities of central government offices, line ministries, city and district councils in evidence-based decision making. Currently, the National Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Master Plan guides the process and it also provides the framework for monitoring development policies and programs in the country. The Master Plan has five components, namely: Monitoring of National Development Strategy (NDS) implementation; Monitoring of Development Outcomes; Impact assessment and policy analysis; Development Monitoring Information System (DMIS); and Communication and Advocacy. The national development strategy, the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy MGDS II, expired in June, 2017 and will be replaced by the MGDS III whose preparation is at an advanced stage. The MGDS III will domesticate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Africa 2063 and other internationally agreed development goals in Malawi. The key responsibility for monitoring overall progress of national strategies is within the remit of the M&E Division in the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development (MoFEPD). However, the role of MoFEPD in guiding monitoring and evaluation of the national strategy is expected to change as the government is in the process of establishing a National Planning Commission whose functions will include monitoring and evaluation of national policies, strategies and programmes. At the sectoral level, joint sector reviews are held as an annual forum for joint assessment of progress. Sector submissions were the basis for the broader annual review of the MGDS. In 2008 Government created 16 Sector Working Group to among other activities provide a platform for inclusive monitoring of sectoral policies, strategies and programmes. The National Statistical Office (NSO) is the agency tasked with providing high quality, timely and independent statistical information. The NSO implementing the National Statistics System (NSS) Strategic Plan with the overall goal is to providing quality statistics at the fingertips of users for evidence based policy decision. 1.0 OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF THE ASSIGNMENT The consultancy will support the M&E Division in MoFEPD in developing an M&E Policy for the public sector to facilitate the effective implementation of MGDS III and achievement of the SDGs in Malawi as well as become a tool for promoting the culture of monitoring and evaluation. 1.1 Specific Duties and Responsibilities The consultant will undertake the following tasks: - Facilitate consultations towards determination of the scope, key objectives and agreed principles of the national M&E policy.
- Outline institutional set up for the implementation of the M&E policy.
- Estimate resource requirements for policy implementation and suggest means for securing adequate resources.
- Propose measures to ensure the independence of evaluations in the public sector.
- Draft a National M&E policy.
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