Monitoring and Evaluation
at ESCAP

Monitoring and evaluation form an integral part of results-based management at ESCAP through providing evidence-based feedback to enable programme and project managers to base their decisions on performance and results.

The ESCAP Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) System was launched in July 2007.  The system provides the overall framework for monitoring and evaluation within ESCAP, setting out organizational policy and procedures for monitoring and evaluation.

The Secretary General’s bulletin (ST/SGB/2000/8) “Regulations and Rules Governing Programme Planning, the Programme Aspects of the Budget, the Monitoring of Implementation and the Methods of Evaluation” provides the legislative framework for monitoring and evaluation of all activities undertaken by the United Nations.  M&E at ESCAP is further guided by the Office of Internal Oversight Services, and the evaluation framework contained in the ESCAP M&E System is based on the norms and standards developed by the UN Evaluation Group (UNEG).

Monitoring at ESCAP is defined as “a continuous function that aims primarily to assess systematically the progress of an existing subprogramme or project towards the achievement of results.”

Evaluation at ESCAP is defined as “a selective exercise, conducted in a formal and structured manner, to determine the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of a particular initiative. It may also be used, where appropriate, to determine the impact of that initiative and may cover subprogramme, project or thematic evaluations. Evaluation is used to improve the quality of the future programme of work of ESCAP.”