Managing for Impact in Rural Development

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and its partners in developing countries share the challenging mission of enabling the rural poor to overcome their poverty. A partnership which takes shape primarily through hundreds of rural development projects and programmes at grass-roots level, often in the poorest and most remote regions of the world.

Although the performance of these projects has improved in many aspects over the years, external evaluations continue to report weaknesses in their monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems, in particular in the way impact M&E is carried out and used at project management and policy level. The need for support is also evident from the numerous requests that IFAD receives each year from its partners for assistance in M&E system design and operation.

In line with the IFAD Action Plan 2000-2002, which seeks to “improve impact assessment”, this new practical guide was developed through a yearlong consultative process with its potential users: project M&E officers, managers, designers and supervisors. Its purpose is to facilitate the development and use of effective and participatory M&E systems as tools for impact-oriented management, shared learning processes and accountability.

As such, it is an integral part of our global effort to improve the performance and monitor the results of our common initiatives to strengthen the capacity of the rural poor and their organisations, improve equitable access to productive resources and increase access to financial services and markets.