Analysis of the effect of monitoring and evaluation programs on the performance of government projects in Uganda. a case study of DDEG projects in Nyondo sub county

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to assess the influence of Monitoring and Evaluation on the performance of government projects taking a case study of Discretionary Development Equalization Grant (DDEG) projects in Nyondo Sub County and use findings to come up with recommendations/measures to strengthen the use of DDEG funds. The objectives of the study were to asses the extent to which involvement of stakeholders in M&E process influences performance of DDEG projects, establish how M&E costs influences the performance of DDEG projects, to determine the influence of timeliness of M&E on performance of DDEG projects and to examine hoe the utilization of M&E results influences performance of DDEG projects. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods. The sample size of this study was 51 respondents. A structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data, Qualitative data was analyzed by use of content analysis and be presented in a prose form while quantitative data was analyzed by use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences ( SPSS) and presented in tables. The study revealed that involvement of stakeholders in M&E is directly and indirectly related to project success, timeliness of M&E offered paths for learning and improvements, monitoring and evaluation budget should be clearly delineated within the overall project budget to give the Monitoring and Evaluation function due recognition it plays in project management, utilization of M&E results provided a way to assess a crucial link between implementers and beneficiaries on the ground and decision makers. The study concluded that timeliness of M&E, involvement of stakeholders in M&E, sufficient budget for M&E activity and utilization of M&E results all had a positive influence on the performance of DDEG projects in Nyondo Sub County. The study recommended that DDEG projects must clearly define what percentage of project cost could go to Monitoring and Evaluation, Monitoring and Evaluation must be carried out after every phase of Project Implementation, the committee should encourage community participation , cooperation among committee members and auditing of complete projects to assess their worth and that Monitoring and Evaluation team should present the M&E information periodically for proper decision making.