The Question
This question was posted on behalf of Reuben Chemitei, member of the Practitioners' Network.

Recently, I completed an online course: Effective Electoral Assistance (EEA), offered by International IDEA. Since then, I have naturally looked at elections from a “project” point of view especially when you take into account the technical assistance offered by EC and UNDP. The “Project” (in this case the material, human resources and financial support) initiated and commenced eventually comes to a close, after which project evaluation is done (preferably after the election) to ascertain its successes and failures. Therefore my question is:

What examples are there of Monitoring & Evaluation Frameworks (MEF’s) that are used to assess the performance of electoral projects?

I will appreciate answers or resource materials from ACE Practitioners.

Summary of responses
Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) frameworks often follow those of the organization that is running the project. While elections can also be regarded as programmes, it is noted that they should generally be seen as projects. This is particularly true of those elections that receive funding from development partners and where the projects have a clear start and end date. It is worth noting, however, that “many EMBs do not readily classify their electoral cycle as a program or a project.”

The EMBs of Botswana and Nigeria are cited as good examples of EMBs implementing their own post-election audits. This form of evaluation is seen as effective when designed and implemented properly.

One expert believes there is a great deal of room for improvement in the monitoring and evaluation of elections, with a general need for more frequent external evaluations and greater allocation of resources. Another reply stresses the need for frameworks to be tailored to the particular project in question.

Examples of related ACE Articles and Resources
Encyclopaedia:
• Assessing EMB performance 
• Post-election reviews 
• Auditing EMBs

External Resources
• UNDP: Evaluation
• USAID: Evaluation Showcase

• EuropeAid: Evaluation 
• DFID: Evaluation

Names of contributors
1. Ronan McDermott
2. Joan Mudindi Vwamu
3. Carl Dundas

Hello Reuben,

In general, the Monitoring and Evaluation follows the organisational norms - so, if for example, it's a UNDP Electoral project, that institution's M&E framework will apply. The links below offer excellent starting points into key institutional M&E frameworks.

In my experience, M&E for elections projects are rarely exceptional. There is provision for more frequent external evaluations and greater resource for M&E in, for example, UNDP projects that carry high risk. Elections may be said to fall into this category. Guided by this concept, we designed a 5 year electoral project for UNDP Bangladesh to have, instead of the usual single, mid-term evaluation to have two interim evaluations - one at the 2 year mark and a second at the 4 year mark. We also put more M&E resource into the PMU.

The time-criticality of elections demands greater effort by project steering committees too - so increasing the frequency of meetings by such committees may be another distinguishing feature of elections projects.

UNDP (this and other links below includes links to many more resources)

http://web.undp.org/evaluation/

USAID

http://www.usaid.gov/evaluation/

European Union

http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/how/evaluation/index_en.htm

DfID

http://www.dfid.gov.uk/What-we-do/How-UK-aid-is-spent/Evaluation/

Election activities can be looked at as both programmes and projects. The majority fall under stages of a project cycle and it is important for them to be looked at as projects. Specifically if one considers the projects funded by development partners then these would be considered as projects since they have a 'start' and an 'end'. For election activities to be implemented effectively and for them to input positively to the election cycle, they need to be monitored and evaluated so that their implementation is improved and also to ensure the results are achieved having in mind that election activities are dependent on each other and therefore the results of each end of activity impacts on the next. Monitoring and Evaluation frameworks should be tailored to suite the project being implemented. The M&E officer should understand the set goals for the project at hand, how the project outcome will contribute to development changes and hence identify the tools necessary for M&E. 

So, as implementation of activities under the project is taking place, assessment is undertaken through various tools which collect data that is later analysed. These include quarterly reviews, annual reviews, field trips, among others all which are part of an evaluation plan meant to check the achievement of the set milestones. 

Strategic Plans and Annual Work plans would be important in coming up with an M&E framework. All stakeholders involved should be involved in M&E so as to ensure that all are working towards achieving the set goes. It is therefore important for one to consider and include all the stakeholders in the process. 

There may not be a perfect answer to this question. Many EMBs do not readily classify their electoral cycle as a program or a project. Of course, external agencies often classify their support or assistance as a part of broad program of governance or democratic development-USAID and sometimes UNDP provide examples. However, limited support to an EMB during a particular election cycle would more properly be termed a project.

Some EMBs, for example, Botswana, habitually carryout a post-election audit, while others, for example, Nigeria, undertake a comprehensive post-election review informed by  extensive post-election retreats with various categories of stakeholders. These post-election audits, reviews/evaluations/assessments are aimed at identifying strengths and weaknesses in the previously concluded elections, formulating recommendations and implementing them. I have a personal preference for these comprehensive measures which, if properly designed and executed, can touch all aspects of an EMB's election operations and management structure.