Community-Driven Development (CDD) interventions face the challenge of effective second and third-party monitoring and evaluation (M&E) processes. The M&E team is often viewed unfavourably by programme participants and implementors. They are viewed as: (a) foreign to the development process and (b) less likely to record and communicate the real picture at the ground level due to a trust gap. Furthermore, external agencies and program partners are frequently motivated by evaluationalist ideology and optimism rather than realistic analysis and a desire to effect genuine change. According to the literature, community participation in the M&E process could lead to: (a) increased monitor engagement with the programme, (b) identification of course-correction strategies, and eventually (c) enhanced long-run programme welfare outcomes. We study the design and develop a Theory of Change (ToC) of the Community Based Monitoring System (CBMS) for the NRLM self-help groups (SHGs) in the Indian state of Jharkhand.
Keywords:
Community Based Monitoring System; Monitoring and Evaluation; Theory of Change; India