One of the main objectives of the Provincial Governments and Service Delivery Project (PGSD) is strengthening the capacity of the Solomon Islands government for better service delivery at provincial level.
With this objective, the project has provided provincial governments officers with electronic tablets to help them modernize monitoring and evaluation practices.
One of the main obstacles met by developing partners in Solomon Islands is the capacity around collecting high-quality data to design, budget, plan, implement, monitor and evaluate projects. However, the PGSD project, funded by the European Union and implemented by UNDP is helping to save this obstacle by not only strengthening the monitoring and evaluation practice but also modernizing it with electronic tools.
The introduction of electronic tablets is set to revolutionize how provincial governments officers monitor and evaluate the implemented activities of the project. Solomon Kalu, UNDP’s Inclusive Governance and Economic Growth Programme Specialist, expects: “more efficient monitoring activities but not only for this project, but for all the projects that the provincial governments will eventually implement.”
With these devices, officers can now perform real-time data collection and analysis, significantly enhancing the accuracy and timeliness of their reports as they could prove themselves during a monitoring field mission they went on as part of the M&E Training they participated in organized by the project.
As part of the hands-on training, participants visited two sites in east Guadalcanal that provided a practical opportunity to utilize tablets in a real-world setting. This field visit enabled officers to demonstrate their newly acquired skills in online monitoring of activities, further solidifying their understanding and application of this modern M&E methodology.
Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) is a cornerstone of effective program and project management, providing stakeholders with critical insights into progress, impact, and areas for improvement. Recognizing the challenges posed by limited resources, technical capacity gaps, and complex methodologies, PGSD aims to bolster the M&E framework in Solomon Islands to ensure a more efficient and transparent project implementation.
By empowering provincial government officers to elevate their M&E capabilities, the PGSD project seeks to ultimately ensure that project activities are implemented and monitored to the highest standards, ultimately contributing to the realization of the National Development Strategy of the country and to the achievement of the sustainable development goals regarding improved service delivery for all communities.
Source: Press Release, UNDP Solomon Islands