‘You can’t manage what you are not measuring’

M&E Capacity development has moved to the centre stage of the agenda of development organizations. Substantial sums are being invested in M&E capacity-building programs, yet their design, management and measurement leave much to be desired. Marred by untested, unrealistic assumptions, the results of many programmes fall short of their goals and expectations. Evidence across African countries shows that M&E system capacity strengthening approaches are designed without an inclusive M&E system capacity needs assessment, do not factor in country context, in most cases focused on non-state sector organisations and individuals and are focused on strengthening accountability and project reporting capacities. This approach has resulted in limitations in how capacity strengthening is measured. Measuring the effectiveness of M&E capacity strengthening is critical as it allows the implementers to understand how the intervention has performed and how it has addressed the initial need or objectives of the intervention..