On a bright Friday morning, at the UN House in Dili, the second batch of professional trainees from Ministry of Education (MoE) are in the final stages of recapping what they have learned about measuring program impact. The trainee group speaks with confidence that it is well acquainted with impact measurement components and ready to go to the field. Secondinho Salsinha, UNFPA M&E Analyst and coordinator of the workshop, is happy with how the program has gone so far. "It is the first time that we are organizing this Monitoring and Evaluation Workshop for the MoE and we have got a positive feedback for the knowledge transfer,'' he says.
The M&E Workshop is an initiative between the UNFPA and MoE to build the capacity of MoE professionals in the area of measuring the result of their programmes. John M. Pile, UNFPA Representative said during the workshop opening that monitoring is an opportunity to improve on our work and learn from the process. ‘‘Monitoring helps us do better planning in the future,'' he added, "it also allows us to expand and consolidate accountability because what gets measured, gets done!"
National Director for School Health, Mr. Carlito Mota, also said representing the Ministry of Education that he recognized the Ministry is generously supported all the way by UNFPA. "In the past decade, we didn't get sufficient measurements and results from the field monitoring practices due to lack of capacity. But this workshop will change how we do our jobs on the ground, thanks to UNFPA's continued support."
Participants were asked to evaluate the workshop after the program ended and to specifically state the changes that will be putting into action as a result of the workshop. Miguel G. Martins, Chief of Public Health for School at Ministry of Education explained that the workshop was a significant learning opportunity to him personally and to his colleagues generally. ‘‘There has been a strong need for capacity building trainings. And now that we have been afforded the opportunity, we will take recommendations from our learning and put them into practical use. I will take up the issue with the management to see how the measurements can be implemented and scaled up."
I will start following up by calling our Implementing Partners (IPs) as soon as I return from the event to ask them to submit reports to see where we stand in terms of project management. Once we have the reports, will ensure the M&E components are included in our evaluation process with the support of UNFPA," he added.
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For more information, please contact:
Fitsum Tesfaye
Communications Officer
United Nations Population Fund
UN House, Caicoli Street
Dili, Timor-Leste
Tel: +670-3312 618 (ext. 2164)
Mobile: +670-78536670
Twitter: @UNFPATimor
Facebook: UNFPATL
