This book focuses on eight UK-based international NGOs (INGOs) engaged in rural development interventions in Ethiopia. The author investigates their attempts to employ participatory monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems as a means of assessing and thereby strengthening local participation. The findings suggest that perceptions of participation vary considerably between different hierarchical levels. The story that unfolds offers valuable insights into the current myths and realities of Monitoring and Evaluation within INGOs. Putting Policy into Practice is ideal reading for anyone involved in the design and implementation of monitoring and evaluation systems in INGOs and their local offices, and organisations working with local partners. Based on case studies in Ethiopia, it looks at how INGO field offices perceive and practise local participatory monitoring and evaluation systems - the differing expectations that they and their headquarters hold and how these affect the reality of practice. The book offers advice and ideas on the opportunities available to change the dynamics between local office and INGO headquarters.

The origins of this book can be traced back to a six-month period in 1995 during which Esther Mebrahtu undertook preliminary fieldwork in Eritrea, a country in transition with significant potential for further development.

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