What is Social Protection?

Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms

“(…) monitoring and evaluation instruments serve different functions. On the one hand, monitoring tools allow an assessment of the extent to which an intervention has been evolving (tracking performance on expected results) and involve routine collection of administrative and programme-specific data on how many beneficiaries are reached and covered, how effectively the intervention is reaching them, etc. Monitoring should be a continuous process, integrated as an essential component of any programme design. Evaluation, on the other hand, entails assessing specific areas of a programme’s implementation and operation (process evaluations) as well as assessing the impacts of interventions on outcomes (impact evaluations). Evaluations are usually carried out by independent evaluators seeking an objective assessment of what changes in outcomes (and by how much) can be attributed to the programme and/or intervention.”

Source: UNICEF. 2012. "Integrated Social Protection Systems: Enhancing Equity for Children. UNICEF Social Protection Strategic Framework". New York: United Nations Children's Fund. <https://socialprotection.org/discover/publications/integrated-social-protection-systems-enhancing-equity-children-1>. Accessed 16 June 2020.