SL-Strengthening National M&E It is widely recognized that the long-term stability of Sierra Leone (SL) to a large extent depends on successful efforts to reduce poverty and to deliver efficient and effective basic services to its people. In this context, improved capacity to monitor and track results of the second Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRSP II) Agenda for Change is essential. It links closely to the government-wide capacity to deliver results and to the call in the Paris Declaration to increasingly rely on country systems. This proposal builds on the Bankâ€™s role and experience in coordination, governance and capacity development to increase effectiveness and efficiency across government through strengthened national monitoring and evaluation systems (M&E) systems in Africa and elsewhere. The project development objective (PDO) is:   to strengthen the national M&E system in terms of coordination, policy formulation and capacity development The project is initiated to help the GoSL to take the first steps to build, strengthen and institutionalize an integrative M&E system, not as an end in itself but to achieve improved government performance and thereby to achieve economic transformation and reduced levels of poverty. Through a set of focused interventions to lay a foundation for development of the national M&E system centered around the PRSP II and to catalytically generate support from other development partners: 1. Mapping of on-going M&E activities in Sierra Leone and development of an action matrix to increase coordination and avoid duplication and establish synergies; 2. Development of a national M&E policy with clearly  objectives, roles and responsibilities of the various actors in M&E defined, monitoring mechanisms and data access and use laid out; 3. Capacity development through general training in M&E for Local Councils and Ministries, Departments & Agencies (MDAs) and general as well as specialized training for a leadership cadre to take forward the M&E agenda.  GoSL is increasingly assuming stronger control over its development agenda and intends to end donorsâ€™ direct involvement in project implementation units. Along these lines, GoSL expressed interest in self-assessing the capacity to Manage for Development Results (MfDR) using the CAP Scan methodology which was conducted in Freetown in October 2010 with support from the World Bank and the Swiss Government. It involved seven key-ministries including the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MOFED), and identified strengths and weaknesses in government sector in MfDR. An action plan was prepared on which this project builds.  It fits seamless into the The World Bankâ€™s Joint Assistance Strategy (JAS) (2009-2012) and the Pillar 5. Improve predictability, expenditure control and transparency in decentralization and public resource management. The JAS emphasizes harmonization, strengthening of country systems and results-orientation and evidence-based decision-making in line with Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action, and the JAS results matrix replicates the PRSPII outcomes at project-level. M&E as a cross-cutting theme will support other Bank operations in SL but especially the second phase of the decentralized service delivery project and public financial management project as well as the pipeline project on public sector pay and performance. The latter uses the new P4R instrument and strong synergies exist between the IDF proposal and the said project.  Relationship to Country/Recipientâ€™s Development Program, Including Donor Activities GoSL has made strides in recent years in M&E of public sector policies and outcomes and largely funded through donor-funded interventions. These include the National Public Services Survey (NPSS), the Comprehensive Local Council Performance Assessment (CLOGPAS) and pilots in community monitoring and social accountability. However, no rigorous monitoring of the PRSP II takes place. The Annual Progress Report (APR) and progress on the PRSPII is not assessed against an adequate and well-developed results matrix but is at the level of donor-projects activities and outputs. Transformational changes in living conditions and in those institutions targeting in basic service delivery as PRSP outcomes are thus not assessed. Hence, links between national-level M&E to budget and planning are not established and with no utility in learning, accountability and transparency. Buildings blocks for the national system are the sectors, i.e. ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), and Local Councils (LCs) M&E systems but coordination and establishment of synergies between the national level, notably Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MOFED), LCs and MDAs remain weak. With the notable exception of health, MDA systems are either not existent or mal-functioning and profound weaknesses abound. LCs M&E functions are often ill-defined and under-capacitated. Furthermore, many of the donor project-related M&E activities are more of a curse than a blessing because of the additional burden on staff time and resources in MDAs and at LC level.  The most serious weakness in M&E, as pointed in the CAP Scan exercise, is the capacity to manage human resources and to secure basic technical background for staff engaged in M&E activities across government. Without clear line of responsibilities and staff geared to results, the ability to deliver is undermined. Continued training, staff retention and incentive mechanisms in the civil service were also scored low. Sectors further noted gaps in implementing intra- and inter-sectoral coordination and donor alignment to national priorities.  Through the concept note prepared to initiate the IDF proposal â€˜Rationalizing  Monitoring and Evaluation Function of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Developmentâ€™ and conclusions of the CAP Scan, GoSL has show its high-level buy-in to the proposal.