UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM Standing Committee on Nutrition 34

UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM Standing Committee on Nutrition 34 th Session – Working Together Task Force on Assessment, Monitoring, and Evaluation Mark Smulders, FAO Agnès Dhur, WFP

SCN 34 th Session – Working Together Task Force on Assessment, Monitoring, and Evaluation Discussion points: • What is TF – AME expected to do? • What has been done so far? • What could/should the TF do? • Membership • Resource requirements

SCN 34 th Session – Working Together Task Force on Assessment, Monitoring, and Evaluation Expectations: • 6 -7 areas of work identified in SCN Action Plan • measurement and monitoring of food & nutrition -> MDGs • indicators for assessment, monitoring and evaluation • methods and tools for AME • M&E frameworks and criteria (evidence; effectiveness of projects and programmes) • defining standards, strengthening analysis for health and nutrition information in emergencies (NICS; HNTS) • build on existing initiatives, including SCN-WGs, IASC, FIVIMS initiative and others

SCN 34 th Session – Working Together Task Force on Assessment, Monitoring, and Evaluation Where are we? (i) $3 m budget in SCN Action Plan for: • Interagency Nutrition Initiative ($2 m) • Nutrition Information in Crisis Situations • Monitoring indicators for Right to Adequate Food • M&E framework for the realization of Rt. F (see briefing note) (ii) Concept note for TF-AME; initial feedback (iii) Pre-session meeting of a “partial TF”; expression of interest from Brazil

SCN 34 th Session – Working Together Task Force on Assessment, Monitoring, and Evaluation Assessment, Monitoring, Evaluation: for what purpose? • baseline understanding (FS, N, H) – (for whom? ) • surveillance/monitoring of HHFS, nutrition status, health status? – child growth? • early warning? of what? • emergency needs assessment and response? • development planning? – policy formulation? • at which level? • accounting of investments made (human/$$)? • research? • advocacy?

ACTORS & ACTION AREAS information system activities / functions assessment monitoring evaluation level 1: community development planning of FS/N activities extension work raising awareness - participatory appraisal for intervention projects - Health facility data growth monitoring - M&E of local smallscale projects (usually externally driven) - level 2: district development planning prioritization targeting - rapid, ad hoc, assessments - sentinel site surveillance - M&E of specific intervention programmes (usually externally driven) level 3: national development of national FS/N strategies, programmes policy formulation budget prioritization fundraising level 4: global advocacy global initiatives cross-country comparison fundraising repeated national surveys (nutrition, hh budget, agric, . . ) census baseline assessment analytical studies research -United Nations agencies' international data banks -Global assessments studies monitoring and surveillance of programmes national routine statistics - global studies on trend analyses - -M&E of specific intervention programmes -Impact assessment - M&E on intervention programmes -

SCN 34 th Session – Working Together Task Force on Assessment, Monitoring, and Evaluation Core questions (for TF-AME): • focus and scope? • value added? • target audience/clients? • supply-driven info vs. demand-driven info? • global/national MDG context vs. • focus on community, HH, individual outcomes? • development and/or emergency context? • how do we link food security, nutrition and health concerns • what action do we want to influence / inform?

SCN 34 th Session – Working Together Task Force on Assessment, Monitoring, and Evaluation Issues for discussion & feedback: • We have excellent understanding of key issues at global level. . . • We have an abundance of methods, tools, techniques • We have tremendous knowledge, but how do we reach the people who are food insecure and malnourished? • Emergency/humanitarian context well covered (coordination) (IASC clusters on Nutrition, Health, Agriculture; IASC WG on IM; SCN Nutrition in Emergencies WG; ALNAP; etc. ) • What is missing? What are opportunities for TF-AME?

SCN 34 th Session – Working Together Task Force on Assessment, Monitoring, and Evaluation Possible future work of the Task Force on AME: • Knowledge sharing/management (who is doing what? where? lessons learned, especially at local levels) • How? Web portal; stock-taking; technical fora (global, regional, country level? ); SCN newsletter; SCN clearing house function • Indicators. Provide guidance; commission studies; draw lessons from country level; share best practices; FS, N, H linkages • Set-up regional or national task forces (knowledge sharing; draw lessons on AME techniques; discuss indicators; link food security, nutrition and livelihoods concerns) Horn of Africa. ØWhatever is done ‘define the problem closer to where the solutions are’ – even for a global level TF