After the Copenhagen Climate Conference in 2009, the Ethiopian government developed a Climate Resilience and Green Economy (CRGE) strategy. It has become a central element of the country’s development plan. But despite the progress made in mainstreaming and implementing the CRGE strategy, gaps in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) have limited the ability to assess the implementation progress.
EfD Ethiopia stepped in to fill this gap by collaborating with the Ethiopian government on the Supporting CRGE Implementation with Knowledge Management and Research project. The project's main objectives were to create data and infrastructure to enable effective monitoring and evaluation of the status of the green economy efforts.
Identified indicators to measure green growth
The project attracted interest and active participation from relevant ministries and sectors at all levels. In particular, the indicator assessment process helped forge a consensus among key stakeholders. Important outputs were the identification of potential sectoral and economy-wide indicators, the generation of baseline data, and the development of the CRGE M&E system that can be used to measure the future progress of different sectors of the economy concerning green growth.
Trained 40 government experts
At a practical level, the project created an IT infrastructure for running the M&E system. EfD staff conducted training for 40 government experts to manage and use the indicator database and the CRGE M&E system. This in-person education was supplemented with the creation of a training manual for future users.
The newly-identified M&E indicators enhance the mainstreaming of CRGE into Ethiopia’s Ten-Year Prospective Development Plan.
Continuous dialogue
This successful collaboration is one example of EfD Ethiopia’s effective working relationship with the government. Center leadership has prioritized creating a continuous dialogue with government officials and other stakeholders that helps guide its research agenda and ensure that there is a ready audience once the research results are finalized.
By Pete Nelson