Assessment, Monitoring, and Evaluation for Defense Institution Building Projects

September, 2017
IDA document: P-8707
FFRDC: Systems and Analyses Center
Type: Documents
Division: Strategy, Forces and Resources Division
Authors:
Authors
Ashley Neese Bybee, Abigail Robinson, Scott Schutzmeister, Wade Hinkle See more authors
In response to the FY17 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) requirement that all significant security cooperation programs and activities contain a program of assessment, monitoring, and evaluation (AM&E) IDA sponsored an internally funded survey of existing literature in this field and initiated preliminary work to develop an AM&E framework for Defense Institution Building (DIB) programs. This paper describes IDA’s recommended approach to AM&E for DIB programs with emphasis on incorporating AM&E into the DIB work plan from the earliest stages of the program design process. The preponderance of existing literature on AM&E focuses on traditional development projects where measuring performance and effectiveness of programs is an established and common practice. The field of literature for AM&E of DIB activities is not as mature and the practical application of an AM&E framework is rare. The unique and highly complex nature of change in defense institutions makes AM&E a potentially challenging – but not impossible – exercise. This paper describes how DIB practitioners may approach AM&E in their fields of work. This paper supplements the academic record with a practical application of the principles outlined in FY17 NDAA and describes a method to incorporate AM&E into a DIB work plan in an observable manner.