Background
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is committed to a culture of learning from experience. It adopts the posture that projects and programs must be systematically tracked and appraised to determine how they are faring; and the feedback obtained therefrom, used for improving performance going forward. The Agency thus places premium on operating for evidence-based results and outcomes. Towards this end, the Agency supports the management of domestic and internationally supported projects and programs caringly, to ensure their effectiveness and efficiency, as well as transparency and accountability in resource utilization.
This commitment requires the development of a policy on monitoring and evaluation at EPA. It originates from the Act establishing the Agency which mandates it “…to establish a monitoring, coordinating and supervisory authority for the sustainable management of the environment…and to provide high quality information and advice on the state of the environment and for matters connected therewith”. The Act, in turn is supported by the 1986 Constitution of Liberia which provides for the “…management of the national economy and the natural resources of Liberia in such manner as shall ensure the maximum feasible participation of Liberian citizens under conditions of equality as to advance the general welfare of the Liberian people and the economic development of Liberia.”
Thus, this Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Policy is to institutionalize result-oriented management at the Agency. It facilitates the integration of M&E processes into the management of projects and programs to inform decision-making of staff, management, and other stakeholders.