Georgina Angela Manyuru

The increasing demand for results and accountability by citizens as well as the need for evidence-based decision making has led to a corresponding growth in demand for Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) systems by African States generally and Uganda in particular. Uganda’s public M&E system is led by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) as a coordinating agency for all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) including public universities. This called for deliberate efforts to institutionalize M&E systems in MDAs and other public entities which operate their own systems. However, effective institutionalization of M&E systems does not necessarily imply utilization of evaluation results by the intended users to actualise the purpose for which M&E systems are institutionalized. The study aims to examine the institutionalization of M&E systems in Uganda’s public universities and the linkage to the use of evaluation results based on a case study design – either Makerere University Kampala (MUK) OR Uganda Management Institute (UMI) as a case study – and the unit of analysis. The objectives of the study are to i) examine the comprehensiveness of the M&E policy, legal and institutional framework in Uganda for effective institutionalisation of M&E systems ii) determine the key elements considered for effective institutionalization of an M&E system in a public university; iii) assess the degree of institutionalization of an M&E system in the University; and iv) examine the level of utilization of evaluation products in the university. The study will be conducted based on largely data from secondary sources although semi-structured interviews may be carried out (where necessary) with a few staff from relevant departments using an interview guide prepared following research themes.