IIM Kozhikode, Nity Ayog’s DMEO collaborate for research in monitoring and evaluation

Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozhikode has inked a statement of intent (SoI) with the Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO) of NITI Aayog to jointly work on strategic and technical collaboration for strengthening the overall monitoring and evaluation environment in India, the B-school said in a statement on February 9.

This collaboration between the B-school and India’s top policymaker will focus on building a data monitoring and evaluation stack.

The objective of this SoI is to establish a framework to encourage and promote cooperation in the area of technical development, and support appropriate capacity building and joint studies in the field of monitoring and evaluation of government policies and programmes through econometric evaluation.

Debashis Chatterjee, director of IIM Kozhikode and Sekhar Bonu, director general, DMEO, signed the SoI, the B-school said in its statement.

In collaboration with DMEO, IIM Kozhikode will organise capacity building workshops, forums, seminars and other activities with a view to enhance advocacy of monitoring and evaluation in the country, it added.

The target group for this exercise will comprise public officials at the Centre and states in partnership with the concerned state, national ministries, departments and institutions in the national organisations. It will also include regional institutions, local researchers, state-run administrative training institutions and trainers in the field of monitoring and evaluation.

Speaking on the occasion, Chatterjee expressed delight on IIM Kozhikode embarking on a collaboration with the country's foremost policy making institution NITI Aayog.

“Conducting joint research studies on India's development challenges, will bring forth the truth about the prevailing status. Further evidence from such studies will assist in informed policy making, fostering sustainable development,” he said.

Sharing his thoughts on the need for collaborating with IIM Kozhikode, DMEO’s director general Shekhar Bonu said that in an increasingly fast-paced, complex, and digitized society, governments need to monitor and evaluate policies efficiently and effectively.

“Partnership with IIM Kozhikode is an endeavour to bring India's premier knowledge institutions and apex monitoring and evaluation office to do collaborative research for larger public good and benefit of society,” he said.

Both IIM Kozhikode and DMEO will also work together for the exchange of best practices in the area of monitoring and evaluation, with an endeavour to upload them on institutional websites for better dissemination of study results to a wider audience and for increased advocacy and outreach on the topic.