Water Security Improvement Toolkit #6 – Monitoring the Improvement of Water Security

Monitoring the Improvement of Water Security: This is the last in a series of six toolkits that present topics and strategies for addressing issues of water security.

Monitoring is a process of continuous assessment. It involves collecting data on the current situation (baseline) and on changes that are brought about through activities, projects and policies, or caused by socioeconomic and natural trends and events. Evaluation uses indicators to reflect on such measurable change, compare it to goals and targets, and use the information to learn from experience, adjust implementation, and better plan for the future.

Within the context of water security, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is meant to support and improve the definition, selection, design, implementation of water actions by:

• Providing information on the status of water and associated resources
• Building the capacity of stakeholders to understand water risks and make informed decisions
• Providing evidence that supports the review and comparison of alternative approaches and solutions
• Detecting implementation delays and issues early on
• Learning from experience through documentation of both successes and failures

The overall goal of M&E is to improve decision-making and performance over time to achieve better results. It also empowers and builds the capacity of all actors through transparency and accountability. For this reason, it may be resisted by partisans of the status-quo such as low performing water agencies and entrenched interests.