An Assessment of the Monitoring and Evaluation Systems of the State Corporations: a Case Study of the Postal Corporation of Kenya

Abstract

There has been urgent need for Postal Corporation of Kenya to revive its Monitoring and evaluation system and improve its services if it has to stay relevant in the competitive market today. The overall objective of the study was to determine whether the Postal Corporation of Kenya‟s Monitoring and Evaluation meets the established standards of a functional M&E system. The focus was on the eight components which are the resource and capacity building, documentation, data collection, data quality systems, data verification, data analysis and use, evaluation, alignment and leadership. The study aimed at determining how people, partnership and planning aid in the systems effectiveness and whether data collection, capturing and verification meet the set standards of an M&E system and lastly how data is disseminated and utilized in the PCK M&E system. The study operationalized FHI 360 participatory system assessment tool that condenses twelve components to eight components. A sample size of 68 was used and purposive sampling selected for the study. Data was collected through administering of questionnaires, through face to face interviews and document review. The study employed descriptive statistics to analyze the data. The overall score for the PCK M&E system was 56 percent, which was rated „fairly good‟. Data collection and management scored the highest at 60 percent while data analysis and use scored the lowest at 50 percent. The key strengths of the PCK M&E system were: presence of well outlined procedures, strong partnerships and standardized data collection tools. The key gaps were: minimal budget, inadequate staff lacking appropriate skill mix, documentation of M&E procedures, lack of data analysis and use and lastly no evidence that data analysis has led to improvements in program design or implementation. The recommendations made were to have a fully functional M&E systems and program M&E managers should ensure that meet the M&E systems standards. Further, PCK management should perform evaluations so as to improve the program, disseminate the evaluation results to stakeholders and utilize the information obtained from branch offices for decision making.