Governments are expected to demonstrate that their projects, programmes, and policies, are effectively and efficiently implemented and have a positive impact. As a result of this attention to performance, more and more governments across the OECD are building formal Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) systems to monitor and systematically evaluate their policy measures and interventions.
Rigorous M&E systems are key to sound policy decision making and ongoing learning and improvement. All decisions and implementation processes throughout the policy making cycle may be informed by and benefit from lessons learned on policies implemented earlier or elsewhere which led to the desired results. M&E also contributes to making government action more transparent and accountable. M&E provides detailed information about how well governments are achieving their objectives, which in turn promotes public confidence in government decision making among all relevant stakeholders.
This report, Monitoring and Evaluation of Child and Youth Policies and Outcomes in Ireland, is the fourth in a series looking at M&E in the fields of social and employment policies, and provides guidance on how to develop an M&E system for Ireland’s new policy framework for children and young people.
This report was prepared by the Youth and Diversity Policies Unit in the OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs.
The action was funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument, and implemented by the OECD, in co‑operation with the Directorate‑General for Structural Reform Support of the European Commission (DG REFORM). The OECD Secretariat wishes to express its gratitude to DG REFORM and Ireland’s Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY), whose support has been instrumental to the preparation of this report.