How-to notes : participatory and third party monitoring in World Bank projects - what can non-state actors do?

This note describes ways to complement regular monitoring by the government or project implementing units with monitoring by communities, civil society organizations (CSOs), research institutes, consulting firms, and others broadly defined in this note as 'non-state actors' (NSAs). Monitoring conducted by NSAs, referred to in this note as, 'non-state monitoring' (NSM), could significantly improve task team knowledge about project implementation, impacts, targeting, and problems; gain the support of project beneficiaries and other stakeholders; give credibility to project findings; and ultimately improve project development effectiveness. NSM can be particularly useful in conditions of limited access, such as fragile and conflict areas and projects with numerous sites to monitor. The next section describes the two main forms of non-state monitoring (NSM): third party monitoring (TPM) and participatory monitoring. The third section elaborates a wide variety of uses of NSM with project examples. Then the core guidance is presented in a series of sections on a step-by-step process approach to the design and implementation of NSM. A final section provides additional tips on implementation. Annex one contains a table suggesting range of options that can be chosen based on monitoring objectives and the project context. Annex two provides a checklist of design and implementation steps. Annex three provides a brief description of six common tools used by NSAs in project monitoring, including their objectives, benefits, uses, limits, challenges, and implementation tips.