An Approach to Monitoring and Evaluation of Institutional Capacity for Adaptation to Climate Change: The Case of the United Kingdom's Investment in Ethiopia's Climate-Resilient Green Economy

The design and implementation of evaluation methods assessing the impact of the United Kingdom's climate finance on the Ethiopian Government's institutional capacity for implementation of the national climate change strategy is described. The article focuses on capacity-assessment tools that support evidence-based self-assessments of progress toward politically determined targets. We highlight the strengths of the capacity-assessment tools in building ownership of monitoring data among implementers, providing rapid feedback to inform management of development programs, and the potential to create windows of opportunity to tackle long-standing institutional blockages. We also note challenges in relation to the skills required to implement the evaluation methods effectively, the limitations in attributing change to a particular intervention, and potential biases. Finally, we explain the scope for use of the tools in other contexts.