Management Information System to track waste management improvements in Monrovia
Resource Futures was appointed by Monrovia City Corporation to develop a robust monitoring and evaluation (M&E) methodology to track and report on waste management activities.
The management of solid waste in Greater Monrovia, Liberia, is complex and challenging. Waste disposal sites are inadequate, and waste is dumped in wetlands and rivers. Waste dumping, coupled with the non-enforcement of existing laws on waste disposal, affects efforts towards improving waste management in the city.
The lack of up-to-date data also presents challenges to municipal authorities in the planning and organisation of waste management.
Objectives
The Global Partnership for Results-Based Approaches (GPRBA) provides innovative financing solutions that link funding to achieving results and are financing improvements to waste management in Greater Monrovia. Robust M&E activities are required as part of this grant in order to evidence these improvements.
Payments under the GPRBA grant are issued according to performance against set standards. The main objective of this project was to facilitate the payment of these funds by ensuring that government staff have the necessary training and data collection tools to adequately monitor, record, and report performance against the defined performance indicators.
Approach
Resource Futures developed the M&E framework and associated data collection and analysis tools. We also provided training workshops to government staff on how to carry out the M&E activities and how to use a Management Information System (MIS) to collate the M&E data and track the key performance indicators.
The key performance indicators of the M&E framework covered:
- Primary collection to support the collection of waste from households.
- Community cleanliness so as to encourage communities to maintain clean neighbourhoods.
- Secondary collection to support the transfer of waste from the community to the city’s waste transfer stations and landfill.
- Landfill management.
The MIS is critical to ensure that all the necessary M&E data is collected, collated, and organised in a way that allows key performance indicators to be calculated and monitored. The development of an MIS will provide a foundation for collecting better data on the operation of Greater Monrovia’s waste management system in the future.
A training exercise was delivered to M&E staff whereby staff undertook pilot testing of the MIS. The testing allowed users to review the format of the MIS, enter dummy data, and review the usability of the MIS database.
Outcomes
The development of the Management Information System (MIS) and data recording forms gave Greater Monrovia a robust system to collect data on solid waste management.
The MIS will help Greater Monrovia to track all the necessary M&E data and build a strong foundation to assist with the planning and organisation of waste management.
The M&E training provided the Greater Monrovia team with a detailed understanding of the methodology of the M&E activities and the data requirements for each of the key performance indicators. As a result of the training, the team were able to commence the M&E data collection which is required to access the results-based financing grants.
