A MONITORING AND EVALUATION FRAMEWORK FOR SOUTH−SOUTH COOPERATION

The document details the development of a qualitative M&E framework for South-South cooperation (SSC), resulting from a 20-month process of consultations and field tests. It proposes 20 indicators across five dimensions—inclusive national ownership, horizontality, self-reliance and sustainability, accountability and transparency, and development efficiency—as an alternative to OECD-DAC standards, which the authors argue are not suited for Southern partnerships.

• The NeST framework rejects the use of OECD-DAC principles and standards for monitoring and evaluation of South-South cooperation, arguing that the paradigms of Northern donors differ from those of Southern partners. Instead, the framework is rooted in principles derived from historical global South conferences in Bandung (1955), Buenos Aires (1978), Nairobi (2009), Bogota (2010), and Delhi (2013).
• The updated framework consists of 20 qualitative indicators organized into five core dimensions: inclusive national ownership, horizontality, self-reliance and sustainability, accountability and transparency, and development efficiency.
• The 'Inclusive National Ownership' dimension emphasizes that SSC should be demand-driven and move beyond government-to-government (G2G) relations to include civil society and people-to-people participation, ensuring that marginalized populations benefit from development dividends.
• The 'Horizontality' dimension focuses on shared responsibility and mutual benefit, acknowledging that while partners strive for equality, power asymmetries between Southern countries may persist. It identifies solidarity and trust as essential for realizing this dimension.
• The 'Self-Reliance and Sustainability' dimension argues that SSC should reduce external dependency by building local capacity and facilitating the recipient country's ability to raise diverse domestic financing for long-term development.
• The 'Accountability and Transparency' dimension advocates for the public availability of cooperation data via government websites and the implementation of mutual accountability mechanisms through joint reviews between partners.
• The 'Development Efficiency' dimension focuses on maximizing impact through flexibility, adaptation to local contexts, and coordination between the provider's internal agencies and external partners, led by the recipient country.
• Case studies conducted in 2016 involving South Africa, Brazil, India, Turkey, and Mexico suggested that qualitative indicators should be complemented by a balanced scoring system to rate performance on each indicator and dimension.

APA

BESHARATI, N., RAWHANI, C., & RIOS, O. G. (2017). A MONITORING AND EVALUATION FRAMEWORK FOR SOUTH−SOUTH COOPERATION. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/A-Monitoring-And-Evaluation-Framework-For-South-South-Cooperation.pdf

Chicago

BESHARATI, NEISSAN, CARMEL RAWHANI, and ORNELA GARELLI RIOS. A MONITORING AND EVALUATION FRAMEWORK FOR SOUTH−SOUTH COOPERATION. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2017. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/A-Monitoring-And-Evaluation-Framework-For-South-South-Cooperation.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=BESHARATI |first1=NEISSAN |last2=RAWHANI |first2=CARMEL |last3=RIOS |first3=ORNELA GARELLI |title=A MONITORING AND EVALUATION FRAMEWORK FOR SOUTH−SOUTH COOPERATION |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=March 2017 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/A-Monitoring-And-Evaluation-Framework-For-South-South-Cooperation.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{besharati2017monitoring, author = {BESHARATI, NEISSAN and RAWHANI, CARMEL and RIOS, ORNELA GARELLI}, title = {{A MONITORING AND EVALUATION FRAMEWORK FOR SOUTH−SOUTH COOPERATION}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2017}, month = mar, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/A-Monitoring-And-Evaluation-Framework-For-South-South-Cooperation.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }