"The Regulations  of the Preparation, Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation of State Programs"    was approved.

  President Ilham Aliyev approved the Regulations of the Preparation, Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation of State Programs. The new regulations were developed in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On Amendments to the Charter of the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication" dated July 13, 2016. According to the new regulations , the project development process will assess the main objectives and priorities of the country's socio-economic development, as well as the proposals of relevant agencies, world experience, interaction with other projects in relevant fields. The coordinating bodies appointed for the implementation of the state programs, provided for in the draft regulations , ensure that a single coordinating body controls the realization of each measure and sub-measure. With the approval of the new regulations, the approach to monitoring and evaluation is changing, both in terms of philosophy and methodology. Also, the process of transition from activity-based monitoring and evaluation to results-based monitoring and evaluation can be observed. It means that during the monitoring and evaluation, instead of the question "did they do it?" the relevant executive bodies will be asked the question “so what?". Thus, the assessment will cover not the work done, but the specific results and impacts of the measures taken. At the stage of preparation of state programs, specific indicators will be identified for subsequent monitoring and evaluation of work. These indicators will determine the extent to which problems have been resolved upon the implementation of the measures envisaged. During the monitoring and evaluation process, by defining initial baselines, it will be possible to carry out a comparative analysis of the situation before (ex-ante) and after (ex-post) implementation of measures. According to the new regulations, indicators designed for monitoring and evaluation should be classified into three stages: indicators of initial, intermediate, and final results. Such classification allows conducting monitoring and evaluation of the results expected from the implementation of programs regularly.

    With the approval of the new regulations, questions for monitoring and evaluation will be categorized by efficiency, relevance, and rationality. Such an approach is considered an internationally accepted monitoring and evaluation methodology. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank use this methodology.