Tamil Nadu Funds New M&E Capacity Building Plan with CLEAR South Asia

In a major milestone for evidence use in public policy, the Government of Tamil Nadu in southern India has approved and allocated funding for a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Capacity Building Plan, co-developed with the Center for Learning on Evaluation and Results in South Asia (CLEAR–SA), an implementing partner of the Global Evaluation Initiative (GEI). Backed by the Steering Committee chaired by the Deputy Chief Minister, the government-funded initiative highlights Tamil Nadu’s strong commitment to strengthening institutional M&E capabilities to support better governance and more evidence-informed decision-making.

The achievement builds on CLEAR–SA's sustained engagement with the state’s Department of Planning and Development. Using a Monitoring and Evaluation Systems Analysis (MESA) diagnostic—an essential tool in GEI’s systems-based approach—CLEAR–SA worked hand in hand with state partners to identify institutional capacity gaps and design a tailored capacity-building roadmap for the Department of Evaluation and Applied Research, mandated to evaluate programs run by the state.

Funded directly by the Department of Planning and Development, the resulting plan translates analysis into actionable support. It combines technical training for up to 50 staff, embedded advisory support, and dedicated operational resources to improve the ability of state agencies to conduct, commission, and use evaluations for decision-making. Implementation began in November 2025, with the first advisory scheduled for December 2025, and will serve as a model for other states seeking to institutionalize a culture of evidence-use.

The collaboration has also expanded into climate governance. Tamil Nadu’s Department of Environment and Climate Change has allocated dedicated funding for CLEAR–SA to deliver structured training to around 40 Fellows under the Chief Minister’s Green Fellowship Programme, bolstering the state’s capacity to generate evidence for climate policies and climate-responsive planning.

“This milestone demonstrates what’s possible when governments lead and invest in their own evaluation capacity. It reflects the long-term vision we share with Tamil Nadu—to make evidence use a core part of how policy decisions are made,” said Sohini Mookherjee, Interim Director, CLEAR–SA.

Together, these initiatives reflect CLEAR–SA’s holistic and long-term approach to strengthening M&E systems—anchored in collaboration, systems thinking, and institutional ownership. For Tamil Nadu, a state of 77 million people—comparable to the population of Thailand—the investment marks a step toward more data-driven governance. For CLEAR–SA, it presents a strong example of how strategic, sustained engagement can catalyze government investment in M&E capacity development.