The advising mission took place in Lima (Peru) over the week of 24th to 28th August 2015 as part of the Plan-Budget Link action being developed by the EUROsociAL II Programme, financed by the European Union.

Within the framework of the National Policy for Modernisation of Public Management up to 2021, the principle of inter-governmental and intersectoral coordination indicates that the national government and its institutions should focus on their capacities for planning, national policy formulation, and monitoring and evaluation. CEPLAN is the specialised technical body that effectively oversees Peru's National Strategic Planning System. CEPLAN's functions in the area of monitoring and evaluation are the following: to develop monitoring and evaluation of the strategic management of the State, which includes monitoring and evaluation, in coordination with the bodies of the System, of the plans and policies, objectives, and programmes and projects considered priority for national development; and to report on the economic, social, environmental, and institutional situation of the country in relation to the Strategic Plan for National Development.

Within this framework, CEPLAN received the support of the EUROsociAL Programme for undertaking a study/diagnosis to identify the aspects to be strengthened in terms of monitoring and evaluation capacities throughout the entire planning cycle in order to provide guidance to local governments on formulation, monitoring and evaluation of strategic development policies and plans. The purpose was to refine the national strategic development objectives set out in the Strategic Plan for National Development.

The expert advising was oriented, first, towards identifying strengths and weaknesses in evaluation capacities; second, towards establishing criteria for CEPLAN to design an Action Plan for institutionalising public policy evaluation; and, third, towards advising CEPLAN on the design of the evaluations for national development plans at the regional or sectoral level.

This activity is linked, moreover, to the regional process of strengthening the national evaluation systems of five Latin American countries (Costa Rica, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay) which the EUROsociAL Programme has been supporting.