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19 in monitoring or evaluating a particular project, programme or policy, share control over the content, the process and the results of the M&E activity, and engage in taking or identifying corrective action (World Bank, 2010). PM&E involves primary stakeholders as active participants, and offers new ways of assessing and learning from changes that are more inclusive, and it reflects the perspectives and aspirations of those most directly affected (World Bank, 2010). The stakeholders involved in a participatory M&E include: the end users of project goods and services, including both men and women at the community level; intermediary organisations, including NGOs; private sector businesses involved in the project; and government staff at all levels (Rietberben- McCracken et al ., 1998). The process of M&E using participatory methods has to be pre- planned prior to project implementation, engaging the relevant stakeholders in all processes, including data gathering, analysing data, in sharing information and defining actions to be taken. (Phillip, 2008). It is a process which values local people as a key resource involved in programmes, projects, or policies as active participants instead of just sources of information. It focuses on building stakeholder capacity in analysing and problem solving (Dilllon, 2013). The commonly used methods include participatory rural appraisal, beneficiary assessment, and other methods. The recommended corrective actions are more likely to be implemented in a participatory M&E process compared to conventional M&E. Participatory methods are also useful to strengthen trust and ownership, to build accountability and transparency, and to widen the knowledge base in M&E; provided the stakeholders’ inputs are genuinely taken into account. There are challenges in undertaking participatory methods of M&E. In some instances, participatory methods are perceived as a waste of time because the process of engaging stakeholders takes longer, compared to conventional and non- participatory methods. The use of participatory methods in M&E has been incorrectly viewed as affecting some sectors and not others. As result, its application has mainly been undertaken in the non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Part of this can be explained by the growing expectation from donors attaching conditions to funds, expecting NGOs to show the impact of their work and relevance, and to demonstrate results, effectiveness and accountability (Porter et al ., 2013). The project beneficiaries and host governments in Africa are also putting pressure on the NGOs and other members of the civil society to adopt and implement participatory M&E methods, and this has advanced the application of the methods Focus Box 1: Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation PM&E is a process which values local people as a key resources involved in programmes, projects, or policies as active participants instead of just sources of information .