The Use of Third-Party Monitoring in Insecure Contexts

Third-Party Monitoring (TPM) describes the practice of contracting third parties to collect
and verify monitoring data. In insecure contexts, aid actors primarily use TPM to monitor the activities of partner organisations in places where their own staff faces access restrictions.

This report is based on interviews with commissioning agencies, TPM providers and donors, and a review of literature. It concludes that TPM can provide a meaningful contribution to the broader monitoring and evaluation toolbox by strengthening compliance in places where access is limited. For donors, TPM offers an option to verify monitoring information from partners. For aid agencies, TPM can provide a source of primary field data to inform programming and help verify partner reporting. However, agencies should do as much of their own monitoring as possible.