The former refers to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the adaptation process through the incorporation of new information and lessons learned, while the latter is about demonstrating that actions have taken place and led to a result. National systems for the monitoring and evaluation of adaptation are tailored to domestic circumstances, priorities and capacities, and reflect the context-specific nature of adaptation responses. Systems to date have focused on a diverse range of specific purposes, types of indicators or self-assessment, and taken different approaches to aggregate information from sub-national scales. While adaptation processes are most commonly monitored, adaptation outcome indicators are among the least used and most difficult to produce, although they play an important role in evaluating adaptation effectiveness over time.