Evaluating Development Cooperation/Establishing A Process Of Monitoring, Evaluation And Learning

n organization aiming at programme program quality should establish a system of Monitoring and Evaluation. In fact in order to ensure program quality programme managers need to use the feed back of monitoring and evaluation in order to: check whether the programme or project is being implemented according to plans and assess whether the programme of project is resulting in the anticipated changes or impacts (thereby fulfilling the basic requirement for a projectized organization); identify key learning points to feed back in improved programme design and management (thereby fulfilling the basic requirement for a learning organization); identify the need and the scope to raise the capacity of the human resources of the organization to manage successfully their task and contribute to the generation of a healthy communication climate within the organization and with external stakeholders. (thereby fulfilling the basic requirement for an employee empowering organization). Building professional reputation and standards in organizational activities and image.

Attention: do not confuse project monitoring with project evaluation.

Project monitoring is identical with project performance measurement and belongs to the project execution and control phase of project management. Monitoring and reporting the project performance is to review the project progress against expected milestones, timelines and costs. The purpose of reporting is to share the information required to manage Manage CSSQ (Cost, Scope, Schedule, and Quality). . With reference to tasks, actions and projects, monitoring is looking at what is currently happening. It is functional to the objective of delivering the project outputs with the expected quality and within the time and cost constrains defined in the project plan document. The deliverable of project appraisal is the Project Status (or progress) report (see project execution templates). Project evaluation is not a part of project execution but is a different phase of the programme cycle. Project evaluation is not done by the project manager but by the project sponsor (e.g. the Programme Manager, etc.) or by someone supporting her. It requires Project Status reports as a fundamental input. Its outputs are projects evaluation reports and program lessons learned. Evaluation is based on monitoring but adds a "judgment" on the correlation between activities performed, outputs delivered, changes induced objectives achieved and impacts obtained upon the factors generating the problems and opportunities that motivated the project. While the delivery of project outputs is the responsibility of the project team, the achievements of project outcomes and objectives depends also by the way stakeholders utilize the project outputs to interact with the rest of the community and contribute to achieve the project objectives.

Monitoring and evaluation can be done by deputed offices and persons within the organization or by external consultants (individuals or specialized organizations) (see job profile of an evaluation expert in a development organization). As stakeholders increasingly demand accountability and transparency, it is becoming imperative that Impact Reports reveal:

How programmes are contributing to greater transparency and accountability among stakeholders Financial information of programmes so that impact is also measured in terms of cost efficiency Reveal more lessons learnt and actions taken to follow this up Reveal the logical linkages between outputs, outcomes and impacts. M&E, when absorbed down at all levels of the organizational structure, are also strategic in making each team member more accountable for their specific tasks and making the teams accountable for their capacity to generate the communication climate that empowers each member to fulfil her/his role.

Because of the cycle structure of programming, evaluation is the last stage of each ending cycle and the first one of each new cycle, the results of evaluation feeding into the other stages. rephrase the following sentences In fact programme managers need to use the feed back of monitoring and evaluation in order to check whether the programme or project is being implemented according to plan; assess whether the programme/project leads to the changes or impacts that were anticipated; consider how sustainable the programme or project impact is likely to be; identify key learning and action points to feed back into this programme or project and inform future projects, programmes and policy.