Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation and Reporting for Development Programs.

Monitoring

…is the systematic and routine collection of information from projects and programmes for four main purposes:

• To learn from experiences to improve practices and activities in the future;
• To have internal and external accountability of the resources used and the results obtained;
• To take informed decisions on the future of the initiative;
• To promote empowerment of beneficiaries of the initiative.

Evaluation

…is assessing, as systematically and objectively as possible, a completed project or programme (or a phase of an ongoing project or programme that has been completed). Evaluations appraise data and information that inform strategic decisions, thus improving the project or programme in the future.

Monitoring & Evaluation

M&E is an embedded concept and constitutive part of every project or programme design (“must be”).

The objective of this course:
1. To increase the capacity of the development sector to deliver project outcomes that are efficient and effective, and to be able to measure and evaluate these outcomes.

2. To equip development practitioners with the knowledge and expertise to be able to conduct their own planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting or to be able to guide project partners in doing so.

3. To provide a space for development practitioners to learn from each other by sharing knowledge and experiences.

What Particpants will gain

• A workable understanding of the key concepts in planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting;
• An understanding of the importance of integrating monitoring, evaluation and reporting into project planning, and an understanding of where they fit into the project cycle;
• Knowledge of how to plan a project using the Logical Framework Approach;
• Knowledge of how to develop a result-based monitoring and evaluation framework;
• Knowledge of the different stages of evaluation;
• An improved understanding of the different types of evaluation;
• A basic knowledge of data collection and analysis techniques, and their relationship to the different types of evaluation.

What the Participants will be able to do after the training

• Develop targets against which performance is measured;
• Monitor their projects and the achievement of objectives;
• Identify and develop “SMART” objectives and “DVARP” indicators;
• Do a stakeholder analysis, objectives analysis, alternatives analysis, problem analysis;
• Select an appropriate framework for conducting an evaluation;
• Identify appropriate qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques;
• Construct a terms of reference and an evaluation report.

Participants will leave the course with:
Knowledge and skills of how to plan a development project, using the Logical Framework Approach, and how to design an M&E plan.