This course familiarizes participants with various project monitoring and evaluation systems and tools that focus on results in international development. The course offers participants both a conceptual framework and practical skill development.

Course Outline

• Results-Based Management (RBM) in International Development

• Understanding and distinguishing between monitoring and evaluation in the context of RBM

• Results Chain: inputs, processes, outputs, outcomes and impacts for development projects, programs or strategies

• Importance of feedback and lessons learned

• Role of partners and stakeholders

• Significance of “soft” assistance

• Implications for country offices

Planning for and Executing on the Monitoring and Evaluation Processes

• Key principles for overall work planning

• Purpose and timing (including ex-post) of monitoring and evaluation

• Involving key partners and stakeholders

• Building monitoring and evaluation teams with defined roles and strong capabilities

• Establishing a hierarchy of project objectives

• Defining scope of monitoring and evaluations

• Selecting analytical tools, methodologies or approaches enabling measurement and attribution

• Importance of data quality and collection and baseline data

• Measuring and assessing project/program output relevance, efficiency and effectiveness in achieving outcomes

• Measuring and assessing level, sustainability, innovativeness, replicability and scalability of impacts from project/program outcomes on physical and financial assets; human assets; social capital and people’s empowerment; food security; environment and communal resource base; institutions, policies and regulations

• Budgeting

• Managing monitoring and evaluation processes

• Anticipating and resolving problems

Tools, Methods and Approaches Facilitating Monitoring and Evaluation

• Performance indicators and common rating systems

• Logical framework approach (Log Frame)

• Theory-based evaluation

• Formal surveys

• Rapid appraisal methods

• Participatory methods

• Field visits

• Public expenditure tracking surveys

• Economic analysis, including cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis

• Project evaluations

• Impact evaluation analysis

• Evaluation and tracking plans

• Annual reviews and reports

• Comparative overview of other tools, methods and approaches used by leading global institutions

Learning and Improvements

• Learning from evaluative evidence and applying recommendations from feedback

• Publication of evaluative evidence and feedback material

• Improving evaluation feedback

• Knowledge management

• Institutionalization of learning