This document discusses monitoring and evaluation (MEL) and its importance for improving fundraising bids and project quality. It notes that while transformational programs are hard to measure, demonstrating results is increasingly demanded by donors and the public to ensure accountability and value for money. Examples show funders requesting evidence of a project's impact, like increased school attendance or health outcomes. The document outlines Oxfam's MEL processes, from setting measurable objectives and collecting data to using evaluations and reviews to improve decision-making. It acknowledges challenges like balancing learning and accountability when resources are limited but argues that MEL is essential for good management, communication, and organizational reputation.

1. Trust Fundraising
CONFERENCE 2012
Monitoring and Evaluation - in order to
improve fundraising bids
Helen Bushell, Oxfam GB

2. ‘Those development programmes that are
most precisely and easily measured are
the least transformational and those
programmes that are most
transformational are the least measurable’
Andrew Natsios
Former Director USAID 2010

3. The Value of MEL
• Why we monitor and evaluate and how
good MEL can strengthen fundraising bids
and project quality.
• The results and evidence agenda – trends
on the demand side (internal and
external).
• Examples of satisfying funder demands to
demonstrate results.
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4. WHY NOW? What is going on in the
sector?
Greater
Recession quality
Competition Value for
Money
Results
Aid
scepticism Accountability
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5. WHY MONITOR AND EVALUATE?
• Accountability – to donors, public and communities
• To give an account for Oxfam’s actions and decisions
• To take account of the views of our stakeholders
• Learning from what we do to improve effectiveness
• To increase our effectiveness by making more evidence-based
decisions about programmes, policies and strategies
• Increasingly sceptical press and public
• To speak with credibility in debates about aid effectiveness
• Results agenda – donor demand
• Incentives - we value what we measure
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6. ANNUAL REPORT
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7. An example of funder demands...
• “...what I do hope is that reports, especially the final end of project
reports, are able to present a persuasive case about why a project was
worth us having supported, and/or be a strong analysis of what didn’t
go so well and the lessons we and the NGOs implementing the project
can learn from it.” December 2012, Grants and Research Officer
• My Trustees have therefore asked me to write to you to explain further what
we would like to have seen in this report, by way of example of the data and
analysis we are referring to. We also acknowledge that we have never
been clear that this is the specific information we would hope to see in
a report.
• Evidence that the installation of water points has had a positive impact on school
pupils’ attendance at school.
• Evidence about the level of take-up of hand washing activities compared to
before the project, and any indication about the impact that this has had on
health outcomes.
• Any longer-term/wider trends about the impact that community hygiene
campaigns have had on hand washing etc, and therefore on health outcomes.
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8. Trustees
Donors/Trusts Country
Governments
Partners
Who are we
accountable to?
UK Public
UK Government Staff
Those whose lives we are seeking to
change
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9. Questions to ask...
• What will success look like?
• Have we done what we said we would do?
• How have ‘beneficiaries’ themselves been involved in
monitoring?
• What is the story of change from poor people
themselves?
• What can we say about Oxfam’s contribution?
• What qualitative and quantitative evidence do we have
for what we say?
• Was it value for money?
• What have you learnt? How will we apply the learning?
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10. Oxfam GB’s MEL processes
1. Getting the basics 2. Building 3. Feeding learning
right: systematic organisational into decision-
monitoring against knowledge and making: moments
programme accountability: for review
indicators rigorous evaluation of
outcomes and impact
•Coherent, measurable •Programme evaluations •Programme
programmes Monitoring Reviews
•Impact Assessments
•Joint vision •Country Learning
*****
•Clear MEL plans Reviews
•Strategic evaluations
•Systematic data •Regional Learning
•Evaluation syntheses Reviews
collection
•Oxfam Reflects
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11. Examples of clear, quantitative
objectives
Vietnam Education Project
• Helping children in rural
Vietnam to get a better
education
• To improve the quality of
primary education in Lao Cai
Province by training 100% of
teachers in child centred
learning, benefitting at least
60,000 children
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12. Examples of clear, quantitative
objectives
India Fish Worker
Project
• Raise income and
empower vulnerable
fisher women
• To double the income
of 3,500 women fish
workers in Orissa, in 3
years, on a
sustainable basis
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13. Agree methods of measurement
Baseline Survey at Household and Market
Level
Income Levels, Indebtendness, Fish Price
KPIs
Quarterly Measurements of change
Reports – Are we on track?
Six months, annual, final, narrative and financial
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14. Challenges in the sector
1. In a results- How do we create an MEL as essential
focused culture environment in which to learning,
… teams are open to
sharing failures?
2. In a declining How do we meet Embed within our
projects, cost at
resource increasing demands
proposal stage,
environment … for evaluative make systems
information? proportionate
3. In an How do we develop Keep it simple,
organisation that and communicate a keep it agile
is constantly coherent approach
innovating and to programme
changing … quality?
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15. What are your organisational MEL
processes?
• MEL is essential for good project management, it improves
the quality of what we do and provides us with evidence to
communicate our effectiveness.
• It is essential that you are able to articulate your approach to
MEL (evaluation policy, learning strategy, PCM etc).
• Dialogue with funders, an understanding of the emphasis they
put on MEL and what they are willing to fund is vital.
• Good MEL strengths your fundraising bids and your
organisational reputation.
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16. THANK YOU