The document defines monitoring as the regular collection of project data to track progress and make timely decisions, while evaluation is a periodic, objective assessment of all aspects of a project to determine effectiveness. It describes different types of monitoring like implementation and results monitoring, and various types of evaluation including formative, outcome, impact, and summative evaluations. Quality evaluation should be impartial, useful, technically adequate, include feedback, and provide good value relative to the project's cost.

1. MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PROJECTS
Abraham Marangu Ncunge

2. INTRODUCTION/FUNDAMENTALS OF M&E
Introduction
Course Objectives
 Define monitoring
 Define evaluation
 Describe the types of monitoring and evaluation
 Understand the relationship between monitoring and
evaluation
 Define key terminologies used in M&E
 Understand the purpose of M&E

3. MONITORING AND EVALUATION
 A process of obtaining information and using it to
make an assessment that can improve future decisions
and actions
 M&E can include assessment of such general project
outcomes such as:
 Habit change
 Population trends
 Community awareness
 Community involvement

4. What is monitoring ?
 The regular collection and analysis of information to
assist timely decision making, ensure accountability
and provide the basis for evaluation and learning
 A continuing function that uses methodical collection
of data to provide management and the main
stakeholders of ongoing project or program with early
indicators of progress and achievements of objectives
 Tracking the key elements of program/project
performance on a regular basis (inputs, activities,
results)

5. Types of monitoring
 Implementation monitoring
-provides information about whether we are doing
what we said we are going to do
-Tracks the inputs, activities and outputs in annual or
multilayer work plan
 Effectiveness/results based/ outcome monitoring
- provides information about how well the goals and
expectations are being met
Tracks achievement of outcomes and impact

6. What is Evaluation ?
 It is a rigorous, scientifically-based collection of
information about programme, activities,
characteristics and outcomes that determine the merit
or worth of a specific programme
 It is a time-bound exercise that attempts to assess
systematically and objectively the relevance,
performance and success of programs and actions
 Evaluation is not a one time event but involves
assessment of different scope and depth carried out at
several points in time in response to evolving needs for
evaluative knowledge and learning during the effort to
achieve an outcome

7. Types of Evaluation
Process evaluation
It consists of two parts- Context evaluation and implementation
evaluation;
1) Context evaluation
 Assesses the impact of context and environment on the
implementation and performance of the project
 Should answer questions such as :
-do your stakeholders and partners help or hinder the achievement
of your project goals?
-does the level of readiness of the target audience affect the
performance of the project? what external factors have had a
negative effect on the performance of the project?

8. Types of Evaluation Cont.
2) Implementation evaluation
 Examines the procedures and tasks involved in
implementing a program
 Monitors the program to ensure feedback during the
course of the program
 Answers the questions what happened and why? What
are the most critical components necessary for success
of the project? Which ones are hindering success

9. Types of Evaluation Cont.
 Formative evaluation (pre-implementation
assessment)
- designed to assess the strengths and weaknesses or
materials or campaign strategies before implementation
-permits necessary revisions before the full effort goes
forward
 Outcome evaluation
 Used to obtain descriptive data on a project and to
document short-term results
 Short-term results describe the immediate effect of the
project on the target audience

10. Types of Evaluation Cont.
 Impact evaluation
- Focuses on the long-range results of the program and
changes or improvements as a result
- It attempts to find out the changes that occurred and
to what they can be attributed
- Has two distinct stage;
 Measurement of a positive or negative change for the
target population-related to the projects overall
development goal
 Determine whether this change was caused by the
project

11. Types of Evaluation Cont.
 Summative evaluation
- Any combination measurements and judgments that
permit conclusions to be drawn about impact,
outcome or benefits of a program or method
 Meta evaluation
- can be used to summarize trends and generate
confidence or caution in instances when a number of
evaluations have already been conducted on one or
similar initiatives

12. Types of Evaluation Cont.
 Product evaluation
- Helps determine the overall quality of the project, as
well as the client satisfaction and the resulting demand
for the products and services produced
- May answer questions such as: which
services/products produced were most /least
successful in terms of quality and client satisfaction
and why?

13. Characteristics of Quality evaluation
 Impartiality- free of deliberate distortion
 Usefulness- relevant, timely
 Technical adequacy- information gathering and
analysis procedure should meet relevant standards
 Feedback and dissemination- should be carried out in
an appropriate, targeted and timely manner
 Value for money- cost of evaluation should be
proportional to the cost of initiative

14. Roles of M&E
 Monitoring and evaluation are closely related concepts
 Monitoring does not replace evaluation
 Monitoring and evaluation are distinct but
complimentary
 Good monitoring is the foundation for good
evaluation because it creates a repository of data and
other information aimed at assisting evaluators

15. Complementary roles of M&E
The evaluation function here moves beyond “after the
fact approach”
 Sequential complementarity
- Monitoring information can be used to generate
questions that can be answered by evaluation
 Information complementarity- both monitoring and
evaluation can use the same data but pose different
questions
 Interactional complementarity- Managers using
monitoring and evaluation in tandem to direct
initiatives

16. Class Discussion
 Discuss the concept of M&E as applied in your
organization i.e
 How is M&E undertaken
 Who facilitates data collection
 How often is M&E carried in your organization
 How has M&E helped your organization