Section 01: Introduction
We are all familiar with the Term Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) and have all engaged in MEL at some time during our day to day work e.g. reporting to donors, senior managers or clients. This toolkit offers managers and staff of small NGOs a set of tools aimed at helping them make Monitoring Evaluation and Learning an integral part of their work. How much an NGO is able to do themselves will depend on who is employed and what their skills are. If an NGO is managed fully by volunteers it may be necessary to seek advice from M&E specialists when designing an MEL system or using tools. This tool kit is aimed at organisations that have some understanding of MEL but need further support in how to use the tools.
Different organisations require different MEL tools and this toolkit sets out the different phases in project/programme work to help them to determine which tools are appropriate at the different stages of a MEL system.
Monitoring and Evaluation is first and foremost about measuring change: what has changed as a result of the work we are doing. Learning is about how we use the information collected from our Monitoring and Evaluation and use it to inform and improve our work. Through Monitoring and Evaluation processes, we track the change our work has had on the lives of the people we are working for and should highlight to what extent the change has influenced our decision making. It is an important part of both improving our work and allowing us to celebrate how we have influenced positive change.
1.1: What is Monitoring?
Systematic, regular collection of data on specified indicators during the lifetime of an intervention. It provides managers and the main stakeholders with information about progress against planned activities, budgets and objectives (i.e. Is the intervention doing what it said it would do - efficiently, to adequate quality?).
Monitoring is what we do on a day-to-day basis to help us manage our work and is mostly an internal process which we do for and by ourselves. Monitoring is linked to good planning. It helps us regularly assess whether the proposed objectives are being achieved, unintended changes are observed, and whether the work is on track. It also helps us identify problems and strengths that can be built on, and adapt the work to changing environments.
1.1.1: Why do we Monitor?
There are many reasons for monitoring. The main ones are:
Measurement of change; both within our organisations and in the lives of our clients
Accountability (upwards) to governments, donors, supporters, and organisation leaders and (downwards to supported groups such as partner NGOs, CBOs and targeted beneficiaries.
Control and supervision - we monitor to ensure people carry out planned activities and/ or achieve expected outcomes Learning - we find out what works and what doesn’t, and we also identify best (or worst) practice.
Providing evidence for advocacy – we can generate evidence that can be used when carrying out lobbying or campaigning work. Public relations and fundraising – we are able to document anecdotal stories acquired through MEL processes.
Resource allocation - we base funding and/or other resource decisions on the success or otherwise of the project or programme.
1.2: What is Evaluation?
The systematic assessment of the results (outcomes, impact) of an ongoing or completed project or programme at a specific point in time (usually mid-term and at project end). An evaluation often examines the efficiency, effectiveness, relevance, impact and sustainability of an intervention. Evaluations are often completed by people outside the organisation who are perceived to be better able to provide an objective view.
1.2.1: Why do we Evaluate?
Evaluation is, like monitoring, an important management tool. It helps us to:
Review our performance
Make informed decisions
Learn from experience
Account for our actions
Support accountability and learning at country level by providing stakeholders with the necessary information to assess the performance of the different activities and to learn and agree on ways of improving performance.
The timing of an evaluation can depend on a number of factors: as part of the funding cycle linked with the donor requirement that an evaluation be carried out prior to the release of further funds; or perhaps when a major challenge arises which was not anticipated and we therefore need to reflect objectively on the implications of the project/programme continuing.
Evaluation needs to be planned for and embedded within the management of a project or programme. It will be most effective if monitoring is regularly carried out and information is continuously collected and analysed.
1.3: What do we mean by a learning organisation?
A learning organisation is one that creates an environment which produces honest, accurate, high quality M&E information and where learning from mistakes as well as successes is valued and celebrated. This depends on the organisational values and ethos ie the character of the organisation.
“The social process by which we develop knowledge, skills, insights, beliefs, values, attitudes, habits, feelings, wisdom, shared understanding and self-awareness.”
(Bruce Britton 2005, "Organisational Learning in NGOs: Creating the Motive, Means and Opportunity", INTRAC Praxis paper n. 3 , p55).
1.3.1: What do we need to do to create a learning organisation?
Bruce Britton identifies eight elements that an organisation needs to do in order for it to learn effectively (Bruce Britton: The Learning NGO, INTRAC Occasional Paper).
Create a learning culture
Gather internal experience
Access external learning
Have a communication system that allows information to circulate
Have mechanisms for drawing conclusions and identifying lessons
Develop an organisational memory
Integrate learning into strategy and policy
Apply the learning!
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