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Monitoring Definition

Monitoring - Definition 

Monitoring is the systematic and continuous collection, analysis, and use of information for quality control and decision-making related to the projects. It involves the ongoing and routine review of projects to verify whether they are developing according to plan and budgetary requirements and whether adjustments may be needed to achieve intended goals. 

Purpose of Monitoring 

The primary aim of monitoring is to improve the quality of projects during implementation. Through monitoring, ineffective efforts are identified and rectified, and remarkably effective actions are appreciated. 

Monitoring enables us to answer these questions and then make important decisions to improve the quality of projects and their implementation: 

  • Are project inputs (finance, personnel, materials, etc.) available on time and in the right quantities and quality? 
  • Are activities being implemented according to the project design and on schedule 
  • Are activities leading to the expected outputs 
  • How do beneficiaries feel about the activities 
  • Are outputs leading to the achievement of the expected outcomes 
  • What is causing delays or unexpected results 
  •  Is there anything happening that should lead management/coordination to make changes or adjustments to the project design or operational plan
  • Are our actions creating any unintended negative consequences
When to Monitor 
Monitoring is conducted during project implementation, as shown in the Project Cycle Management flowchart below.



A monitoring mission occurs either: 
    1. According to a regular monitoring schedule indicated in the proposal or agreed upon at the project         kick-off or indicated in the project M&E framework; 
    2. following ad-hoc decisions from the M&E Manager, Area Coordinator, and/or Country Director.

Who is involved in Monitoring? 
M&E Unit: 
M&E offers technical expertise and additional objectivity to the host of M&E unit activities it undertakes, including monitoring. A stand-alone M&E Unit allows for the inclusion of M&E specialists within the country who offers perspectives on M&E activities and methodology that would otherwise be absent. By focusing the M&E team exclusively on M&E-related work, organiations can elevate the quality and depth of their internal monitoring work. Without the M&E team, Project Managers would be nearly solely responsible for monitoring their projects. This has the disadvantage of often leaving M&E-related tasks for last or worse, leaving them out altogether.

An independent M&E team has the added advantage of little or no personal investment in any particular project, allowing the team the space to look at a project and its successes and failures through a more impartial lens.

M&E Manager: 
Develops M&E frameworks for each project, including crucial monitoring elements with inputs from his/her team, project staff, and other relevant actors. He/she oversees the implementation of these monitoring activities and ensures timeliness, cost efficiency, and quality. 
 
M&E Officers: 
Responsible for keeping track of all monitoring activities outlined in the project M&E framework. They develop mission plans for field data collection. They are directly responsible for implementing these plans, including logistics, budget, tool development testing, data management, and supervising the field enumerators/monitors. An independent M&E team has the added advantage of little or no personal investment in any particular project, allowing the team the space to look at a project and its successes and failures through a more impartial lens. 

M&E Assistants/Monitors: 
conduct monitoring data collection or oversee a team of enumerators for larger monitoring missions. They are responsible for the data's accuracy, efficiency, and timeliness. 

Project Teams: 
While most clearly associated with the AMEU team, the project team has a role in monitoring. Project staff are directly responsible for daily monitoring of project activities and ensuring efficient and effective implementation. In addition, when AME monitoring activities are concerned, the Project Manager and/or respective officers need to be involved in planning these activities, discuss the finding, and agree on a way forward. 

  • Project Manager: He/she will be responsible for promptly completing the Project Management    Framework (PMF) or the Project Manager Report (PMD) and submitting it to the respective teams. PMF/PMR is an essential monitoring tool that provides qualitative and quantitative updates on projects and acts as the backbone of regular monitoring within the organization. 
  • Project Team: The project team is directly responsible for the daily monitoring of activity implementation. They provide feedback on draft monitoring plans and offer technical and area-specific advice to improve the quality of the monitoring plan. They will provide insight into past experiences and ensure the program addresses areas identified as problematic in past operations. Further, they are responsible for providing inputs into indicator and activity tracking tables that M&E updates regularly. 

Coordination: Coordination has a clear role to play in project monitoring. However, the parts the Country Director or the Deputy Country Director Programs and Area Coordinator undertake are considerably different. 
  • Country Director/Deputy Country Director Programs: Given that the M&E Unit is under the direct responsibility of the Country Director/Deputy Country Director Programs, he/she makes sure that Project M&EAME frameworks are developed and implemented accordingly. In addition, the Country Director/Deputy Country Director Programs determines the necessity of doing any special monitoring missions. 
  • Area Coordinator: The Area Coordinator ensures that monitoring missions are conducted at the area level according to the mission plans and provides the area M&E team is equipped sufficiently in terms of logistic, financial, and human resources to conduct these missions. In the case of challenges between project and M&E teams, the AC will facilitate discussions and productive dialogue to ensure both teams can do their jobs effectively. Most importantly, AC reduces discussions between project and M&E teams on monitoring findings and recommendations as a neutral person and also shares the responsibility in implementing those recommendations at the area level.





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  1. learning for lifeOctober 8, 2022 at 8:07 PM

    No proper planning and monitoring, no quality result guarantee!!!

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Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation

Definition (Planning)

Planning can be defined as the process of setting goals, developing strategies, outlining implementation arrangements, and allocating resources to achieve those goals. It is important to note that planning involves looking at several different processes: Identifying the vision, goals, or objectives to be achieved. Formulating the strategies needed to complete the vision and goals Determining and allocating the resources (financial and other) required to achieve the vision and goals Outlining implementation arrangements, which include the arrangements for monitoring and evaluating progress toward achieving the vision and goals The expression “failing to plan is planning to fail.” While it is not always true that those who fail to plan will eventually fail in their endeavors, there is strong evidence to suggest that having a plan leads to greater effectiveness and efficiency. Not having a plan—whether for an office, program or project—is in some ways similar to attempting to build a hous
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Objectives of Project Evaluation

It is impor tant to evaluate the outcomes that a project achieves and to feedback the evaluation results, lessons, and recommendations obtained for more effective and efficient implementation of development assistance. The harsh economic and fiscal situations at home have generated a strong call to the organization for more effective and efficient implementation and to ensure accountability. The enhancement of evaluation has drawn attention as one of a major improvement measures. In addition, there are changes in the political landscape such as the adoption of public sector evaluation by ministries and the reorganization of agencies into Independent Administrative Institutions (IAI) that ask for improvements of the evaluation system.  Evaluation is a tool for judging as objectively as possible the relevance and effectiveness of organization’s cooperation activities at four different stages during the project cycle: ex-ante, mid-term, terminal, and ex-post. The primary objectivethe  of
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Step 4: Creating the Vision of the future

Based on the problem analysis, stakeholders should engage in a process of formulating solutions. This exercise may simply involve rewording the problems and their causes into positive statements or objectives. However, stakeholders should first engage in a visioning process before rewording the problems. The aim of this process is to visualize what the future would look like if the problems were resolved. The benefits of doing a visioning process before rewording the problems include the following: Visioning brings energy to the group. Rather than immediately beginning another detailed process of working on each problem, groups can be energized by thinking positively about what the future would look like if these problems were solved. This exercise encourages creativity and helps ensure that the process is not too analytical and methodical. TIP  Visioning process to have prior knowledge or understanding of the results chain or logical framework model. In fact, in the initial stages of
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Database-Based Monitoring/Tracking

In this approach to monitoring, achievements in terms of numbers (of inputs, activities and outputs) are collected and stored in the project/central databases regularly and presented in an identified frequency against the contractual targets in order to establish whether the project . is leading towards achieving its targets. This approach to monitoring authenticates the progress of the project toward the intended targets. It is important to remember the following when conducting database-based monitoring: The reports drawn on the overall target population, but not sampled; Mostly captures quantities only; Not field-based. Usually performed in the capital office; Types-and-scope-of-monitoring, the officer/staff are responsible for the final products; however, database staff must coordinate necessary data gathering, storing, and analysis. M&E practices two types of tracking under this approach to monitoring in general: Indicator Tracking: Tracking contractual indicators is cruc
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Planning Process

This chapter provides step-by-step guidance on how to undertake planning for results. It focuses on the tasks involved in planning for desired results and includes  considerations  for operationalizing results. As noted earlier, monitoring and evaluation are closely related to planning. Therefore, in planning, it is essential to consider not only intended results   but also how results, and the process of achieving them, will be monitored and evaluated. In particular, planning needs to ensure that planned  gives initiatives  are evaluation-ready. Planning can be done in many different ways. This chapter is designed to make the persons involved in planning more comfortable with the main steps involved in preparing a plan that can be implemented, monitored, and evaluated. The actions and approaches recommended generally apply to all planning processes, whether for a global, regional, or country program; a project; or a unit work plan . Main
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Types of Project Evaluation

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs “Report on Improvement of ODA Evaluation System,” released in March 2000, classified ODA evaluation into three levels: policy-level, program-level, and project-level, as shown in Figure 1-1-2. The report called for enhancement of policy- and program-level evaluation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs conducts policy-level evaluations such as Country Assistance Program and Sector-specific Initiatives, as well as program-level evaluation by sectors and schemes. JICA conducts program- and project-level evaluations. How to evaluate JICA’s management cycle is illustrated in Figure 1-1-3. There are two cycles: the “small cycle” (project cycle) and the “large cycle” (program cycle)-The information source is from JICA. 
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Step 5: Creating Dradft Results Map

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Stakeholder Engagement

Inadequate stakeholder involvement is one of the most common reasons programmes and projects fail. Therefore, every effort should be made to encourage broad and active stakeholder engagement in the planning, monitoring, and evaluation processes. This is particularly relevant to crises where people’s sense of security and vulnerability may be heightened, and tensions and factions may exist. In these situations, the planning process should aim to ensure that as many stakeholders as possible are involved, especially those who may be least able to promote their own interests and that opportunities are created for the various parties to hear each other’s perspectives in an open and balanced manner. In crises, this is not just good practice but is fundamental to ensuring that programming ‘does not harm’ at the least and, hopefully, reduces inherent or active tensions. Neutrality, and at times the success of the programme or project, depend on representatives of the different main stakehol
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Field-Based Monitoring

This approach to monitoring is generally referred to as monitoring missions. These missions employ field data collections of a different kinds, such as observations, household/individual interviews, group discussions, photographs, etc. A monitoring mission can include data collected while the activity is ongoing (on-site monitoring) or after a part of the activity is complete (post-monitoring), or at both stages (mixed approach). Sometimes donors (especially the UN) provide NGOs with the tools for data collection. In such situations, it is essential to check the compatibility of these tools with the indicators that are obliged to measure according to the project proposal. Communicate these requirements and get the tools altered as required.  Field-Based Monitoring:  Keep it simple and back to basics! When any field-based monitoring is conducted, it is essential to keep it light and straightforward/basic to increase the process's efficiency and ensure quick reporting to the pr
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