How can United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) staff tell whether their work is making a measurable contribution to the elimination of poverty and its causes? This UNDP Nepal monitoring manual aims to help Programme Officers monitor projects and programmes in a more systematic and meaningful way. Well designed monitoring tools are likely to generate valuable, timely information on project performance and on the likelihood of meeting longer-term fundamental objectives.
In 1999, UNDP initiated its transformation into a results-based organisation. Result-Based Management (RBM) is a methodology by which an organisation ensures that its processes, products and services contribute to the achievement of clearly stated results. Performance is systematically measured at the level of development goals. RBM distinguishes between five different elements of the result chain: inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes and impact.
Both quantitative and qualitative monitoring are needed to help UNDP programme staff understand project performance and impact. They need to select the right mix of monitoring mechanisms appropriate to the country and the project.
Quantitative Monitoring is mostly done through indicators which track progress towards a defined output, outcome or impact. Indicators on the level of outcomes and impact can credibly show UNDP’s contributions to a change in development conditions.
- Good indicators should be numeric, objective, specific, relevant and feasible.
- The steps involved in developing good indicators are: 1) clarify the output/outcome/impact statement; 2) develop a list of possible indicators; 3) assess how ‘good’ each indicator is according to minimum standards; 4) select ‘best’ indicator(s); and 5) integrate indicators into a monitoring & evaluation (M&E) framework.
- Once a set of indicators has been defined, an indicator protocol sheet is used to define the indicator and the data collection process in more detail.
- UNDP’s M&E Framework is the main tool for M&E planning and tracking indicators over time. It consists of indicators, the baseline, the target, sources, timing, rationale and resources.
- Where appropriate and possible, data for indicators needs to be disaggregated by caste/ethnicity (mandatory), sex (mandatory), and geography (optional).
Whilst quantitative monitoring should inform UNDP programme staff about what is going on in the projects and programmes, qualitative monitoring should tell us more about why a project is performing as it does. Within Nepal’s context of ongoing conflict, a valid monitoring approach needs to sensitive to the conflict environment.
- Two elements have to be considered for effective qualitative monitoring: the impact of the conflict context on the project, and the impact of the project on the conflict context.
- Project monitoring can be done using the following tools: field project monitoring; project/context monitoring; area-based monitoring; and thematic reviews.
- The following ‘filters’ serve as guidelines to focus on relevant issues for effective monitoring: team composition, ratings, format, timing, logistics, interview techniques and feedback.
