Monitoring and evaluation systems

Monitoring and evaluation systems are a key component of good management and accountability. They are essential in determining the extent to which a project has achieved its desired objectives and outcomes, and generating reliable and accurate information for stakeholders. Iram provides support in the design and implementation of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.

A tool for managing and evaluating development operations

Operations (projects, programmes, policies) are monitored and evaluated for different reasons:

  • to determine how actions are undertaken and steered, and to facilitate decision-making;
  • to report back to different stakeholders on the execution, outcomes and effects of the actions that have been taken (and thus the extent to which the original objectives have been achieved);
  • to develop, exchange and disseminate information on the implementation, outcomes and effects of the operation among diverse stakeholders and a wider audience.

Monitoring and evaluation systems usually involve ongoing monitoring processes and an evaluation of the impacts of the operation:

  • is a continuous internal activity where information is systematically collected and analysed to determine how the project is progressing (level of performance), whether it is proceeding as planned, and to enable the operator to adjust it accordingly. Constantly gathering and processing information throughout the activity or intervention enables the operator to steer the project, adapt its strategies and guide decisions about its management.
  • Evaluation is a more strategic process that uses information gathered during the monitoring process to examine how activities proceeded, what impact they had, and assess the overall performance of the action or project.

Expertise

Monitoring and evaluation systems should enable projects to account for their past performance, guide their future actions and share the lessons learned from the intervention. These mechanisms need to provide the different actors concerned (particularly contracting authorities, project managers, financial partners and beneficiaries) with reliable and accurate information so that interventions will be more effective and accountable to stakeholders. The support that Iram provides in designing and implementing effective monitoring and evaluation mechanisms entails:

  • identifying what kind of information is needed and establishing relevant indicators
  • developing tools and procedures to gather this information in the allotted timeframe
  • defining information-processing procedures that involve the different actors concerned
  • determining how the information will be disseminated among stakeholders after it has been processed (reports, websites, brochures, etc.).