What is Monitoring and Evaluation (M & E)?

This blog provides an introduction to Monitoring and Evaluations.

What is Monitoring? Monitoring is the systematic process of collecting and analyzing information to track the program’s progress toward its objective. Or Monitoring is the collection of information from programs or projects for the purposes:

• To learn from the past and current experience to improve the activities and practices in the future;
• To have external and internal accountability of resources and the result obtained;
• To take decisions on future initiatives.
• To promote and the empowerment of the beneficiaries of the initiative.

The monitoring is specifically conducted after the beginning of programs and continues throughout the program period.  Thus monitoring is sometimes referred to as a process, performance, or formative evaluation (Adapted from Grage and Dunn 2009, Frankel and Gage 2007, and PATH Monitoring and Evaluation Initiative)

________Program Indicator———-Program Start———Time->——————–Program end.

Methods of Monitoring

Specifically, there are four methods of Monitoring.

1. Direct Observation: either typically, a checklist is used for the direct observation that results in quantitative data. However, direct observation can generate qualitative data.
2. Surveys/Interviews: conduct a structured interview with close-ended questions to collect quantitative data, or you might conduct a semi-structured interview with open-ended and probing questions to get qualitative data. Key informant interviews are typically qualitative, while surveys are generally quantitative. You generally would not want to combine both qualitative and quantitative data collection in the same interview.
3. Focus Group Discussion (FGD): The strength of the focus group discussion is generating an in-depth description of experience and perspectives, all of which are qualitative data.
4. Pile-Ranking Exercises: Qualitative and Quantitative. The actual ranking is a pile-ranking exercise is technically considered quantitative, but the primary goal is to find out why people ranked items the way they did, which is qualitative data.

Evaluation

Evaluation is assessing as systematically and objectively as possible a completed program/project (or any phase of an ongoing program or project that has been completed. The evaluation data and information inform the strategic decisions, improving the project in the future. The Evaluation focusses is on expected accomplishments, causality, and contextual factors, in order to understand achievement or not/lack of achievements. The evaluation helps us to draw a conclusion about;

• Relevance
• Effectiveness
• Efficiency
• Impact
• Sustainability

Monitoring and Evaluation

Monitoring and Evaluation also called M & E. M&E is the combination of data collection and analysis and assessing to what extent a program or intervention has or has not met its objectives. The M&E has been used to assess the performance of the program, project, or social initiatives.

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Plan

The purpose of the M&E overview is to strengthen awareness and interest in Monitoring and Evaluation and to clarify what it entails. You will find here the overview of M&E here.

• Perform Element
• Perform Indicator (with the definition of terms as needed)
• Data Collection
  • Method (direct observation)Frequency of CollectionThe person who will collect the data
  • Respondents (who to talk to
• Means of Analysis
  • Type of analysis
  • Comparison groups
• Use of information
  • For communication and decision making