Monitoring and Evaluation Course

Monitoring & Evaluation is an important management function in today's business, NGO and government landscape. Monitoring and Evaluation systems essentially focus on the tracking and evaluation of organisational performance. Government, as well as business managers are increasingly challenged to provide evidence for whether their projects or policies are achieving clearly defined outcomes and impacts. Results-based monitoring and evaluation systems provide feedback on the actual outcomes and goals of government programmes and projects. Results-based systems require answers to questions like:

• What higher-order objectives and expected outcomes has the department set?
• Have measurable outcomes and impacts been achieved?
• Are these outcomes and impacts sustainable?

From this point of departure, it is essential that leaders, managers, teams and individuals in organizations, public and private, develop their skills to understand, track and report on monitoring and evaluation. This course on Monitoring & Evaluation will empower you to understand, direct and implement the phases of a robust and results-based M&E framework.

Upon completing this course, the participants should be able to:

• Develop an understanding of monitoring & evaluation and how these tools fit into the related processes of strategic management, project management and policy implementation;
• Learn about the Government-wide M&E framework and other related guidelines (Stats SA, Presidency indicators etc)
• Understand key M&E concepts, processes and practices
• Understand a results based management approach
• Understand and apply problem analysis tools
• Design a results chain and work-breakdown structure and Gantt Chart
• Understand M&E indicators
• Understand data collection and data analysis for M&E
• How to set up an M&E Framework
• Evaluation types, concepts and tools

Course programme:

DAY 1:

• Introduction and course overview
• Organisational performance management
• Monitoring and evaluation concepts and context
• Preparing for M&E in your work processes and projects
• Developing a work-breakdown structure
• Developing and selecting appropriate indicators for project outputs and outcomes;
• Linking your indicators to baselines, milestones and targets

DAY 2:

• Setting up a monitoring and evaluation framework;
• Build capacity for M&E in your teams - responsibilities, delegations and quality
• Facilitate team performance improvements using assessment findings;
• Establish performance standards and monitoring systems - linking individual and organizational processes

DAY 3:

• Understand methods and tools for basic data collection;
• Understand methods and tools for basic data analysis;
• Understand the key uses of monitoring data: project management, evaluation and reporting;
• Understand the difference between process and outcome evaluation practices; and
• Develop project evaluation reports.

• Module 1: Orientation
• Module 2: Performance management
• Module 3: Overview of M & E
• Module 4: Starting the M&E Process
• Module 5: Understanding Indicators for M&E
• Module 6: Developing indicators
• Module 7: Communicating the M&E Framework
• Module 8: Implementing the M&E Framework
• Module 9: Building capacity for M&E
• Module 10: Data collection & analysis for M&E
• Module 11: Identifying data sources
• Module 12: Evaluation
• References