MONITORING AND

EVALUATION TOOLS
Monitoring and Evaluation

The National Democratic Institute

 INTRODUCTIONS/
GROUND RULES
• Introductions
• Ground Rules
• Ice Breaker Exercise

Photo: Sanja Gjenero, RGBstock.com

MONITORING AND EVALUATION
(M&E) TOOLS OBJECTIVES
• To become familiar with and practice
using a range of M&E tools
• To consider when and how the tools can
be employed during the project life
cycle
 M&E TOOLS TOPICS
• What is M&E?
• Gender analysis
• Project lifecycle
• Data collection
• Program design tools
• Evaluations
Image: www.pixabay.com
• Other tools
 KEY TERMS
• Indicator • Goal
• Input • Target
• Output • Baseline
• Intermediate result • Impact
• Outcome • Gender
• Objective • Stakeholder
 M&E DEFINED
• Monitoring
— Continuous
— Ensures project on track
— Identifies problems

• Evaluation
— Assesses whether project is achieving
objectives
— Periodic
— Focuses on outcomes and impacts
 GENDER AND M&E
• Gendered priorities, constraints and
impact
• Failure to address gender leads to
inefficient and unsustainable results
and exacerbates inequities
PROJECT LIFE CYCLE
 DATA COLLECTION TOOLS
• Quantitative methods
– Household surveys
– Public opinion polls/surveys
• Qualitative methods
– In-depth interviews
– Focus groups
– Direct observation
– Document review
– Participatory assessments
 EXERCISE:
WHICH TOOLS? WHEN?
• Multi-workshop training
program for women
political activists
• Objective: Improve the
capacity of women to
run for elected office
• Which data collection
tools? When? Photo: Amy Hamelin, NDI
 EXAMPLE:
WHICH TOOLS? WHEN?
• Workshops
– Pre-and post questionnaires
– Evaluation forms
• In between events
– Direct observation
• End of project
– Focus groups
Photo: Amy Hamelin, NDI

– In-depth interviews
– Election results
 PROGRAM DESIGN TOOLS
• Gender, context and
stakeholder analysis
• Problem and objective
analysis
• Activity plan
• Indicators
• Critical assumptions Image: www.pixabay.com

• Risk analysis and

management
• Resource plan
• Results framework
 GENDER ANALYSIS
• Can be undertaken at any stage but
most effective if included in design
• Systematic way of analyzing different
roles and impacts
• Asks the “who” questions
• How this will affect women and men?
 CONTEXT ANALYSIS
• Institutions or vehicles that have
positive or negative impact?
• Key actors or factors that help or
hinder?
• Socio-cultural, political and economic
environment?
CONTEXT ANALYSIS EXAMPLE
 STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
• All people who have a stake
– Participants
– Implementers
– Decision-makers
– Donors
• Who are they?
• What is their interest? Influence? Power?
• Relations with other stakeholders
 STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
• Survey all people who have a stake
High

Low High

Low
POWER
 EXERCISE:
STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
• Program to enhance the capacity of the
Liberian legislature to represent
citizen’s interests
• Identify stakeholders
• Plot them on chart

Photo: NDI
PROBLEM ANALYSIS
 EXERCISE: PROBLEM TREE

• Problem: Low level

of women in
elected bodies
• Identify root causes
• Identify effects
• Link root causes to
their effects
Photo: www.pixabay.com
 OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS
• Links problem analysis to program
design
• Provides visual map
• Defines scope of program
• Maps out pathway of change
• Identifies what will be monitored and
evaluated
• Facilitates planning and management
 OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS
• Core problem reframed as objective
• Root causes reframed as intermediate
results
 INDICATORS
• Qualitative versus quantitative
• SMART
– Specific
– Measurable
– Achievable
– Relevant
– Time-bound Photo: www.pixabay.com

• Negative effects reframed become

indicators
 CRITICAL ASSUMPTIONS

• Factors outside our control

• Conditions under which program logic
will hold true
• Conditions likely to affect achievement
of results
• Identify at each level of framework
 RISK ANALYSIS AND
MANAGEMENT
• Every program entails risk
• Identify risks and contingency
plans/mitigation measures for each
level of framework

Image: www.pixabay.com
 RESOURCE PLAN
• What resources are needed for:
– Staff time and materials for setting up an
M&E system
– Evaluation activities
 RESULTS FRAMEWORK
• Links evaluation strategy to problem
analysis
• Helps identify indicators
• Aids in M&E
• Clarifies logic of project
• Provides roadmap for planning and
management
EXAMPLE: FRAMEWORK
 EXERCISE:
RESULTS FRAMEWORK
 PROGRAM EVALUATION
Types of evaluations:
• Baseline
• Mid-term
• Final
• Impact
• Internal versus external
EXAMPLE: ASSESSMENTS
Win with Women
Political Party Assessment Tool
 PROGRAM EVALUATION

Steps
• Determine evaluability
• Select research questions Photo: Sanja Gjenero, RGBstock.com

• Identify methods for data collection

• Develop and test data collection
instruments and protocols
 EVENT EVALUATIONS

• Verbal feedback
• Evaluation forms
• Pre- and post-workshop questionnaires
 PUBLIC OPINION RESEARCH
• Qualitative
– Focus groups/in-depth interviews
• Quantitative
– Surveys/polls
• Combination of both
 IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS
• Key informant/one-on-one interviews
• Explore thoughts on deeper level
• More flexible
• Avoid influence of group dynamics

Photo: NDI
 FOCUS GROUPS
• Why and how strongly people hold
opinions
• Can’t project results to wider
population
• Groups formed around common
characteristics
• Six to ten people and moderator
• Open-ended questions
 SURVEYS
• Identical set of close-ended questions
• Representative sample of population
• Results projected to larger population
• Predict future behaviors and trends
Can men represent women?

80

60

40

20

0
Female Male
Yes 22.81 61.9
No 54.39 26.19
Unsure 22.81 11.9
 EXAMPLE: PUBLIC OPINION
RESEARCH IN UKRAINE
• Nearly 50% thought women
underrepresented
• More likely to vote for party with
outreach to women
• Perceive women as better managers

Photo: NDI
 M&E TOOLS REVIEW
• Monitoring: continuous activity to
ensure project is on track
• Evaluation: assesses impact
• M&E must address gender
• Wide range of qualitative and
quantitative data collection tools that
can be used throughout project life
cycle