EE 206 PROGRAM PLANNING

AND EVALUATION
Course Pre-requisite: EE 104

Course objective: To expose students to a

body of knowledge related to extension
programme planning and evaluation

Course contents:
 Concepts in extension programme
planning

 Framework for developing programme

 Stages in programme development

Course contents cont…
 Monitoring programmes

 Programme Evaluation

Course Evaluation:
Test
Assignments, seminar presentation and
practical

Reference:
 Concepts in Extension programme
planning

1. Introduction
 What is extension, What is planning
 What is an extension programme
 An extension program is a written
statement which contains the following
four elements:
Objectives which the agent expects to
be achieved in the area within a
specified period of time (X year).
 2. What is extension program
planning
Means of achieving these objectives.

Resources that are needed to fulfill the program.

Work plan indicating the schedule of extension

activities that will lead to the fulfillment of the
program objectives
 Cont’d
 An extension program with clearly defined
objectives is helpful to local farmers, the agent
himself, and other rural development agencies:

- Resource users: it shows both what they can

expect from the extension service and how
effective the agent is.

- Agent: provides a firm basis for planning

extension activities on a monthly and weekly basis
and for
anticipating well in advance what resources will
be needed.
 Cont’d
 Planning is a system of organizing work
in advance.

Thus, planning is crucial in the success of any

extension program.

 When considering the planning of extension

programs, two different forms can be
distinguished:
 Cont’d

Planning from below. Farmers/fishers,

with their extension agents, make plans for
development based on local needs and then
make requests for specific assistance from
national and regional authorities.

Planning from above. The agent is simply

expected to implement plans made at
national level.
 3. Importance of program
planning

Advantages:

- Planning improves efficiency by a better

allocation of scarce resources & time;

- If work not planned, day to day pressure

can result in job becoming your master
instead of you being the
master;
 Cont’d

- Planning provides a basis for

evaluating the extension program;

- Written program allows for continuity

in the event of loss or transfer of
personnel;

- Allow newcomers to see a concrete

plan of action – gives purpose to their
work.
Disadvantages of lack of planning
1. Lack of focus and impact

2. Leads to poor allocation and use of

resources
3. Farmers priority can be overlooked
4.Established activities are not
sustainable
 4. Principles of extension
program planning.
 Based on careful analysis of factual situations.

 Be comprehensive and include activities of

interest to all members.

 Problems should be selected for action which

will meet recognized needs.

 Flexible in order to meet long and short term

goals & objectives.
 Cont’d

 Objectives should be clearly defined and

measurable.

 Program should be achievable,

considering such factors as personnel,
finance, time and facilities

 Educational and directed towards bringing

about positive change.
Some basic assumptions about
program planning

When talking about extension program

development, we assume that:

1. Planned change may be an important

factor for the social and economic
progress of rural communities and families

2. Extension services and agents must not act

mechanically and without vision
Assumptions cont…

3.Extension programs can contribute

significantly to learning, educational
improvement and development

4. It is possible to select, organize, and

manage programs that contribute to change
and development

5. Extension educators, as change

facilitators, can help individuals, families
and communities to reflect upon their
realities and build relevant programs, thus
improving the quality of life.
 Program planning & national policies
 National policies and programs provide a
framework within which the agent plans his
local programs, and they establish priorities,
which he must follow.

 E.g. If a national priority is to conserve soil

resources rather than increase crop
production, the agent will prioritize soil
conservation.
 Cont’d

 Local needs provide the motivation for

development, and must be taken into
account in the planning of local extension
programs.

 Extension programs bring together national

policies and local initiatives
 Cont’d
 In planning extension programs,
important to balance national and local
requirements.

 Agent should take note of national

objectives & work with local people so
that the program that emerges is
theirs, and reflects their needs.
Cont’d
Framework for developing
extension programs
 The elements of planning, execution and
evaluation are part of any purposeful
action of man, but usually carried out in
an unstructured and informal way Fig. 1.

 These basic phases can be expanded

upon and specified in more detail. This
has led to different program models of
which some are shown in fig. 2
Figure 1. Purposeful action

1. PLANNING

2.IMPLEMENTATION
3.EVALUATION
Figure 2
 Stages in program planning

 Whatever particular procedures for

program planning are laid down by the
extension organization, five distinct
stages can be identified:

Analyze the present situation.

Set objectives for the extension program.

 Cont’d
Develop the program by identifying what
needs to be done to achieve the objectives,
and then prepare a work plan.

Implement the program by putting the work

plan into effect.

Evaluate the program and its achievements

as a basis for planning future programs
Cont…
 This leads to:
a review of the situation and the
planning of a new program, which
should build on the achievements and
learn from the failures of the
previous one.
 Cont’d

 Different stages of program planning

are interrelated and the planning does
not always proceed neatly from one
stage to another.

 Provisional objectives, for example,

may be set during the situation
analysis stage, but may be altered later
as new facts are collected.
 Cont’d
 Objectives may have to be altered
still further as unexpected
difficulties arise while the program
is being implemented.

 But still useful to think of program

planning as involving these five
activities, as each can be broken
down into smaller steps.
 Cont’d
 Extension program planning model/process
Situation analysis
(careful examination of current
situation)

Revision of situation Objective setting

(in view of progress) (decide what is to be achieved)

Monitoring, Review Develop a work plan

& Evaluation (check progress or (a plan of action to achieve
judge success) the aim/objectives)

Implement the plan

(doing the work)
 Cont’d

1. Situation analysis
 Before an extension program can be drawn
up, the existing situation must first be
analyzed.

 Problems and their causes must be

understood and the natural, human and other
resources of the area identified. This stage
involves three activities:
 Cont’d
a) Collecting information
 A good deal of information that the agent
will need about the people in the area for
example:
- their farming/fishing systems etc,
- natural resources and,
- the facilities available for local
development.
 Cont’d
 Information needed in order to have a good
understanding of the situation with which he
is dealing with (for example):
- social structure and local culture,
- education and literacy levels, size of
farms,
- local channels of communication,
- marketing, health and nutrition levels
etc
 Cont’d
 These information can be collected through
various sources & methods:
- observation;
- conducting meetings with groups;
- conducting surveys;
- reading reports;
- meetings with influential individuals.
 Cont’d

b) Analyzing information/facts
 Facts do not speak for themselves. It is necessary to
ask why things happen in the way they do.

 If farmers report that yield have declined in recent

years, then we must look for other information that
would suggest an explanation.
 Cont’d

 Need to separate fact from opinion and

guesswork. We may obtain conflicting
information from two different sources, and
must judge which is the more reliable.
 Cont’d

c) Identifying problems and potential

 Now possible to decide what the main
problems facing people in the area are, and
what potential there is for improvement.

 This is where the agent's technical knowledge

becomes important.
 Cont’d
 Farmers know what their problems are, but the agent
can bring his own perception of local problems
based on a more scientific understanding.

 Agent will be able to explain problems more fully

and relate them to processes which farmers may not
realize are in any way connected.

 Because of his training and experience, he will also

have more suggestions to make about how the
resources of the area could be used more
productively.
 Cont’d
 In situation analysis, the agent should
cooperate or consult with farmers/fishers
when interpreting facts and identifying
problems.

 Should be a joint effort, with agents and

farmers bringing their own experience and
knowledge together to reach a full
understanding
 Cont’d

2. Setting objectives
 For the plan to be effective there’s need to
agree on a common goal/objective.

 Objective is a description of the changes that

we desire, and this must be clearly stated.

 Clearly stated objectives enable us to measure

our achievements.
 Cont’d
How can we set clear objectives?
 Objectives must describe the desired change fully
in the following terms:
- WHO are the people who will change
- WHAT are the expected changes that
people will see
- WHEN will change occur (over what
period of time)
- HOW to what level of performance will
the change occur.
 Cont’d

Criteria for developing good objectives:

 Relevant to the need of target audience

 Directed towards specific audience

 Result oriented (e.g. how many to be changed)
 Specific about change to be expected

 Achievable and realistic.

 Cont’d

Objectives used in planning extension program

 Long-term objectives: Broad statement of what is
to be achieved in the entire program, and should
include audience, and time-scale.

 Short term objectives: Methods by which overall

objective is to be obtained and specific stages of
extension program.
 Cont’d

3.Developing solutions & work plans

 Once existing situation has been analyzed,
decisions are made about the changes that
should be brought about through an extension
program
 Key questions are; how will local problems be
solved? and how will local potential be
developed?.
 Solutions will require clear, realistic objectives
 Cont’d
a) Finding solutions
 In looking for solutions to local problems:

- distinguish between technical solutions,

involving improved inputs or simple changes in
practice, and;
- solutions which involve institutional changes,
 Solutions involving institutional changes may
require action by other agencies and at higher
levels.
 Agent should suggest such solutions to those
responsible, but there may be little that can be
 Cont’d

b) Selecting
solutions
 When selecting from among the range of solutions
and possible improvements, agent and farmers
should ensure that proposed solutions are:
Acceptable to farmers or fishers in the area.
Technically sound and tested by research and
experience elsewhere.
 Cont’d

Consistent with national policy, and with the

local activities of other agencies.
Feasible within the time and with the
resources available to farmers/fishers and the
extension service.
Within the scope of the agent's ability and
job description
 Cont’d

Develop work plan

 Once solutions have been selected a detail work
plan is then developed to achieve the goals &
objectives:
- what action/activities required;
- who will do each job/activity;
- how will the work to be done;
- where and how to allocate time & resources;
- how much is expected to achieve for each
 Cont’d
3 important features of the work plan
- Methods
- Process of evaluation
- Review of the situation
 The whole process from situation analysis through
objective setting to work planning and review is
continuous.
 If objectives are clear – no problem in knowing
what is to be done.
 Cont’d

4. Implementing the work plan

 Important to keep a balance between
program planning and implementation.
 To carry out the program successfully we
require:
a) Participation of the people in making the
plan
b) Clearly defined program which lists:
- objectives & goals
 Cont’d

- financial and human resources

required;
- who is responsible for each
activity;
- duration for each activity;
- extension methods to reach target
group.
 Cont’d

5. Monitoring & evaluation

a) Monitoring:
 Assessing a program during implementation – to
ensure overall aims/objectives are met.
 Part of the overall management of the extension
program
 A continuous exercise and can be conducted
through:
 Cont’d

- regular consultation on progress of the

program with those involved in
implementation,
- review of progress reports,
- regular discussions with clients groups,
- frequent field visits.
 Determine whether implementation is on
schedule and within allocated budget.
 Cont’d

b) Evaluation
 Not carried out regularly – once or twice during
implementation period

 Enable us to judge whether or not the objectives of the

program have been achieved.

 Tells us what has and has not been achieved and where
the program went wrong, and requires improvement.
 Cont’d
 Evaluate plan – we measure how far proposed
changes have been achieved. To do this well
depends on:
- how well objectives were defined/stated in
terms of who?, what?, when?, how much?

 Thus objectives form the criteria or standard by

which changes can be judged.
 Cont’d
 This evaluation, together with an up-dated
situation analysis, provides the basis for
planning the next year's program.
 Summary
 Extension program planning model/process
Situation analysis
(careful examination of current
situation)

Revision of situation Objective setting

(in view of progress) (decide what is to be achieved)

Monitoring, Review Develop a work plan

& Evaluation (check progress or (a plan of action to achieve
judge success) the aim/objectives)

Implement the plan

(doing the work)