The Role of Monitoring and Evaluation
International aid organisations exist to create change in the world. Governments, business and benevolent organisations and millions of individuals contribute resources to support them in that purpose.

The Donor Wants to Know
Those who contributed these resources will want to know at some point, just what has happened, if any thing, as a result of providing those resources to the aid organisations. Nothing too surprising about that really!

The Aid Organisation Wants to Know
Responsible aid organisations employ people to ask the same question, what has happened, if anything, because of the resources that they were given. If something has happened, good or bad, they want to know--how come things happened that way? This is valuable information for the next time someone gives them some resources to create change. And the simple truth is that if they don't know what happened and why--it won't be too long before their source of resources will no longer be a source of resources. Which is also not too surprising!

The Beneficiaries Want to Know
A group that is sometimes forgotten in the rush to move on and do even more good things is the group of people that the aid organisation was working with, and for, to create the change. It may seem surprising that they too are interested in how much change did or didn't happen.  But think about it, they are usually involved in the process from the very start through the consultation and planning process and certain expectations were raised.  Some of them undoubtedly participated in the project in one way or another. So they certainly are interested in providing feedback and being filled in about the big picture of what changes happened and why, and if not why not!

So What is the Fuss About?
To the novice, this may all seem just like common sense.  But be surprised! Many groups involved in aid have not been very serious about monitoring and evaluation in the past.  It has not been an uncommon occurrence for fits to be taken when the donor turns up and asks what has happened, because there has been no plan to collect and record and report on what has happened and noone has done very much thinking about why it happend that way.  There is a very good reason for this lack of planning and collecting and recording and reporting--aid people are can-do people who like to be busy and help people in need rather than think about data collection and reporting.

Well things are changing.  Donors, organisations and individuals, are getting much fussier about what happens with their donations. And there is a bit of a rush on by those delivering aid to be seen to be doing better.  And good aid organisations want to know for their own internal edification just what is happening out there and why?

No Way Around It!
And that is what monitoring and evaluation is all about. It is what organisations do to help all of these interested people make informed judgements about the extent and merit of changes that are fostered by international aid.  There really is no other way. No way around it at all! Hunches, gut-feelings, assumptions based on isolated anecdotal evidence are not even half-way good enough to do the trick.  So monitoring and evaluation plays a cricital role in learning about the effectiveness of aid and reporting on that to all the parties concerned.

And Aid-IT Solutions are specialists in this field of endeavour to help aid organisations raise the M&E bar.

In the words of the multi-award winning Harvard scientist, Professor Edward O. Wilson...

"Thanks to science and technology, access to factual knowledge of all kinds is rising exponentially while dropping in unit cost.  It is destined to become global and democratic.  Soon it will be available everywhere on television and computer screens.  What then?  The answer is clear: synthesis.  We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom.  The world henceforth will be run by synthesisers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely."

Wilson, E. (1998) Consilience: the unity of knowledge, Abacus, London, p 300

Regardless of how we choose to define ‘monitoring’ or ‘evaluation’, we can break it down to a series of six practical steps. These steps have been described as the ‘M&E Data Cycle’.

Identification: what particular bits of data do we need so that we can judge the performance of the project?

Capture: what specific methods or tools will we use to capture the identified data?

Analysis: how will we treat the raw data to make it meaningful?

Dissemination: who needs to receive the analysed data in a timely and relevant form to ensure the project’s success?

Utilisation: how is the disseminated information expected to be used? How will it help us learn or be accountable to stakeholders?

Assessment: how will we assess whether or not the identified data has in fact helped us?

On the face of it, the M&E Data Cycle is not ‘rocket science’. In fact, the whole concept of monitoring and evaluation seems to be pretty basic. So why is it so difficult to achieve best practice M&E?

Problems arise at each stage of the M&E data cycle

Research shows that even though everyone agrees that doing M&E is a good idea, in practice, problems arise at each stage of the M&E Data Cycle. The cycle can stop turning for any one of six common reasons…

The problem with M&E data identification…

Right from the planning stage of new projects, the identification of what performance data is required is conceptually difficult. More often than not, project planners delegate the detailed M&E planning to the implementation team, assuming that they will have more clarity on what performance data is relevant once they are on the ground. However, implementation team members tend to be technical people whose primary role is the delivery of project outputs. The definition of indicators and other performance data is not their core business. They frequently see M&E as an additional responsibility…an imposition!

The problem with M&E data capture…

Even if the critical step of identifying appropriate performance data can be taken, M&E plans are frequently unsuccessful because of staff non-compliance with reporting protocols. In situations where overstretched staff are faced with ambiguous reporting requirements or complex/difficult tools, data capture tends to become a low priority.

The problem with M&E data analysis…

A surprisingly common situation occurs where captured data is accumulated but is never analysed to draw out meaningful features and trends in the data. The main reason for this is reported to be the skill required for data analysis, and for critical reflection.

The problem with M&E information dissemination…

Analysing captured data is pointless unless the analysis is disseminated to people who can benefit from it. While this seems obvious, M&E systems frequently fail because the mechanisms for moving information around tend to be cumbersome. The paper-based reports required by many stakeholders often require the same information to be bundled up over and over in different formats on different schedules.

The problem with M&E information utilization…

Unless M&E information can be used for learning or accountability, the preceding steps in the M&E Data Cycle have wasted time and resources. But for information to be used by busy people it must be made available in a timely and relevant form. It must be clear how it can help them do their job better. The incentive for using the information must be clear.

The problem with M&E system assessment…

Research suggests that not only is M&E of a project rarely done well, but M&E of M&E systems is rarely attempted at all! This ‘meta-M&E’ is necessary if we are to ensure that our M&E activities are useful, but it is unlikely to occur unless our organizational culture values critical inquiry and reflection.

The Aid-IT eM&E™ system provides a conceptual framework (i.e. a ‘way of thinking’) and a set of tools to tackle the problems at each stage of the M&E data cycle. Several of these tools involve information communication technology (ICT). The overall aim of the system is to improve the quality of M&E within aid delivery organisations by utilising computers to perform the time-consuming aspects of M&E, which allows the project and programs managers to engage fully in the more complex processes of critical inquiry and reflection. 

Read more about our eM&E™ system here.