Project Flashcards
(32 cards)
What is a project?
A project is a series of activities aimed at achieving specified objectives within a defined time-period and budget.
What is important to identify within a project?
A project should have clearly identified:
- Stakeholders and beneficiaries
- Problems to be addressed or opportunities materialised
- Implementation, monitoring and evaluation arrangements
- Benefits which exceed expected costs and are likely to be sustainable
What does the term stakeholder mean?
Stakeholders are individuals or institutions that may - directly or indirectly, positively or negatively - affect or be affected by a project or programme.
What does beneficiaries mean?
Beneficiaries are those who benefit in whatever way from the implementation of the project. Distinction may be made between:
a) target groups: the group who will be directly positively affected by the project at the Project Purpose level, which can include the staff from partner organisations.
b) Final beneficiaries: those who benefit from the project in the long term at the level of the society or sector at large, e.g. children, consumers.
What are project partners?
Those who implement the projects in-country, who are also stakeholders and may be a ‘target group’
Why has the project approach been used for development projects?
It has been used within development primarily because it helps meet the accountability requirements of donors.
What are the limits of a project approach?
- A development process requires more time than a project time-period.
- It tends to respond to sectors needs, while people needs are global.
- Inadequate local ownership of projects, with negative implications for sustainability of benefits.
- The huge number of different development projects, funded by different donors each with their own management and reporting arrangements, which has resulted in large and wasteful transaction costs for the recipients of development assistance.
- The establishment of separate management, financing and monitoring/reporting arrangements which has undermined local capacity and accountability, instead of fostering it.
- The project approach has encouraged a narrow view of how funds are being used, without adequate appreciation of the ‘fungibility’ issue.
What is project cycle?
- It follows the life of a project from the initial idea to its completion.
- It provides a structure to ensure that stakeholders are consulted.
- It defines the key decisions, information requirements and responsibilities at each phase, so that informed decisions can be made at each phase in the project life.
- It draws on evaluation to build the lessons of experience into the design of future programmes and projects.
What is project cycle management?
It gives a methodology for the preparation, implementation and evaluation of projects and programmes based on the principles of the Logical framework approach.
Which are the phases of the project cycle?
- Programming.
- Identification
- Formulation
- Implementation
- Evaluation and audit.
What are the main principles highlighted by the project cycle?
- Decision making criteria and procedures are defined at each phase, including key information requirements and quality assessment criteria.
- The phases in the cycle are progressive and each phase should be completed for the next to be tackled with success.
- New programming and project identification draws on the results of monitoring and evaluation as part of a structured process of feedback and institutional learning.
What is a programme?
It is a set of projects, working with the same purpose or general objective in the same area of intervention. But the definition depends essentially on how the responsible authority defines it. It can:
- Cover a whole sector (e.g. Health Sector Programme)
- Focus on one part of the health sector (e.g. a Primary Health Care Programme)
- Be a ‘package’ of projects with a common focus/theme.
- Define what is essentially just a large project with a number of different components.
How are priorities defined when programming?
- By nature of intervention (development, reconstruction, humanitarian aid)
- Geographic (which countries)
- Sectoral (health, education, production)
- By type of local partners (institutions, NGOs, private sector, movements)
What’s the connection between policy, programme and project?
Policy is the widest of them all. Programmes exist within the policies. Projects exist within the programmes.
E.g. National and sector policies –> Government programmes projects
When is a project appropriate?
- For decentralised cooperation with non-public entities, such as NGOs, private sector, civil society.
- For emergency aid and post-crisis interventions.
- Technical assistance projects or ‘pilot’ projects to build capacity.
- Regional environmental projects with high transaction costs for governments
- When conditions within a country or sector do not yet allow other approaches to be used
What is the purpose of the identification process?
To identify and screen project ideas to further analyse them, with the purpose of ensuring consistency with applicant and donor priorities, to assess the relevance and feasibility of the ideas, to prepare a financing decision for a programme and to determine the scope of further work required during the formulation stage for projects.
What does the identification phase involve?
- The initial elaboration of the operation idea; objectives, results, activities, with a view to determining whether or not to go through with a feasibility study.
- Consultation with the intended beneficiaries and stakeholders of each action, an analysis of the problems they face, and the identification of options to address these problems.
What does the analysis phase in the identification process involve?
- Stakeholder analysis. Identify and characterise potential major stakeholders. Assess their capacity.
- Problem analysis. Identify key problems, constraints and opportunities. Determine cause and effect relationships.
- Objective analysis. Develop solutions from the identified problems. Identify means to end relationships.
- Strategy analysis. Identify different strategies to achieve solutions. Select most appropriate strategy.
What does the formulation phase mean?
The process of translating the concept of project into operation plans. And to confirm the relevance and feasibility of the project idea. At the end of this phase, the projects are approved for financing.
What does an operational plan or project proposal include?
Activities. Results. Objectives. Management and coordination arrangements. Financing plan. Cost-benefit analysis. Risk management. Monitoring.
What is included in the planning phase of the formulation stage?
- Developing the Logical Framework matrix, which defines project structure, tests its internal logic and risks, formulates measurable indicators of success.
- Activity scheduling to determine the sequence and dependency of activities, to estimate their duration, assigning responsibility.
- Resource scheduling. From activity schedule, developing input schedules and a budget.
What should the situation analysis or key assessments include?
- Policy and programme context.
- Stakeholder analysis and institutional capacity assessment.
- Problem analysis.
- Lessons learned and review of ongoing or planned initiatives.
- Strategy selection.
What should the project description include?
- Overall objective and purpose.
- Target group, location and duration.
- Results and indicative activities.
- Resources and costs.
What should the description of management arrangements include?
- Coordination and management structures.
- Financial management/financing arrangements.
- Monitoring, evaluation and audit.
