Unit 9 M&E NGO Performance and Impact Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Unit 9 M&E NGO Performance and Impact Deck (25)
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1
Q

An NGO’s success can be measured in terms of…

A
  1. quality of its services
  2. the effectiveness and impact of its work
  3. its ability to sustain its work in line with its mission and objectives.
2
Q

what is the tension field in M&E

A

M&E has two main functions:

  1. demonstrate accountability
  2. facilitate learning
3
Q

What is monitoring?

A
  • assessment of the progress over time
  • check if things are going according to plan
  • enables adjustments to improve project
  • routine check of key elements
  • record-keeping, reporting, surveillance systems
  • a continuous process
  • integral part of NGO management information system and feed into decision making processes
  • focus on learning, but also for accountability
  • Activities, outputs and the process is the focus
  • internal
4
Q

What is evaluation?

A
  • Assessment of the change in targeted results that can be attributed to the project
  • link particular output/outcome to intervention
  • more summative
  • accountability function dominates, also used for learning
  • outcomes and impact is the focus
  • external
  • often ex-post evaluations
5
Q

Barriers for M&E

A
  1. action oriented not reflection
  2. fear of failure
  3. cost and time involved
6
Q

Development Assistance Committee (DAC) criteria to evaluations

A
  1. relevance
  2. effectiveness
  3. efficiency
  4. impact
  5. sustainability
7
Q

two other types of evaluations

A
  1. reviews - a formative study carried out at one point in time during the implementation.
  2. impact assessment - systematic analysis of lastig or significant change - positive or negative, intended or not - in peoples lives
    »> there is the challenge of attribution- difficulty in proving a clear link between the activity and the change
    »> contribution analysis could address this
8
Q

The Theory of Change approach involves analysis of the following areas of an intervention (4x)

A
  • the context (social, political, environmental)
  • the long term change the intervention seeks to achieve
  • the processes necessary to the achievement of the desired change
  • the critical assumptions relating to how the change might happen
9
Q

The Logical Framework Approach (LFA)

A

a PME tool, 4x4 matrix
intervention, verifiable indicators, means of verification, assumptions/risks

  • STUDY THE FIGURE AT PAGE 29!!
10
Q

M&E participation of stakeholders

A
  1. can be seen as an end in itself - the right to have a voice in matters that affect your interests
  2. more instrumental - mobilize local knowledge and amake development efforts more relevan and effective.

Benefits:

  • empowerment
  • ownership
  • accountability
  • support replication and scaling up
11
Q

necessary conditions to have succesful participatory approaches to evaluation in community based projects

A
  • shared understanding among ALL about goal, objectives and methods
  • willingness to allocate sufficient time/resources to the participatory M&E
  • participatory approach to program management and learning (if that is top down, then participatory M&E will be challenging)
  • reasonably open and egalitarian social structure
12
Q

Challenges in participatory M&E (as recorded in Central asia by Adams and Garbutt (2008)

A
  1. lack of time in the planning process
  2. no opportunity to revise objectives
  3. lack of space for key programme stakeholders to be involved
  4. outcomes and impact to be measured by experts
13
Q

Changing trends and practises in M&E

A
  1. focus on measuring complex change
  2. focus on the usage of the actual M&E information (learning)
  3. M&E needs to better support management and engage stakeholders in participatory learning processes
  4. a more unified language for M&E
14
Q

6 steps of setting up a monitoring system

A
  1. establish purpose and scope
  2. identify performance questions, information needs & indicators
  3. plan info gathering and organisation
  4. plan critical reflection processes and events
  5. plan for quality communication and reporting
  6. plan for the necessary conditions and capacities
15
Q

definition of an indicator (2x)

A

1) quantitative or qualitative factor/variable that provides a simple and reliable means to measure achievement, to reflect the changes connected to the intervention or to help assess the eprformance of a development actor
2) what things would make us feel we were making progress? how could we find out if these things were happening?

16
Q

OVI’s need to be QQT with SMART formulation

A
OVI = objectively verifiable indicators (in logframes)
QQT = quantity, quality and timeframe
SMART = 
    S - specific 
    M - measurable
    A - achievable
    R - relevant
    T - timebound
17
Q

what is a proxy indicator?

A

an indirect measure or sign that approximates or represents a phenomenon in the absence of a direct measure or sign.

It can provide an indicator of change in another area (eg measuring staff motivation by # sick days)

18
Q

what is MSC

A

Most Significant Change
a participatory monitoring technique that involves the collection of significant change stories and the systematic selection of the most significant of these stories by groups of designated stakeholders or staff.

19
Q

Two approaches to evaluation

A
  1. the scientific / technocratic approach

2. the interpretative approach

20
Q

the scientific / technocratic approach to evaluation

A
  • the evaluator acts as a judge
  • associated with accountability functions
  • value neutral and object
21
Q

the interpretative approach to evaluation

A
  • relativist interpretation of the world that denies absolutes and sees development as a complex set of issues/factors for which there is no quick fix
  • pluralistic vieuw
  • evaluations are not neutral
  • evaluator is a facilitator
  • use of multidisciplinary teams
22
Q

ToR components for evalution

A
  1. background
  2. purpose
  3. key evaluation questions
  4. specific objectives
  5. methodology
  6. logistical issues
  7. clear reporting plan and process
  8. achievable timeplan
23
Q

Possible failures of an evaluation

A
  1. stakeholders do not feel sufficiently involved
  2. stakeholders not sufficiently consulted
  3. findings are not in time for decision making
  4. bad methodology and no corrective actions
  5. reports are too long
  6. lessons learned are not clear enough
  7. lessons from past evaluations may not be perceived as relevant
  8. implementers are not open to learn from their mistakes.
24
Q

Definition Theory of Change (Davies, 2012)

A

the description of a sequence of events that is expected to lead to a particular desired outcome

25
Q

5 stages of an evaluation

A
  1. pre-planning
  2. preparation
  3. execution
  4. analysis and reporting
  5. reflection and follow-up