Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E)Module 8

Value of M & E

Learn from experience, and share this learning (especially important if you are part of an alliance/coalition)

Adapt plans to respond to events

Improve the effectiveness of future advocacy work

Ensure that resources are used in the most effective way possible

Be accountable to managers, colleagues and funders

What’s the Difference?!

Monitoring - is a process that tracks the implementation of activities

[It checks that we are implementing activities according to our action plan.]

Evaluation - assesses the results of our project at one point in time

[In short-scale projects, this would be on completion – but in longer-scale projects, it could be done periodically.]

Monitoring is about keeping to the plan:

Not about questioning the plan

It takes place during

And may involve diagnosis and remedial action to get back on track

Evaluation questions the plan:

Is/was it the best way?

Will objectives be/have they been achieved?

Were we on time (expected progress made?)

What have we learned?

What can we change to increase success?

Is it worth doing (again)?

Designing Your M&E System

Before designing your M&E system, think carefully about the changes you are trying to achieve, and how these can be brought about

Do at action planning stage, and build results into plan

Theory of Change – see next slide

Advocacy Change

Advocacy changes are difficult to measure

They also occur at multiple levels – See the next slide!

Changing the world for animals!

Animal Welfare

Policy/Policy-makers

Advocacy Coalition/Alliance

Partners

Organization

Impact – scale and significance of change in animal welfare

Outcome – change in policy and/or behaviour of policy-makers

Outcome –capacity development: changes in capacity, policy or practices of the coalition/alliance (if any)

Outcome – capacity development: changes in

capacity, policy or practices of your partner (if any)

Outcome – change in policy,

capacity and/or practices of

your organization

Ripples of Advocacy

Change

Key Questions

What is the purpose of carrying

out M&E

Who needs, uses M&E

information

Who carries out M&E?

How is M&E carried out?

When should M&E be carried

out?

Frequency?

What Sort of Data?

See the Module Notes for info on the type of data which you could collect on your advocacy plan

But decide on the data that is most relevant for measuring your objectives

Do what suits your advocacy plan!

The data needed, and the reasons for its collection, should be known and understood by all

Methods of Collecting Data

Reports (written or verbal)

Inspection/Field visits

Surveys/Questionnaires/Interviews

Participatory Meetings

Participatory Techniques (e.g. SWOT

Analysis, Matrix Ranking—see our

Advocacy Toolkit) – build teamwork and

understanding

Measuring

We need indicators to measure results

Indicators

Help to measure change by showing progress towards meeting objectives

Observable, measurable, and agreed upon as valid markers of progress towards objectives

Indicators differ from objectives in that they address specific criteria that will be used to judge the success of the project or program

Features of Good Indicators

Valid: Measures the effect it is supposed to

measure

Reliable: Gives same result if measured in the

same way

Precise: Is operationally defined so people are

clear about what they are measuring

Timely: Can be measured at an interval that is

appropriate to the level of change expected

Comparable: Can be compared across

different project approaches

Proxy Indicators

Proxy indicators can be helpful in advocacy work

because of the difficulty of attributing results (and

often intangible outcomes)

They are plausible indicators of outcomes or progress

towards an outcome

In particular, they can be a legitimate way to measure

an individual organisation’s roles in coalition work.

There is more about Proxy Indicators in the module notes

Means: End:

Inputs

Processes

Outputs

• Inputs and Process are only a means to an end

• We should monitor inputs, processes and outputs

• Outputs have greatest importance

• Monitoring should also be used to help us understand:

relationships between inputs and outputs: e.g.

When an input changes, what effect does this

have on outputs?Which is the most important input? Etc.

After Evaluation

Celebrate successes

Replicate successful formulas

Don’t apportion blame

Communicate and learn through failures

Continuous Improvement

With the pace of change ever quickening, the need to develop mechanisms for continuous learning and innovation is greater than ever

M&E is an important part of your organizational learning and continuous improvement

Organizational learning will create more knowledgeable staff and a flexible organization where people will accept and adapt to new ideas and changes through a shared vision

The Learning Cycle

Carrying out an

advocacy

campaign

Evaluating or

reviewing the

advocacy campaign

Making conclusions

about changes or new

actions needed

Planning the next

step

Towards Perfection!

“To improve is to change: to be perfect is to change often”

- Winston Churchill