Principles of Monitoring

& Evaluation
February 2020 Edition
Noel Muzondo
+263 772 402 560
noelmuzondo@gmail.com

Noel Muzondo, Principles of M&E,

MDU UZ 01/24/2021 1
Class Reps and Notes – February 2020
◦ Emildah Dube
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 0719050377 /0774050376

◦ JAMES D.S SITHOLE

 jamessithole479@gmail.com
 0778634994

Write for notes to this email address

mdu@commerce.uz.ac.zw

WHATSAPP GROUP LINK :

https://chat.whatsapp.com/GesWqajiYVc3FSs5lj2apf

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MDU UZ 01/24/2021 2
 Your expectations and the learning
contract
 Learners’ expectations vis-à-vis the course outline (all
to get a soft copy of course outline)
 The learning contract: Things to observe
◦ Put mobile phones on silent (or switch them off) during lectures
◦ Respect diversity of thought and/or opinion (Section 61 (c)
Academic freedom, Zimbabwe Constitution, 2013:31)
 This is a laboratory (we are here to learn)
 Critique and don’t criticize; don’t talk of individuals but institutions
 Anything said in the laboratory is for learning purposes only; don’t take it
outside of the learning context!
◦ Give others a chance to speak (if you want to speak do so
through the facilitator)
◦ Respect deadline(s) for assignment(s).

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 Introduction to Monitoring and
Evaluation (M&E)
 M&E has assumed great importance in development work over the last few
years.
◦ It is likely that many M&E jobs have been advertised in Zimbabwe during the last 5 years
than in the one to two decades before
 M&E or performance management, however, is as old as the discipline of
management itself.
◦ Management simply means planning, organising, leading and controlling.

 Development work is to a large extent informed by Sustainable Development

Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September
2015 as its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which guides global
action for the coming years to 2030.

 Development work i.e. projects and programmes done by organisations of

different kinds i.e. public sector, NGOs, and private sector profit-making all
take a cue from SDGs.

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Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) – UN Agenda 2030
SDG 1 No poverty
SDG 2 Zero hunger
SDG 3 Good health and well-being
SDG 4 Quality education
SDG 5 Gender equality
SDG 6 Clean water and sanitation
SDG 7 Affordable and clean energy
SDG 8 Productive employment and economic growth
SDG 9 Industry, innovation, and infrastructure
SDG 10 Reduced inequalities
SDG 11 Sustainable cities and communities
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Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Cont’d)
SDG 12 Responsible consumption and production
SDG 13 Climate action
SDG 14 Life below water
SDG 15 Life on land
SDG 16 Peace, justice, and strong institutions
SDG 17 Partnership for global development
Cross-cutting issues
◦ Statistical capacity
◦ Financial inclusion
◦ Fragility, conflict, and violence

SDGs underpin all development work.

 The exciting thing is that there is acknowledgement in the literature

that the private sector has a big role to play in the attainment of these
goals (see World Investment Report – United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development, 2014) and this is with reference to SDG 17.

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Percentage share of global population living on less
than 2005 Purchasing Power Parity of US$1.25 a day

Region 2008 2010 2015

Actual Estimate Forecast
Sub-Saharan Africa 49.2 48.5 42.3
South Asia 36.0 31.0 23.2
East Asia & Pacific 14.3 12.5 5.5
Latin America & Caribbean 6.5 5.5 4.9
Middle East & North Africa 2.7 2.4 2.6
Europe & Central Asia 0.5 0.7 0.4
Source: World Bank (2014b:23)

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Percentage share of SADC population living on less
than 2005 Purchasing Power Parity of US$1.25 a day
Country Population (in Poverty Rate (Percentage Population Estimate of AIDS and HIV Prevalence4
Millions) surviving on)  
    <US$1.25 a <US$2 a day People living with Percentage
day HIV Prevalence in Adult
  (15-49)
DR Congo 67.5 87.7 95.2 480 000 1.1
South Africa 53.0 13.8 31.3 6 300 000 19.1
Tanzania, UR 49.3 67.9 87.9 1 400 000 5.0
Mozambique 25.9 59.6 81.8 1 600 000 10.8
Madagascar 22.9 81.3 92.6 54 000 0.4
Angola 21.5 43.4 67.4 250 000 2.4
Malawi 16.4 61.6 82.2 1 100 000 10.3
Zambia 14.5 74.5 86.6 1 100 000 12.5
Zimbabwe 14.1 .. .. 1 400 000 15.0
Namibia 2.3 31.9 51.1 250 000 14.3
Lesotho 2.1 43.4 62.3 360 000 22.9
Botswana 2.0 31.2 49.4 340 000 21.8
Mauritius 1.3 .. .. 9 600 1.2
Swaziland 1.2 40.6 60.4 210 000 26.5
Seychelles 0.1 <2 <2 .. ..
TOTALS 294.1     14 853 600  
Mean 19.6 49.0 65.4 990 240 11.7
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Sub Saharan Africa   48.5   MDU UZ  
 
Social Progress Index (Social Progress
Imperative)
 Social progress is “the capacity of a society to meet the basic human needs of its
citizens, establish the building blocks that allow citizens and communities to
enhance and sustain the quality of their lives, and create the conditions for all
individuals to reach their full potential” (Social Progress Imperative, 2016b:4).
 
 Social Progress Index (Social Progress Imperative, 2016a:17-18).
◦ Very High Social Progress (87 - 100)
◦ High Social Progress (75 - 86)
◦ Upper Middle Social Progress (67 - 74)
◦ Lower Middle Social Progress (56 - 66)
◦ Low Social Progress (43 - 55)
◦ Very Low Social Progress (0 - 42)


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Social Progress Indices of SADC Countries
Country Social Progress Index by Dimension Factor
Social Progress Index
by Dimension Basic Human Needs Foundations of Wellbeing Opportunity

Access to Information and Communications

Nutrition and Basic Medical Care

Access to Advanced Education

Social Progress Index (Overall)

Personal Freedom and Choice

Access to Basic Knowledge
Foundations of Wellbeing

Tolerance and Inclusion

 

Environmental Quality
Water and Sanitation

Health and Wellness

Basic Human Needs

Personal Rights
Personal Safety
Opportunity

Shelter
Mauritius 73.24 89.44 72.84 57.46 96.32 97.64 81.02 82.77 94.14 74.40 61.48 61.34 62.27 69.67 67.21 30.69  
South Africa 67.60 66.95 68.23 67.61 87.00 72.96 66.02 41.84 85.12 78.50 45.63 63.19 75.15 75.73 66.40 53.14  
Botswana 67.03 71.94 70.37 58.77 75.76 77.48 59.52 75.00 86.85 70.41 53.41 70.82 76.25 77.78 60.13 20.90  
Namibia 62.01 61.75 66.14 58.14 65.25 57.99 57.74 65.99 74.53 73.50 50.11 66.42 80.63 75.38 53.52 23.02  
Malawi 53.44 54.62 57.82 47.87 67.08 50.52 34.37 66.50 66.12 41.94 61.20 62.01 75.45 59.24 38.20 14.59  
Lesotho 52.39 53.44 51.56 52.17 67.69 45.32 41.98 58.76 60.05 61.02 37.92 47.23 67.16 61.86 54.74 24.94  
Swaziland 51.76 58.08 56.33 40.87 65.58 54.56 49.88 62.29 76.04 53.24 39.77 56.25 18.76 64.74 56.09 23.91  
Tanzania 49.99 47.13 60.95 41.90 66.84 23.35 36.47 61.84 61.14 51.57 64.31 66.79 48.84 54.01 39.04 25.70  
Zimbabwe 49.11 51.29 62.33 33.72 61.46 44.43 47.02 52.26 75.98 57.58 56.26 59.49 14.01 53.84 39.90 27.14  
Mozambique 47.96 45.50 58.76 39.62 62.06 19.95 41.17 58.83 56.86 53.65 62.79 61.76 58.28 38.11 59.63 10.47  
Madagascar 45.91 43.76 56.91 37.05 69.12 15.91 24.50 65.52 62.93 43.79 62.95 57.96 43.37 40.32 48.14 16.37  
Angola 39.70 43.74 49.73 25.65 62.41 27.69 31.12 53.73 52.19 52.23 51.58 42.91 21.36 23.77 43.13 14.32  
Zambia   49.19   42.49 54.75 36.13 40.63 65.26   53.97 64.68 59.00 40.32 60.81 46.75 22.09  
DRC     51.99 28.72   19.70 27.03 40.55 60.42 41.50 55.58 50.48 24.34 36.03 36.79 17.70  
Regional
Annual 55.01 56.68 60.30 45.15 69.33 45.97 45.61 60.80 70.18 57.66 54.83 58.98 50.44 56.52 50.69 23.21  
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Mean* MDU UZ 01/24/2021 10
The Human Development Index (HDI)
The measures the opportunities people have during their
lifetime—life expectancy at birth (measured in years), mean
years of schooling and expected years of schooling, and gross
national income (GNI) per capita, which are aggregated into an
HDI value ranging from 0 to 1.

 The HDI categorises countries into four groups, namely, less

than 0.550 for Low Human Development, 0.550–0.699 for
Medium Human Development, 0.700–0.799 for High Human
Development and 0.800 or greater for Very High Human
Development (UNDP, 2016:193).

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SADC human development competitiveness within the
SADC (2013 to 2016) (Source: Muzondo, 2018 :119
2013 2014 2015 2016
Country Mean*
Country (n=186) (n=187) (n=188) (n=188)
Value Rank Value Rank Value Rank Value Rank Value Rank
Seychelles 0.806 46 0.756 71 0.772 64 0.782 63 0.779 61
Mauritius 0.737 80 0.771 63 0.777 63 0.781 64 0.767 68
Botswana 0.634 119 0.683 109 0.698 106 0.698 108 0.678 111
South Africa 0.629 121 0.658 118 0.666 116 0.666 119 0.655 119
Namibia 0.608 128 0.624 127 0.628 126 0.640 125 0.625 127
Zambia 0.448 163 0.561 141 0.586 139 0.579 139 0.544 146
Swaziland 0.536 141 0.530 148 0.531 150 0.541 148 0.535 147
Angola 0.508 148 0.526 149 0.532 149 0.533 150 0.525 149
Tanzania, UR 0.476 152 0.488 159 0.521 151 0.527 152 0.503 154
Madagascar 0.483 151 0.498 155 0.51 154 0.512 158 0.501 155
Lesotho 0.461 158 0.486 162 0.497 161 0.497 160 0.485 160
Zimbabwe 0.397 172 0.492 156 0.509 155 0.516 154 0.479 159
Malawi 0.418 170 0.414 174 0.445 173 0.476 170 0.438 172
Mozambique 0.327 185 0.393 178 0.416 180 0.418 181 0.389 181
DRC 0.304 186 0.338 186 0.433 176 0.435 176 0.378 181
Annual SADC Mean* 0.518 141 0.548 140 0.568 138 0.573 138 0.552 139
Annual Sub-Saharan Noel Muzondo,
0.502   0.502   0.518 Principles
  of0.523
M&E,      
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 The Power of M&E: Why M&E is
important
 M&E is a performance measurement tool.
 The Power of measuring results manifests in many ways (see Osborne &
Gaebler, 1992 cited in Kusek and Rist 2004, p. 11):
◦ If you do not measure results, you cannot tell success from failure.
◦ If you cannot see success, you cannot reward it.
◦ If you cannot reward success, you are probably rewarding failure.
◦ If you cannot see success, you cannot learn from it.
◦ If you cannot recognize failure, you cannot correct it.
◦ If you cannot demonstrate results, you cannot win public support.

 A project’s success can be measured in terms of how closely it comes to

meeting the goal or objective (and this is an issue of quality) within the
parameters of its budget and schedule (Field and Keller, 1998, p. 3). Discuss.
(potential examination and assignment question)

◦ To me this means that M&E officers do not just need budgeting and scheduling skills but
also project and programme management skills (Explain).

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M&E: What are they all about?
 The Organisation for European Cooperation and Development (OECD)
(2000a) cited in Kusek and Rist (2004, p. 12) define monitoring and
evaluation as follows:
◦ Monitoring is the continuous function that uses the systematic collection of
data on specified indicators to provide management and main stakeholders of
an ongoing development intervention with indications of the extent of
progress and achievement of objectives and progress in the use of allocated
funds.
◦ Evaluation is the systematic and objective assessment of an ongoing or
completed project, program, or policy, including its design, implementation,
and results. The aim is to determine the relevance and fulfilment of
objectives, development efficiency, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability.
An evaluation should provide information that is credible and useful, enabling
the incorporation of lessons learned in the decision making process of both
recipients and donors.
 Thus monitoring and evaluation are different but complementary.
◦ In my own view monitoring involves checking progress on implementation
and achievement of goals and evaluation entails assessing or analysing the
extent of implementation and achievement of goals.

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Complementary Roles of Results-
Based Monitoring and Evaluation
Monitoring Evaluation

•Clarifies program objectives •Analyses why intended results were or

were not achieved
•Links activities and their resources to
objectives •Assesses specific causal contributions
of activities to results [so development
•Translates objectives into performance and testing of theory is critical to M&E
indicators and sets targets work]

•Routinely collects data on these •Examines implementation process

indicators, compares actual results with
targets •Explores unintended results

•Reports progress to managers and •Provides lessons, highlights significant

alerts them to problems accomplishment
Source: Kusek and Rist (2004, p. 14) or program potential,
and
Noel offers
Muzondo, recommendations
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improvement.
Key features of Traditional Implementation-
Focused and Results-M&E Systems
Elements of Results-focused Monitoring
Elements of implementation Monitoring
(used for a range of interventions and
(traditionally used in projects)
strategies)

 Description of the problem or situation  Baseline data to describe the problem

before intervention or situation before intervention
 Benchmarks for activities and  Indicators for outcomes
immediate outputs  Data collection on outputs and how
 Data collection on inputs, activities, and and whether they contribute toward
immediate outputs achievement of outcomes
 Systematic reporting on provision of
 More focus on perception of change
inputs among stakeholders
 Systematic reporting on production of
 Systematic reporting with more
outputs (process indicators) qualitative and quantitative information
 Designed to provide information on
on the progress towards outcomes
 Done in conjunction with strategic
administrative, implementation, and
partners
management issues as opposed to  Captures information on success or
broad development effectiveness issues
failure of partnership strategy in
Note: This was typical of an NGO I once
achieving desired results
worked for.

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The link between monitoring and
evaluation and strategic management
 From the definition of monitoring and evaluation (M&E)
given earlier on (i.e. monitoring = continuous checking;
evaluation = assessment) there is a definite link
between M&E and strategic management.

 At the basic level, the planning process (operational and

strategic) entails ‘analysing, planning, implementation
and control’ (see Kotler et al, 2002, p.76).

 Thus M&E is subsumed within the ‘control’ element of

the planning (including the project planning) model or
process already discussed.

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Where can Results-based M&E be
applied (1)?
 Results-based M&E can be applied to all five
levels of strategy (link this to the strategic
management element of the course – see next
slide) i.e.
◦ Network, corporate, business unit, functional,
operational (define each)
◦ I think that results-based M&E is closely related to
Management by Objectives (explain what MBO is)
 Or in more development management friendly
language to
◦ Project, program, and policy (define each and link with
hierarchy of strategies model)

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 Levels of strategy in development
work (with bias on NGOs)
NGO A in alliance with NGO X; NGO Z &
Network Strategy government department A; Country A & NGO
F; Country A & Country B
Monitoring and Evaluation

Corporate Strategy NGO A alone; NGO X alone, NGO Z alone

Business Strategy Branch or subsidiary of NGO A working in

country 17

Functional Strategy NGO A departmental strategy e.g. advocacy &

civil rights, HRM, Finance – programme level

Operational Strategy Strategies of section(s) within department(s_ of

NGO A – the project level

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Where can Results-based M&E be
applied (2)?
 Internal and external applications
◦ An effective M&E system provides a continuous flow of
information that is useful internally and externally (so internal
and external stakeholders are fed consistently with relevant
information to aid in decision making)
 Knowledge capital
◦ Good M&E systems are also a source of knowledge capital.
They enable an organisation to develop a knowledge base of
types of projects, programs, and policies that are successful,
and, and more generally, what works, what does not, and why.
 Transparency and accountability
◦ M&E can aid in promoting greater transparency and
accountability within organisations

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Political & Technical Challenges to
Building a Results-based M&E system
 The political side of M&E
◦ According to the political model of strategy-making, organisations are
coalitions of divergent powerful political interests
◦ The political will of the powerful actors (e.g. the CEO, Board of Trustees,
chief policy or program or project officers/directors) determines the
effectiveness or failure of an M&E system.
◦ The above points confirm that organisational behaviour issues determine
the success or otherwise of an M&E system
 The Technical side of M&E—Building institutional support
◦ Skill, experience and institutional capacity is required to build a credible
and effective M&E system. Capacity includes ability to construct
indicators; the means to collect and analyze data (research), statistical
capacity, technically trained staff and managers, and basic information
technology. There also has to be shared values.
◦ This means that training and management are critical to developing an
effective M&E system.

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Introducing the 10-Step Model for
Building a Results-Based M&E System
 Experts differ on the number and sequence of steps in building a results-
based M&E system but they all agree on the overall intent.

 Before we introduce Kusek and Rist’s (2004) 10-step results-based M&E

model, we note that the duo admit that the essential actions involved are to:
◦ Formulate outcomes and goals
◦ Select outcomes and indicators
◦ Gather baseline information on the current conditions
◦ Set specific targets to reach and dates for reaching them
◦ Regularly collect data to assess whether the targets are being met
◦ Analyse and report the results

 Can you notice how these actions feed into the project and programme
planning processes?

 Also note how the steps above relate to Kusek and Rist’s (2004) 10-step
M&E in the next slide.

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 The 10-Step Model for Building a
Results-Based M&E System

Selecting Planning for

Conducting improvemen
a readiness key
ts –
assessment indicators The role of
selecting Using
to monitor evaluations
results findings
outcomes
targets
1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
0
Agreeing Baseline Monitoring Reporting Sustaining
outcomes data on for results findings the M&E
to monitor indicators system
and within the
evaluate organisatio
n

Source: Kusek and Rist (2004, p. 80)

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Where to Start Building & Introducing
the Results-Based M&E System
 Organisations vary in the approaches to adopting results-based M&E
systems.
 Kusek and Rist (2004:24) suggest three essential approaches i.e.
◦ Whole-of-Government,
◦ Enclave. and
◦ Mixed approach.
 Weadapt these approaches to simulate three possible approaches non-
governmental and intergovernmental organisation could introduce a
results-based M&E system:
◦ Whole-of-Organisation i.e. covering whole organisation at once,
◦ Enclave i.e. phased, taking a project, program, or one part of the organisation as a pilot
◦ Mixed approach i.e. blend the two above-stated approaches
 Piloting an M&E systems is encouraged regardless of the approach
taken.
 It is also critical to conduct a readiness assessment of the organisation

concerned?

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Why do the readiness assessment?
 A readiness assessment provides the
analytical framework for rating an
organisation’s ability to monitor and evaluate
its progress in achieving designated
development goals.
 It does this by assessing an organisation’s

current understanding, capacity, and use of

the existing M&E system.

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Three main parts of a readiness
assessment (adapted from Kusek & Rist)
 We infer from Kusek and Rist that there three main
parts to a readiness assessment, namely:

◦ Incentives and demands for designing and building a results-

based M&E system

◦ Roles and responsibilities and existing structures for

assessing performance of the organisation

◦ Capacity building of a results-based M&E system

 Let’s discuss these in the next slide.

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1. Incentives and demands for designing and
building a results-based M&E system
 What is the driving force for building the M&E
system?

 Who is the idea champion and what drives

him or her?

 Who will benefit or not benefit from the

system—the organisation, beneficiaries,
donors, government, etc?

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2. Roles, responsibilities and existing
structures for assessing performance of the
organisation
 What is the role of program and project
management and staff in assessing performance?

 Who in the organisation produces data and at

what level—organisational, program, project?
(explain the levels of strategy model here again)

 Where in the organisation are data used (explain

the levels of strategy model here again)?

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3. Capacity building of a results-
based M&E system
 Do program and project staff and managers have
suitable skills?

 Is there any technical assistance, capacity

building, or training in M&E now underway or in
the past two years?

 Are there institutes, research centres, private

organisations, or universities in the country who
can provide the required technical assistance and
training for the organisation?

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The readiness assessment: Eight key
questions
 What potential pressures are encouraging the need
for M&E within the private non-profit sector and
why?

 Who is the Advocate for the M&E system?

 What is motivating the Champion to support such

an effort?

 Who will own the system? Who will benefit from the
system? How much information do they really want?

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The readiness assessment: Eight key
questions (cont’d)
 How will the system support better resource mobilization and
allocation and the achievement of program goals?

 How will the organisation i.e. senior managers, Champion(s),

staff, donors, beneficiaries and other key stakeholders react
to negative information generated by the M&E system?

 Where does capacity exist to support a results-based M&E

system?

 How will the M&E system link project, program and

organisational goals [so programs are more functional areas]?

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Chapter Review
 For now use group discussion questions

 Q1. Why should an organisation consider an enclave approach to adopting a

results-based M&E system?

 Q2. Drawing on the three approaches to adopting results-based M&E in

organisations explained in Kusek and Rist, assess how the government of
Zimbabwe has handled this aspect in the last decade leading up to the
ZimAsset economic blueprint.

 Q3. Drawing on Kusek and Rist’s (2004) approaches to building and

introducing a results-based monitoring and evaluation system in
organisations, write a report to be presented to senior management in your
organisation discussing all the alternative approaches and then
recommending one approach giving the justification for your
recommendation. (25 marks)

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How to answer Question 3 in the
previous slide
3.0 A discussion of the approaches to building and introducing a results-
based monitoring and evaluation system (RBME) in an organisation

3.1 Introduction
◦ Your introduction could, ideally, have a topic sentence summarising your understanding
of the question or the key concepts, theories or ideas in the question
◦ It should also identify one or two key terms and define them
◦ Ideally, the introduction should summarise the answer.
3.2 Alternative approaches to building and introducing an RBME in a an
organisation
3.2.1 Whole-of-government
3.2.2 Enclave approach
3.2.3 Mixed approach
3.3 Recommendation: Mixed approach
3.4 Conclusion

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2. Measuring Organisational,
Programme & Project Performance:
Metrics or Indicators
 What is an indicator?
 It is measure, guide, marker, pointer or

gauge of something
 Types of indicators

◦ Quantitative and qualitative indicators

◦ Process and outcome indicators
 There are two key types of monitoring—
implementation monitoring and outputs monitoring
(Kusek and Rist, 2004).

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Indicators and Goals
 The link between goals or objectives and
indicators
◦ The meaning of goals
◦ The meaning of objectives
◦ So are goals and objectives one
◦ How goals differ from indicators

 Quality of Good goals and/or objectives

◦ SMART CG

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Developing Indicators for One policy
Area
Outcomes Indicators Baselines Targets

1. Nation’s children 1. Percent of 1. In 1999, 75 1. By 2006, 85

have better eligible urban percent of percent of
access to children enrolled children ages 3- children ages 3-
preschool in preschool 5 5
programs education
2. Percent of
eligible rural 2. In 1999, 75 2. By 2006, 60
children enrolled percent of percent of
in preschool children ages 3- children ages 3-
education 5 5

2. Primary school 1. Percent of Grade 1. In 2002, 75% 1. By 2006, 80%

learning outcomes 6 students scored 70 scoring 70
for children are scoring 70% or percent or better percent or better
improved. Source: Kusek andonRist (2004:95)
better in math, and in math, and
standardised 61% scored 70 67% scoring 70
math and percent or better percent or better
science tests in science.
Noel Muzondo, Principles of M&E, in science.
01/24/2021 36
MDU UZ
Modified Results-Based Monitoring and Evaluation

Goal (impacts) Long-term, widespread

improvement in society
Results (impact indicators – can be +/-)

Outcomes Immediate effects of

outputs on clients
(Outcome indicators)

Outputs Products and services

produced (process
indicators)
Implementati Tasks personnel
on Activities undertake to transform
inputs to outputs
Financial, human and
Inputs
material resources
Define targets/objectives
Targets
Source: Adapted from Kusek and Rist (2004:99)
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The Modified Balanced Scorecard Model & M&E

* Why was the model designed (its advantages)?

Financial Customer
Perspective Perspective

Innovation &
Internal Business
Learning
Perspective
Perspective

Leadership Perspective

Source: Norton & Kaplan (1991/2)

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The Balanced Scorecard
 Balanced scorecard & planning, implementation
and M&E
 Balanced scorecard & goals/objectives &
indicators
 Applications of the balanced score card in the
for-profit sector (how it may guide
performance indicators)
◦ financial perspective
◦ Customer perspective
◦ Innovation and learning perspective
◦ Internal business perspective

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Balanced scorecard model cont’d
◦ The modified balanced
 Some companies have adapted the balanced scorecard
by including additional perspectives e.g. a Zimbabwean
listed firm added leadership to the perspectives.

◦ Applications of the balanced scorecard to NGOs and

the public sector (how it aid in defining project
performance indicators).

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Chapter review questions
 Define and give an example for each of the
following terms:
◦ Goal
◦ Indicator
 What’s the balanced score card? To what
extent might be balanced score card model
be useful to non-profit organisations.

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 Project Management and
Monitoring and Evaluation
 The approach taken in this course is that
monitoring and evaluation (M&E) are applied to
project, programme, and organisational settings.

 Thus in this presentation we explore the concept of

project planning in order to demonstrate how M&E
can be integrated in projects and project
management systems.

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Project Management and Monitoring
& Evaluation (cont’d)
 In an attempt to learn more about the applications
of M&E in project management, we shall examine
the concepts of “project”, “project life cycle”,
“project planning”, and “project management”.

 [A project has] dedicated resources, a single point

of responsibility, clear boundaries across which
resources and deliverables move, limited duration,
[it is a] one-off task and [has] objectives. It is a
useful way of organising work. Projects don’t arise
without deliberate intervention (Gray, 1994).

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What is a project?
 Projects vary so much that they are difficult to
define (Field and Keller, 1998, p. 2).

 Some writers have offered the following definitions

of projects (Field and Keller, 1998, p. 2):
◦ A project is a unique venture with a beginning
and an end, conducted by people to meet
established goals within parameters of cost,
schedule and quality (Buchanan and Boddy,
(1992, p. 8).

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What is a project? More definitions...
 A project is a set of people and other resources temporarily
assembled to reach a specified objective, normally with a
fixed budget and with a fixed time period. Projects are
generally associated with products or procedures that are
being done for the first time or with known procedures that
are being altered (Graham, 1985, pp. 1-2 cited in Buchanan
and Boddy, 1992).

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What is a project? More definitions...
◦ The simplest form of a project is a discrete
undertaking with defined objectives often
including time, cost and quality (performance
goals)...We define a project as organised work
towards a pre-defined goal or objectives that
requires resources and effort, a unique (and
therefore risky) venture having a budget and
schedule... Once a project completes, it ceases;
therefore project work is characterised by
impermanence (Field and Keller, 1998, pp. 2&3).

01/24/2021
Noel Muzondo, Principles of M&E,
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Key terms in definitions of projects:
characterisation of projects
◦ unique venture with a beginning and an end
◦ established goals
◦ parameters of cost, schedule and quality
(performance) goals
◦ set of people and other resources temporarily
assembled to reach a specified objective
◦ fixed budget
◦ fixed time period
◦ products and/or procedures
◦ dedicated resources
◦ single point of responsibility

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Key terms in definitions of projects:
characterisation of projects
– clear boundaries across which resources & deliverables
move
– limited duration
– once-off task
– deliberate intervention
– discrete undertaking
– organised work
– pre-defined goal or objectives
– resources and effort
– Unique and risky venture
– project ceases when goal is fulfilled
– project work characterised by impermanence

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Examples of projects
 What sort of examples of projects can you
think of, real or imaginary, which fit into the
characteristics discussed early on?

 In what categories can you put the projects?

 (The next slide gives project categories and

examples under each).

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Some examples of projects (Private and public)
 Private sector commercial projects
◦ Construction of a factory
◦ Creation of a new venture, product, service or
procedures
◦ A public relations campaign
 Public sector projects
◦ Construction of a dam, houses; servicing of
residential stands, dualization of trunk roads or
highways
◦ Public education campaign e.g. Cholera
communications campaign; Malaria
communications campaign;

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Some examples of projects-NGOs
– Cervical cancer behaviour change
campaign
– Food relief distribution in a flood-hit
district
– Community-driven natural resources
conservation campaign
– Political party campaign in the run up to
an election, local or general
– Launch of a new professional institute for
development professionals

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The Environment of Projects
 Projects are initiated, designed and implemented and
evaluated within a defined context—an environment.
 Therefore, projects are living organism because they
interact with their environment where they get inputs
which they process into outputs that they then deliver
to the environment.
 Projects are impacted by the environment in many
ways—positive and negative.
 When a project is designed and evaluated, its
environment has to be audited.
 What are the key components of the project
environment?

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The Project Environment (Cont’d also
see next slide)
Macro Environment Internal Environment
Political-legal Vision
Economic Mission
Social-cultural Organisational structure
Technological Organisational culture
Physical/natural Objectives
International Strategies
Budgets
Micro/Task
Marketing mix decisions
Environment
- Products
Customers
- Price
Competitors
- Promotion
Suppliers
- Place
Distributors
- Physical evidence
Government
- Processes
Labour
- People
Media
General Public
Other publics

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The Project Environment (Cont’d)
 As you audit the development environment you must draw on relevant existing
literature including indices, if any are available. That’ll enable you to define the
“development problem” clearly and support it with evidence or baseline
information.

 Examples of some useful indices (available from the internet) include:

1. Corruption Perception Index (CPI) - Transparency International
2. Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) - World Economic Forum
3. Global Innovation Index (GII) - Cornell University, Institut Européen d’Administration des
Affaires (INSEAD) and World Intellectual Property Organization
4. Doing Business - World Bank
5. Human Development Index (HDI) - United Nations Development Programme
6. Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) - Mo Ibrahim Foundation
7. Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index (GMCI) - Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
Limited & United States Council on Competitiveness
8. Fragile States Index (FSI) - Fund for Peace
9. Social Progress Index (SPI) - Social Progress Imperative
10. Global Talent Competitiveness Index
11. Zimbabwe National Competitiveness Report – National Economic Consultative Forum
(Note: this mainly summarises the GCI and Doing Business)
12. Quality of life indices (Note: there are various versions), etc.

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Stakeholder analysis or mapping: The
Power-interest model (Freeman, 1984)

Power
High Low

High Key Players Keep Informed

Interest

Low Keep Satisfied Minimal Effort

Source: Johnson, Scholes and Whittington (2008:156)

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The Project Life-Cycle Model
 We have already argued that projects are living
organisms—they are just like human beings,
organisations, markets, and products.
 All these have one thing in common—life cycle.
◦ Biological Life Cycle - Conception, gestation, birth,
growth, maturity, ageing, death.
◦ Family life cycle - Bachelorhood, honeymooners, full
nest 1, full nest 2, empty nest, solitary survivor,
dissolution (traditional family life cycle model)
◦ Product life cycle - R&D (conception), introduction,
growth, maturity, saturation, Decline

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Life cycle theory & its importance in
project management
 The life cycle theory is important in that it deepens our
understanding.
 As we shall see when a project moves through its life
cycle phases different skills and decisions are called for
on the part of the project manager.
 Project management is the act of applying managerial
principles and skills to a project so as to fulfill project
goals.
◦ Management involves analysis, planning, leading, organising, and
controlling.
◦ Project management entails initiating, planning, executing,
monitoring and controlling, closing (Lewis, 2007) within the triple
constraints of requirements, schedule and cost (RDI, 2012).

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The Project Life-Cycle Models
 There are as many project life cycle models as there are authors in
project management.

 Hence “there is much discussion about whether there is only one ‘true’
model of a project life-cycle or many, and whether these are accurate
descriptions of what happens in real life” (Field and Keller, 1998, p.61).

 Field and Keller also admit that there is no single life-cycle that applies
to all projects so a model that one adopts may be determined by the
situation.

 As such, in this course chapter we present two project life cycle models.

 It is important to recognise that a project has a beginning, a middle and

an end. The life cycle models indeed show these phases.

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Field and Keller’s (1998) Basic Project
Life Cycle Model

DEFINE PLAN ORGANISE EXECUTE

CLOSE
Organise Issue change
Requirements Identify Obtain client
team orders
analysis tasks Sequence acceptance
Feasibility tasks Review
study project Complete
status documentati
Functional Identify on
specification critical Establish control Install Sign off
activities tools deliverables
Scenario Recruit staff
development
Estimate Conduct post-
time and Report on implementatio
cost project n audit
Cost-benefit
analysis Assign Review
Determine work schedule and
Set budget Maintenance
objectives staffing

Compare Value
Value Value
alternatives engineering
planning assessment

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Value Chain Model - Michael Porter
Support
Activities

Firm Infrastructure
Human Resources Management
Technology Development Margins
Procurement

Margins

Inbound Operations Outbound Marketing Aftersales

Logistics Logistics & Sales Services

Primary
Activities

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Gray, Larson and Desai’s Project Life Cycle

Executing

Planning Closing
Defining

Gray, Larson and Desai (2014:8)

Defining Planning Executing Closing

1. Goals 1. Schedules 1. Status reports 1. Train customers
2. Specifications 2. Budgets 2. Changes 2. Transfer documents
3. Tasks 3. Resources 3. Quality 3. Release resources
4. Responsibilities 4. Risks 4. Forecasts 4. Evaluation
5. Staffing 5. Lessons learned

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The adapted project cycle model

Identification

Evaluation Lesson
learning Design

Implementation

Monitoring Evaluation

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 Project Planning Process
 Just like project lifecycle models, there are as many project
planning models as there are authors in the speciality.
 In this course, we present one project planning process; this isn’t
such thing as the best project planning framework, the situation
may define what is suitable.
 Your organisation or donor may specify the steps to be followed
in project planning or the writing of project proposals or plans.
 Project planning is planning like any other. Despite the different
strategy levels at which planning may be done – operational (or
project), functional, business, strategic or network – the steps in
the planning process remain similar.
 The steps involved in general planning are analysis or evaluation,
design and implementation.

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An Example of an
Invitation for Funding
Proposals

Source: NewsDay, 9 June 2015,

p. 5.

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Components of a Project Document
or Proposal
 Cover page
◦ Must state title and duration of project
 Second page
◦ Must state contact details of organisation initiating
and/or managing the project (second page)
 Executive summary
◦ Must summarise the whole project document
focusing on most important aspects
 Contents page

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 Components of a Project Document
or Proposal
 Project situation analysis/audit
◦ Analyse the project environment i.e. macro, micro, and internal
environments to understand problem to be addressed by project
◦ Summarise the audit into a SWOT and write a project current situation
(incorporating the SWOT – optional)

 Identification of target beneficiaries

◦ The beneficiaries can be divided into primary and secondary beneficiaries
with each group fully described in summary including how it is affected
and behaves (if this has not been done in the previous section).

 Definition of objectives
◦ Define project vision/overall goal
◦ Define project objectives (between 3 & 5 objectives at most)

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Components of a Project Document
or Proposal (Cont’d)
 Description of activities
◦ Describe the activity or activities for each of the
project objectives specified in the previous section
and how each will be carried out.
 Design project implementation plan
◦ Design project structure
◦ Design Gantt chart or activity schedule

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Components of a Project Document
or Proposal (cont’d)
 Budget
◦ Calculate a budget for implementation of the activities.
◦ There are two good methods for doing that (explain
each):
 Activity-based accounting technique
 Objective and task method

 Project M&E plan

◦ A good M&E plan should focus on
 “Budget use efficiency”
 “Time use efficiency” and
 “Impact assessment controls”

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Chapter Review Questions
 Use group discussion questions given to you
in the folder of notes.

 “The project life cycle model suggest the

elements of a project proposal.” Discuss.

 Describe the elements of the project plan,

proposal or document.

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“The project life cycle model suggest the
elements of a project proposal.” Discuss.
 3. A discussion of the relationship between
the project life cycle model and elements of a
project proposal

 3.1 Introduction
 3.2 Define stage and project document
 3.3 Planning stage and project document
 3.4 Execute stage and project document
 3.5 Close stage and project document
 3.6 Conclusion

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 Programme Management and
Monitoring and Evaluation
 As the title of this programme suggests, M&E
is applied in projects and programmes.

 We defined the term ‘project’ in the previous

topic and explored how projects are
designed.

 Now we are turn our focus on programmes.

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What is a programme?
 Programmes are broader than projects in that a programme
might be a department, function or a portfolio of ‘projects’
in an organisation.
◦ For instance, the author once worked for an NGO where departments
were known as programmes hence departmental heads were referred
to as health information programme coordinator, information
programme coordinator, legal & outreach programme coordinator,
and finance & administration programme coordinator.

◦ Apart from the finance & administration programme all other

programmes had a number of projects they had initiated and were
managing; the projects were at different lifecycle stages.
• We define a programme as a ‘basket’, “portfolio”, “family” or collection
of projects—two or more. It is common that as some projects are
closed new ones may be added to a project.

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Programme Management
 Some experts view programme management as a branch of strategic
management (e.g. de Wit & Meyer, 1998). They argue that strategic
management can also be referred to as programme management.

 Their argument is justified by the fact that strategic management

seeks to configure an organisation to maintain a viable fit with its
changing environment.

 The role of strategic management is to integrate departments

and/or strategic business units in order to create synergy.
◦ Programme management does the same with projects hence programme
managers need strategic management skills.
◦ Given the above arguments, in this course we argue that M&E officers require
strategic or programme management skills if they are to be effective in their
work; otherwise how will they evaluate whole organisations and programmes?

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Strategic Planning Process
 Define strategy
 Define strategic management
◦ To define this term let’s first deconstruct it and define the constituents parts before
defining the whole term:
 Strategy
 Management
 There are many strategic planning frameworks as there are authors in the
area of strategic management. There is no best strategic planning
framework, all depends on what is suitable considering the situation at
hand.
 In fact, many leading strategic management textbooks even avoid
prescribing what should, or should not, be included in a strategic plan.
 In this course we present three strategic planning frameworks; two are in
Daft (2000) and Wheelen and Hunger (2002) (the facilitator’s manual) and
one is in these notes (next slide). It is important that you familiarise
yourself with any one of these models or any other suitable model of your
choice for that matter.

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The strategic planning process overview (next
five slides explore these questions in detail)
 Where are coming from? And where are we
now?
 Where do we want to be?
 How do we get there?
 How do we ensure arrival?
 How do we know we have arrived?

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Where are coming from? And where
are we now?
 The above questions entail a planner or strategist
analysing or auditing her environment to understand
where the organisation or programme is coming
from, and how it is or has been affected by the
environment.

 The analysis covers the macro, micro and internal

environment of the organisation or programme.

 Data from the audit is processed into a SWOT i.e.

internal strengths and weaknesses and external
opportunities and threats.

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 Where are coming from? And where
are we now? SWOT analyses (Cont’d)

 The data are not included in the strategic plan or document

except as an appendix, if at all; information generated by the
audit has to be summarised into the current situation or strategic
position (and the SWOT may be included therein).
 The current situation is a summary of the strategic or key issue(s)
or problem(s) facing the organisation or programme.
 The SWOT should be edited to rid it of repetition and
simultaneously to ensure that it has a manageable number of
each of the four issues—strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats.
◦ Wheelen and Hunger (2002) suggest that your SWOT should have no more than
five to seven of each issue; well I recommend that you may have no more than
10 of each (see example of a SWOT analysis in next slide).

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SWOT Analysis of an imaginary
programme in an imaginary country
Strengths Weaknesses
-Topical vision and mission statements -High staff turnover
-Committed board members -Lack of marketing skills
-Weak networking skills
-Poor strategic foresight
-Implementation-
focused rather
customer-focused
culture
Threats Opportunities
-Diminishing funding opportunities -Large needy community
-Inflation -Strong indigenous
-Increasing competition and multiplication knowledge systems
of “copy-cat” NGOs -Political
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-Multiple dipping and “back biting”
Where do we want to be?
 This question deals with objectives.

 First you have to state the vision and mission of the

organisation or programme and then the strategic
objectives.

 Objectives have to be SMART C i.e. specific,

measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound, and
congruent or compatible.
◦ Golden rule: Have three to five objectives per programme. Too
many will be cumbersome for you to design a realistic
programme strategy; remember each objectives requires a
strategic plan.

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How do we get there?
 This question deals with strategy i.e. the strategy,
action programme or activities you will put in place
to achieve your programme objectives.

 To ensure that each objective has a strategy, it is

recommended that in this section you restate the
objective in summary and then write the relevant
strategy immediately after, thereafter pick the next
objective and do the same until all objectives have
been covered.
◦ Gold rule: Programme strategy must be consistent with the
SMART C framework just like programme objectives.

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How do we ensure arrival?
 This question has to do with how you will ensure the effective
implementation of programme activities or strategy hence the
fulfilment of programme objectives.

 You obviously need a suitable organisational structure and

other resources i.e. time, materials and finance (the budget).

 Organisational structures are dealt with in management (they

range from simple, functional, geographical,, customer,
through matrix structures).

 The Gantt chart or activity schedule (note activities schedule

have three columns covering Who?, Does What?, and By When?).

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How do we know we have arrived?
 This element deals with the monitoring and evaluation
framework of your strategic or programme plan.

 Just like in project plans, an M&E plan for a programme

should focus on the following three things:
◦ “Budget use efficiency” i.e. variances between budget lines for activities and actual spend;
◦ “Time use efficiency” i.e. variances between the time planned to for activity implementation
and the time it will have taken to implement the activities; and
◦ Impact assessment – i.e. variances between targets specified in objectives and targets
achieved through the implementation of the strategic plan.

 Indicators and logical frameworks (logframes) are

critical in this aspect

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Challenges in programme or strategic
planning
 The strategic planning process is easy to explain but challenging to
put into practice.

 Whereas the stages follow each other in linear form, they are not as
clear-cut and straight forward to handle in practice; they overlap
hence requiring planners move back and forth during the planning
process, revising what will have been written.

 Effective of planning is also affected by a host of things:

◦ Lack clarity over planning terms e.g. Goals, objectives, vision, mission, strategy
◦ Lack of skills
◦ Viewing planning as a ritual
◦ Lack of support by top management especially the CEO or program director
◦ Organisational behaviour issues i.e. resistance to the changes that will come
with the new strategy, hidden agendas, fear of the unknown, etc.
◦ Assuming that forecast are strategies.

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Chapter review questions
 What is a programme?

 What is strategic management?

 Explain the programme planning process.

 The project and programme planning

processes are generally similar in respect of
steps and content but only differ in the
context they are applied. Discuss.
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5. Baselines & the Research Process
 What is baseline information?

◦ Perhaps to better understand the phrase “baseline information” we need to separate

the words that comprise it.

 Information is processed data expressed in qualitative and/or quantitative terms.

 A baseline is a foundation. It is the basis from which an individual can start or build on in
the process of executing something.

◦ Thus baseline information is the information about the project situation which enable
project managers or M&E officers to define goals, objectives or performance targets
e.g. existing awareness or knowledge, perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours
regarding a product or issue.

◦ Without baseline information, the task of goal setting can be daunting if not
impossible.

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Collection of Baseline
Information: Research is Critical
 How can baseline information be collected?

◦ Baseline information is information like any other.

 It is developed from data, i.e. baseline data.

 Baseline data is collected through research – desk or

primary.

◦ So M&E officers need much more than just a basic

understanding of the research process in order to
collect data which is reliable, valid and timely.

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The Research Process
 Different authors give different models on how to carry out research or how to
manage the research process in practice (the model is one of several):
◦ Research topic
◦ Problem definition
◦ Definition of research question(s) and/or objective(s)
◦ Reviewing existing studies in the topic area (Literature Review)
◦ Methodology (research strategy)
 Research philosophy (positivism, phenomenology, mixed)
 Research approach (qualitative, quantitative, mixed)
 Sampling (random and non-random sampling)
 and sample size
 Research strategy (case study, survey, experiment, content analysis, etc.)
 Data collection instruments (questionnaires, focus group discussions, interviews, observation, etc)
 Data input and analysis (depends on type of data—qualitative or quantitative)
◦ Results
◦ Report writing and presentation

 The research process overall is adequately covered in your Research Methods

and Strategies for M&E module to be presented after this course.

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Research instruments
 Questionnaires
◦ May have both close and open end questions
 Depth interviews
◦ Structured interviews
 Based on prepared questions with a mix of open and close end
questions
 The set of questions used in structured interviews are called
interview schedules
◦ Unstructured interviews
 There no are prepared questions but simply subject topics to
be discussed with interviews
 Focus group discussions
 Observation

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Chapter Review Questions
 Why are baseline surveys important to M&E
officers?
 Explain the following terms:

◦ Baseline information
◦ Interview schedule
◦ Open-end question
◦ Sample
◦ Research process
◦ Focus group discussions

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6. Evaluation of Projects & Programs:
Dig Deeper than Simple Indicators
 For many, project and programme evaluation is simply an
appraisal of how well the project or programme has done.
This simply focuses on performance indicators covering
project or programme outputs, outcomes, and impacts.

 This line of reasoning misses the whole point of strategy –

that the critical factors determining the quality of current
results are often not directly observable or simply measured,
and that by the time strategic opportunities or threats do
directly affect results, it may well be too late for an effective
response (Rumelt, 1980).

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6. Evaluation of Projects & Programs: Dig
Deeper than Simple Indicators (cont’d)
 Thus project and programme evaluation should go
beyond the obvious facts concerning the short-term
health of a project or programme and appraise instead
the more important factors and developments that
determine success.

 “…Managers rarely step back and question the basic

assumptions underlying the grand strategic design or
see how the system is operating as an integrated whole.
A special evaluation procedure, the marketing audit [or
in development friendly language, project or program
audit/appraisal] has been developed to do this” (Kling,
1985:23).

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The Challenge of Evaluation
 Project and programme evaluation must
answer three questions (e.g. see Rumelt,
1980:33):
◦ Are the objectives of the project or programme
appropriate?
◦ Are the project or programme plans appropriate?
◦ Do the results obtained to date confirm or refute
critical assumptions on which the project or
programme rests?

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An Integrated Framework for Evaluating Projects & Programs

Project Audit Program Audit

Project Current Situation Program Current Situation

Project Customers Program Customers

Project goals Evaluation

Principles Program goals
Feasibility
Project strategy Advantage
Consonance Program strategy
Consistency
Project Implementation Program Implementation
Plan (incl. budget) Plan (incl. budget)

Project M&E Program M&E

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The principles of evaluating projects
& programmes
 Consistency
◦ The project or programme parts must be congruent. This
basically borrows from systems theory. Real world projects
and programmes are systems. There should not be conflict
in a system’s subsystems for the good of the whole.

 Consonance
◦ The programme or project must be adaptable or adaptive
to its environment. This means projects and programme
documents and project and programmes themselves have
to be continuously adapted so that they maintain a viable
fit with the environment.

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The principles of evaluating projects
& programmes (cont’d)
 Advantage
◦ Every project or programme must be an innovation or be
unique. This would give it an advantage over competing
projects and programmes. Programme or project competitive
advantages manifests in superior resources, superior skills,
superior position.

 Feasibility
◦ The final broad test of a project or programme is its feasibility
given the pressures exerted on it by the environment.
 A small NGO that employed 23 people, which I worked for,
positioned itself as a national organisation hence always faced
challenges in demonstrating impact; it was thinly spread.

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Chapter Thermometer and
References
 Questions
 Explain the four principles of evaluation suggested by Rumelt (1980).
 What is a project and/or programme audit.
 “Project and programme evaluation is simply an appraisal of how well the project or
programme has done in terms of its indicators.” Appraise this statement. Assignment
question – June 2013 Cohort.

 “Project and programme evaluation should go beyond the obvious facts concerning
the short-term health of a project or programme and appraise instead the more
important factors and developments that determine success.” Critically evaluate this
statement. Assignment question – October 2013 Cohort.

 References
◦ Kling, N.D (1985) “The Marketing Audit: An Extension of the Marketing Control Process”,
Managerial Finance, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp.23 – 26.
◦ Rumelt, R. (1980) “The evaluation of business strategy”, in de Wit, B. and Meyer, R. (1998)
Strategy: Process, Content, Context – An International Perspective, 2 nd Edition, London: Thomson
Learning.

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 University of Zimbabwe
Faculty of Commerce, Department of Business Studies
Management Development Unit

Programme
Executive Certificate in Programme and Project Monitoring and Evaluation

Course
Principles of Monitoring and Evaluation

Facilitator
Noel Muzondo (Mr)
+263 772 402 560
noelmuzondo@gmail.com

Assignment question – June 2014 Cohort

“Project and programme monitoring and evaluation should go beyond the obvious facts
concerning the short-term health of a project or programme and appraise instead the more
important factors and developments that determine success.” Discuss this statement. (100 percent)

Instructions
•Present your answer in management report format i.e. use suitable subheadings throughout
•Length – minimum 4 pages and maximum 5 pages excluding cover page and references
•Deadline – First day of the next course
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Thermometer
“Assignment question – February 2015 Group
The logframe is the foundation of a good
monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework for
any development intervention, project or
programme.” Critically evaluate the statement.

Practice question
“Project and programme planning are only
different in time horizon. In practice, they are
similar in steps and or components.” Discuss.

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“Assignment question – June 2015 Group

“The project life cycle is a logical starting point

in interrogating a project within a monitoring
and evaluation context.” Critique the
contention.

Assignment question – November 2015 Group

Discuss the programme planning process
relating your discussion to a programme you
know or a fictional one.

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Case Analysis: Structure of the
Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision
Project/Programme?
Executive Director

Finance & Program Manager

Administration VMMC
Manager MC Demand Creation
Officer
VMMC Program Officer

Physician (Medical Doctor)

Quality Assurance Manager -
Medical)
 Program Officer – OI/ART reports to Program Manager OI/ART
 VMMC Site Nurse reports to Training Coordinator
 Accounts Assistants report to Accountant
 M&E Officer reports to VMMC Quality Assurance Medical Officer
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0
 3. You are a project director and have been asked by your
board of trustees to come and discuss how your project has
been affected by changes in the macro environment in the
country. Prepare a presentation based on five elements of
the macro environment.

 3.1 Introduction

 3.2 A discussion of five element of the macro environment

impacting on our project
 3.2.1 Political environment
 3.2.2 Economic environment
 3.2.3 Technological environment
 3.2.4 Social-cultural environment
 3.2.5 Physical environment
 3.3 Conclusion

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June 2016 Assignment Question –
Principles of Monitoring & Evaluation
 Critique Kusek and Rist’s (2004) 10-Step
Model of Building A Results-Based Monitoring
and Evaluation (M&E) system. (30 marks)

 Instructions
◦ Maximum length excluding references and cover page—6 pages.
◦ Present your answer in management report format i.e. use
subheadings.
◦ Answer must be typed in Times New Roman, use 1.5 line spacing
and pages must be numbered.
◦ Cover page must have your full name, programme name, course
name, your intake group i.e. June 2016 Group or date of
submission, the facilitator’s name, and question.

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June 2018 Assignment Question – Principles
of Monitoring & Evaluation

Value creation and delivery are at he core of project

management. Critique the value engineering component
of Field and Keller’s (1998) project life cycle (PLC) model
using Porter’s (1998) value chain model.

 Instructions and Clues

◦ Maximum length excluding references and cover page—6 pages.
◦ Present your answer in management report format i.e. use subheadings.
◦ Answer must be typed in Times New Roman, use 1.5 line spacing and pages
must be numbered.
◦ Cover page must have your full name, programme name, course name, your
intake group i.e. June 2018 Group or date of submission, the facilitator’s
name, and question.
◦ Both models are in the notes.

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June 2017 Assignment Question –
Principles of Monitoring & Evaluation
You have been hired by a “northern-based” grant making
foundation in your country to train project managers from
selected community-based organisations on how to audit the
project micro environment. Discuss the factors you would
include in your training manual explaining clearly how each
affects project operations in the country. Your discussion MUST
ensure that every factor is supported by a least two different
references. (30 marks)

 Instructions and Clues

◦ Maximum length excluding references and cover page—5 to 7 pages.
◦ Present your answer in management report format i.e. use subheadings.
◦ Answer must be typed in Times New Roman, 1.5 line-spaced and the pages must be
numbered.
◦ Cover page must have your full name, programme name, course name, your intake group
i.e. June 2017 Group or date of submission, the facilitator’s name, and question.

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Supplementary June 2017 Assignment
Question – Principles of Monitoring &
Evaluation
You have been hired by a “northern-based” grant making
foundation in your country to train project managers from
selected community-based organisations on how to audit the
project internal environment. Discuss at least any 10 factors
you would include in your training manual explaining clearly how
each affects project operations in the country. Your discussion
MUST ensure that every factor is supported by a least two
different references. (30 marks)

 Instructions and Clues

◦ Maximum length excluding references and cover page—5 to 7 pages.
◦ Present your answer in management report format i.e. use subheadings.
◦ Answer must be typed in Times New Roman, 1.5 line-spaced and the pages must be
numbered.
◦ Cover page must have your full name, programme name, course name, your intake group
i.e. June 2017 Group or date of submission, the facilitator’s name, and question.

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October 2017 Assignment Question –
Principles of Monitoring & Evaluation
“A facilitator at a recent national monitoring and
evaluation (M&E) workshop you participated in argued
that the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) are the foundation of all development work the
world over.” Critically assess this argument. (30 marks)

 Instructions and Clues

◦ Maximum length excluding references and cover page—5 to 7 pages.
◦ Present your answer in management report format i.e. use subheadings.
◦ Answer must be typed in Times New Roman, 1.5 line-spaced and the pages
must be numbered.
◦ Cover page must have your full name, programme name, course name, your
intake group i.e. October 2017 Group or date of submission, the facilitator’s
name, and question.

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February 2018 Assignment Question –
Principles of Monitoring & Evaluation
“It is not important to carry out a project audit
before designing a project.” Critically assess this
argument. (30 marks)

 Instructions and Clues

◦ Maximum length excluding references and cover page—5 to 7
pages.
◦ Present your answer in management report format i.e. use
subheadings.
◦ Answer must be typed in Times New Roman, 12 points, 1.5 line-
spaced and the pages must be numbered.
◦ Cover page must have your full name, programme name, course
name, your intake group i.e. February 2018 Group or date of
submission, the facilitator’s name, and question.

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February 2019 Second Assignment Question –
Principles of Monitoring & Evaluation
The balanced scorecard model is a reasonable
starting point for thinking about designing a
monitoring and evaluation plan for any development
intervention. Discuss. (30 marks)

 Instructions and Clues

◦ Maximum length excluding references and cover page—5 to 7 pages.
◦ Present your answer in management report format i.e. use subheadings.
◦ Answer must be typed in Times New Roman, 12 points, 1.5 line-spaced
and the pages must be numbered.
◦ Cover page must have your full name, programme name, course name,
your intake group e.g. February 2017 Group or date of submission, the
facilitator’s name, and question.
◦ Submission deadline 11 April 2019.

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March 2019 Second Assignment Question –
Principles of Monitoring & Evaluation
Stakeholder management is a critical facet of project and
programme management. Discuss how you would carry
out a stakeholder mapping and assessment exercise for
a community-based organisation of your choice. (30
marks)

 Instructions and Clues

◦ Maximum length excluding references and cover page—5 to 7 pages.
◦ Present your answer in management report format i.e. use subheadings.
◦ Answer must be typed in Times New Roman, 12 points, 1.5 line-spaced and
the pages must be numbered.
◦ Cover page must have your full name, programme name, course name, your
intake group e.g. February 2017 Group or date of submission, the facilitator’s
name, and question.
◦ Submission deadline 11 April 2019.

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March 2019 Second Assignment Question –
Principles of Monitoring & Evaluation

The Social Progress Index (SPI) largely speaks to

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) of the United
Nations. Comment on this statement. (30 marks)

 Instructions and Clues

◦ Maximum length excluding references and cover page—5 to 7 pages.
◦ Present your answer in management report format i.e. use subheadings.
◦ Answer must be typed in Times New Roman, 12 points, 1.5 line-spaced
and the pages must be numbered.
◦ Cover page must have your full name, programme name, course name,
your intake group e.g. June 2019 Group or date of submission, the
facilitator’s name, and question.
◦ Submission deadline 31 July 2019.

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October 2019 Assignment Question –
Principles of Monitoring & Evaluation
You are a renowned development consultant. You have recently
been invited by the head of state and government of your country,
Zambia, to address the country’s cabinet ministers and
parliamentarians on the usefulness of the Social Progress Index
(SPI) as a basis for measuring national development. Draft a
response discussing the usefulness of the SPI to Zambia, which you
will present to the Zambian government in the next three weeks
from today. (30 marks)

 Instructions and Clues

◦ Length excluding references and cover page 5-7 pages.
◦ Present your answer in management report format i.e. use subheadings.
◦ Answer must be typed in Times New Roman, 12 points, 1.5 line-spaced and the pages must
be numbered.
◦ Cover page must have your full name, programme name, course name, your intake group
e.g. October 2019 Group, date of submission, the facilitator’s name, and question.
◦ Submission deadline is as stated in your roadmap or timetable.

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February 2020 Assignment Question –
Principles of Monitoring & Evaluation
Question/Background
Mupfura/Amarula Project, a men’s organisation the mission of which is “to eradicate gender-
based violence especially against women and girls”, has recently head-hunted and hired you as
its executive director. Upon joining the organisation you discover that it hardly has funds to
implement its activities. If anything, Mupfura will shut down in the next nine months.
 
In their call for proposals, available on their webpage http//:www.saida.org.za, the South
African International Development Aid (SAIDA) categorically states that: “As you write your
project proposal, remember that your organisation will not be necessarily funded because we
have requested you to submit a proposal. We will only fund five organisations with the best
proposals in terms of the expected ingredients.

Brief
Write a two-year funding project proposal for the organisation to be submitted to SAIDA—an
emerging international development aid agency of the South African government. SAIDA has
recently asked for funding proposals from 16 non-governmental organisations,
Mupfura/Amarula Project being one of them.
(100 marks x 0.3)

PTO for instructions

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February 2020 Assignment (Cont’d)
Instructions and Clues
 Length including references and cover page 10 pages.

 Present your answer in management report format i.e. use

subheadings. Answer must be typed in Times New Roman,

12 points, 1.5 line-spaced and the pages must be
numbered.
 Cover page must have your full name, programme name,

course name, your intake group e.g. February 2020 Group,

date of submission, the facilitator’s name, and question.
 Submission deadline is as stated in your roadmap or

timetable.
 Assignments are submitted to the MDU office not to me

please.

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