to download PDF of full document - SPARC Nigeria

chain for each project defining outcomes, outputs, activities and resource requirements in
explicit, quantified and time-bound terms.
An M&E Plan for Data Collection and Analyses, covering Baseline and
On-going M&E
Without a realistic and well thought out plan for collecting, assembling and analyzing the
required data including baseline and on-going M&E 2 , the M&E exercise is likely to face many
problems. Before the M&E exercise starts, a critical task relates to assessing what information
can realistically be collected given available human and financial resources and then describing
clearly the proposed arrangements for the routine collection of the M&E data, based on the
indicators defined in the logical framework including, how, when, and by whom each piece of
data will be collected, analyzed, and reported as well as arrangements for verifying the quality
and accuracy of the data and its analyses. The plan should also describe how baseline data
and information from other M&E events will be collected and used to assess change over time.
Reporting Flows and Formats
Reporting flows and formats for both monitoring and evaluation must be agreed in advance
and linked to well defined and logical reporting orders. The reasons for communicating the
M&E findings to the different stakeholders must be clearly understood by everyone involved.
An agreed system for feedback and management review must also be clearly spelt out and
agreed in advance. It would also be important to schedule clearly how the reports (written
and oral) would be done, showing who is to do what and by when in order to have the
information ready on time.
Feed Back and Review
There is need to set out the measures that would be taken to ensure that critical decisions
involving the unfolding findings of the M&E are made on a timely basis.
Meeting the Necessary M&E Conditions and Capacities
There is need to describe clearly what the necessary conditions for the M&E to work and to
work effectively are, including the required human capacity, what constitutes adequate
incentives and penalties to ensure that the M&E is done well, the required structures and
procedures, and adequate financial resources. This will require a plan that clearly links the
planned M&E activities to a capacity-building design, an implementation schedule, and a
detailed budget.
Preparing to write the 2009 DRG M&E Report
A series of Training Workshops which dealt with the different components of an M&E
Framework/Strategy and especially directed at addressing the shortcomings of previous DRG
M&E reports and focusing on identifying and minimizing the consequences of the void created
by the absence of an effective M&E framework/strategy, were organized by the consultant for
members of the NMET. As there was limited time and lack of resources, training was not held
for the SMETs. Such a training exercise, which should be carried out at the beginning of the
M&E exercise, is critical and more so for the M&E practitioners at the state level. The training
modules used in the training workshops are presented in Appendices Two, Three and four.
2 On-going M&E is the analysis that occurs at any point during project implementation to provide information
that would be useful for taking corrective and, based on an analysis of the deliverables of the project, whether it
is likely to achieve its stated objectives. On this basis both corrective and major changes may be made to the
project or it could be aborted.
9