Introduction to Developing, Monitoring and Evaluating Projects

1. Introduction to Developing, Monitoring and Evaluating Projects Noah Keuzenkamp TGEU Capacity Building Officer noah@tgeu.org

2. Overview • Project development • Monitoring & Evaluation • Putting both together: LogFrames • Group Exercise • Presentations • A few points to keep in mind • Questions

3. Baseline Who has developed a project before? Who has written a fundraising application with a monitoring & evaluation plan before? Who has monitored a project before? Who has evaluated a project before? Who knows what a LogFrame is?

4. Thinking about project development with a logic model

5. Key terms • The broad impact to which the project contributes – e.g. at the national level or over the long-term. Your project may not achieve this immediately/by itself. • Example: The trans* community obtains more funding • OR: To build the capacity of the trans* community to obtain funding • The outcome at the end of the project – often the expected benefits to the target group(s) • Key words: “increased, improved, etc.” • Example: Participants have increased knowledge of M&E • The direct/tangible results (goods &services) that the project delivers (mainly under your control) • Key words: “delivered, produced, conducted, etc.” • Example: M&E workshop delivered to 20 participants • The main tasks carried out to eventually deliver the outputs • Key words: “prepare, design, develop, research, etc.” • Example: Develop a workshop on M&E

6. Key terms: another example INTENDED PLANNED

7. Thinking about project development with a logic model

8. How do we know we are approaching our goal? Monitoring: the systematic and routine collection of information during the implementation of a project to assess whether the project is progressing as planned Evaluation: a systematic and ‘objective’ assessment of a completed project, especially its outcomes and impact, in order to inform future strategic decisions and projects

9. Development, Monitoring & Evaluation in the Project Cycle

10. Why conduct M&E? In practice often: • Because it is a donor condition • To show that you are doing what you are funded for • To obtain more funding in the future But, it can also: • Help you learn and improve • Help you understand how change works (or doesn‘t) • Help you create, preserve and disseminate knowledge • Make you accountable to your communitie(s)

11. Logical Framework Matrix (LogFrame) • Helps you systematically develop, plan, implement, monitor and evaluate a project • Presents clear and organised connections between impact, outcome, outputs and activities • Many donors use/require (a kind of) LogFrame

12. Using a LogFrame If... then Monitoring & Evaluation

13. Horizontal logic

14. Indicators: examples „More positive public attitude towards trans* people“ • Increase in number of positive news items • Decrease in number of hostile statements by politicans • Increase in positive attitude of individuals (survey) • Gender identity is included in anti-discrimination laws • ... Etc.

15. Indicators: examples „Trans* people are more visible in society“ • ... • ... • ...

16. Indicators: SMART Not SMART: People will know more about M&E SMART: By the end of the workshop, 70% of people who didn‘t know what a LogFrame is report that they know „fairly well“ how to fill in a LogFrame

17. Means of verification (Mov) Method for collecting indicators to conduct monitoring and evaluation, e.g. • Surveys / Questionnaires • Focus groups • Observation • Official statistics • News reports • Photos • Testimonies / stories • Etc...

18. This workshop: full example

19. Noah‘s Ark

20. Sometimes it‘s better not to be Noah • When developing a new project, resist the temptation to (always) start with the Ark, i.e.(specific) activities: „We should run a training, because that‘s what we usually do“ • Starting with the goal or the problem and then working from top to bottom is better for productive brainstorming and creative problem solving • Working from top to bottom also helps identifying the best target groups or stakeholders • Use the LogFrame as a tool for logical and creative thinking

21. Group Exercise • Brainstorm about what the main problems are • Your project only needs to contribute to the goal • Complete 1-2 outcomes/outputs/activities first, then add more if you have time • Resist the temptation to start with the activities • Write your LogFrame on flipchart paper • Agree on presenter(s) Time for preparation: 30 mins

22. A few points to keep in mind When writing a grant proposal • Language matters (concise and precise) • Terminology choice matters (what does the donor use?) • Describing activities: usually active verbs and present tense, e.g. „compile a factsheet“, „perform a play“ • Describing outputs and outcomes: usually past tense, e.g. „confidence has increased“, „question has been raised in parliament“

23. A few points to keep in mind • Don’t let the language of donors confuse you e.g. outcome = purpose / (intermediate) objective / result • The same outcomes can be measured with different indicators: chose the one(s) best suited to your goals and resources (money, time, skills, technology, …) • Evaluation does not always have to be quantitative: qualitative data, such as personal stories, can be used, too • M&E is political: who determines what the outcomes should be? who is asked for their opinion? who conducts the evaluation? ( feminist evaluation)

24. Questions? Noah Keuzenkamp noah@tgeu.org

28. What should be SMART? SMART outcome with a variable as indicator: • Outcome: 80% of participants have increased their knowledge to a „good“ level by the end of the project • Indicator (variable): Number of participants with „good“ knowledge Outcome with a SMART indicator: • Outcome: Participants‘ knowledge is increased • Indicator: 80% have a „good“ level of knowledge by the end of the project

29. Concept vs Indicators 1: Trans* people‘s report of how safe they feel 2: Nr. of attacks on trans* people reported to police Trans* people are SAFER in our city 3: The nr. of anti-Pride protestors 4: Nr.of trans* customers at LGBT bars

30. Indicators Sometimes they are direct: Planned outcome: A trans* person gets elected into parliament Indicator: Did a trans* person get elected into parliament? But usually they are indirect: Especially when talking about social change, attitudes, knowledge, awareness, skills, etc.

31. Example: this workshop I could monitor: • Baseline: what was people‘s knowledge before? • Status: how many people are in the room? How many people are listening? • Trend: are people leaving? Switching off? Getting more engaged? • Implementation: is the workshop being implemented? Are there interruptions? • (Ongoing) effectiveness: are people learning something right now?

32. Example: this workshop I could evaluate: • Efficiency: was a workshop the best/cheapest method for people to learn about M&E? • Effectiveness: did people learn about M&E? • Outcome/Impact: do people feel better prepared to complete an M&E plan? will they use the knowledge when writing funding applications? will they get more funding? • Sustainability: will people still remember this in a year? will they pass the knowledge on?

33. What is a project? • „An individual or collaborative enterprise that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim” (Oxford Dictionary) • Has a start and end date • Has constraints (time, money, resources,...) • Aims to create change

34. Introduction “I would like to have money for a project to…”