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Module BASICS OF PLANNING. Content Overview. Planning principles Gantt charts. Characteristics of Planning. Planning is: a continuous, dynamic, future-oriented process: Setting goals Formulating strategies Detailing objectives Outlining tasks and schedules
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Content Overview • Planning principles • Gantt charts
Characteristics of Planning • Planning is: • a continuous, dynamic, future-oriented process: • Setting goals • Formulating strategies • Detailing objectives • Outlining tasks and schedules • Estimating resources and budgets • Evaluating progress made
What Will Make a Project Working (1) ? The project will be successful, if it: • Fits within the country strategy • Has a clear objective • Technically sound • Economically sound (cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness) • Is project design not too ambitious? Clear? • Fiscal impact and recurrent cost
What will Make a Project Working (2) ? • Institutional capacity (Who? How? Motivation? Rules? ) • Risk analysis • Can I measure progress and relate it to my objectives? • Logical framework, indicators, monitoring system • Project management team, organization • Regular and thorough supervision
Why Evaluate? • to do better next time • to replicate in different countries, sectors (careful!) • to learn the how and the why • to reward • to justify more funding (a good banker likes success …)
Planning Cycle • Where are you now? • Where do you want to go to? • How would you arrive there? • How do you know that you have arrived?
Laboratory Network Mission (example): statement - what is to be done • To reduce the suffering by tuberculosis among the community and reduce transmission of tuberculosis through rapid identification of the most infectious TB patients Goal (example):state how the promise of the mission statement is to be fulfilled • To provide high quality and effective laboratory services that are available, accessible and acceptable • To promote and enable effective utilization of the services
Possible Objectives: Objectives: state when, where, who, and by how much • To assess current strength and weakness of the organization and support systems of the laboratory network and identify requirements and plan for further improvements. • Implement internal quality control in all microscopic diagnostic laboratories by the end of 200… • Pilot external quality assessment activities in … selected laboratories and … governorates. • Pilot and implement laboratory information management system in all districts.
Possible Objectives (2) • Develop a plan to strengthen human resource management and development. • Develop and pilot plan to train for supportive and effective supervision. • Develop and implement plan to assess laboratory service users satisfaction and improve understanding and interrelations with service users. • Strengthen network through regular meetings and learning workshops.
How to Reach Those Objectives? • Identify all requirements that are necessary to meet the objective. • These will be the main activities • List these activities in a logical order • Identify the sub-requirements for each activity • These will be the sub activities
Gantt Charts • Aid planning by showing all activities that must take place and when they are scheduled to be carried out. • Provide graphic guide for carrying out a series of activities, showing the start date, duration, and overlap of activities. • Most useful in planning and monitoring of activities.
How to use Gantt Charts? • Get consensus on the mission, goal and objectives • Specify criteria for each objective • List all objectives and activities • Determine when each activity must start and list them in a chronological order • For each activity mark the starting date and the completion date
How to use Gantt Charts? – cont. • Review the chart and determine if it is possible to carry out all activities that are to be conducted simultaneously • Specify activities further: • Identify resources (financial, materials, human resources, other) • Define measures of verifications and required input (How to know if the aim is achieved? How to show that? Who is responsible?) • Adjust plan and timeline if needed • Be prepared to refine and revise the work plan: consider the first log frame as a draft
Key Messages • Planning is continuous, dynamic and future-oriented process that • determines the development goals • develops the necessary objectives and actions to achieve those goals • For effective planning and implementation of a project, it is necessary to: • identify resources, develop a timeline, associate responsibilities, conduct evaluation, regularly refine and revise the work plan • Gantt chart is a useful tool for planning and monitoring activities.