Guidelines: How to conduct a useful M&E action

Guidelines 

Planning the M&E action

• Guideline 1: Focus on a manageable number of important program-related decisions

• Guideline 2: Select and administer suitable assessment instruments

• Guideline 3: Use a data-gathering design consistent with the orientation of the evaluation

• Guideline 4: Use data-analysis procedures that yield understandable results

• Guideline 5: Report your results using a multilevel reporting scheme featuring written and oral reports

Attention: do not confuse project monitoring with project evaluation. 

Project monitoring is identical with the measurement part of project performance measurement and belongs to the project execution and control  phase of project management. Monitoring and reporting the project performance is to review the project progress against expected milestones, timelines and costs.The purpouse of reporting is to share the information required to manage  Manage CSSQ (Cost, Scope, Schedule, and Quality). It is functional to the objective of delivering the project outputs with the expected quality and within the time and cost costrains defined in the project plan document.

Project evaluation is not a part of project execution but is a different phase of the programme cycle.  Project evaluation is not done by the project manager but by the project sponsor (e.g. the Programme Manager, etc.) or by someone supporting her/him. It requires Project Status reports as a fundamental input. Its outputs are projects evaluation reports  and program lessons learned. 

See also 

Guideline: Focusing the evaluation design

• Managing CSSQ

• Report project performance

• Prepare the M&E reports

• Manage Change Control Process P

• Quality Assessment of  Evaluation Reports
• Evaluation Standards: a comparative assessment
• Quality Assessment of  Evaluation Reports