MA 204 Monitoring and Evaluation Plan

Monitoring
and
Evaluation Plan
Presenter: NADINE JOY B. ARIGO
Professor: Doc. ZENVI ANN MACALINAO
What is a Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
A monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plan is a document that helps to
track and assess the results of the interventions throughout the life of a
program. It is a living document that should be referred to and updated on
a regular basis. While the specifics of each program’s M&E plan will look
different, they should all follow the same basic structure and include the
same key elements.
An M&E plan will include some documents that may have been created
during the program planning process, and some that will need to be
created new.
Why develop a Monitoring and
Evaluation Plan?
It is important to develop an M&E plan before beginning
any monitoring activities so that there is a clear plan for
what questions about the program need to be answered. It
will help program staff decide how they are going to
collect data to track indicators, how monitoring data will
be analyzed, and how the results of data collection will be
disseminated both to the donor and internally among staff
members for program improvement.
Who should develop a Monitoring and
Evaluation Plan?
An M&E plan should be developed by the research

team or staff with research experience, with inputs from
program staff involved in designing and implementing
the program.
When should a Monitoring and
Evaluation Plan be developed?
An M&E plan should be developed at the beginning

of the program when the interventions are being
designed. This will ensure that there is a system in place
to monitor the program and evaluate success.
Who is this guide for?
This guide is designed primarily for program managers or

personnel who are not trained researchers themselves but who
need to understand the rationale and process of conducting
research. This guide can help managers to support the need
for research and ensure that research staff have adequate
resources to conduct the research that is needed to be certain
that the program is evidence based and that results can be
tracked over time and measured at the end of the program.
STEPS IN MAKING THE M&E PLAN
• Step 1: Identify Program Goals and Objectives
• The first step to creating an M&E plan is to identify the program goals and objectives. If the program already has
a logic model or theory of change, then the program goals are most likely already defined. However, if not, the
M&E plan is a great place to start. Identify the program goals and objectives.
Defining program goals starts with answering three questions:
1. What problem is the program trying to solve?
2. What steps are being taken to solve that problem?
3. How will program staff know when the program has been successful in solving the problem?
Answering these questions will help identify what the program is expected to do, and how staff will know whether or
not it worked.
It is also necessary to develop intermediate outputs and objectives for the program to help track successful steps on
the way to the overall program goal. More information about identifying these objectives can be found in the
logic model guide.
• Step 2: Define Indicators
Once the program’s goals and objectives are defined, it is time to define indicators for
tracking progress towards achieving those goals. Program indicators should be a mix of
those that measure process, or what is being done in the program, and those that measure
outcomes.
• Process indicators track the progress of the program. They help to answer
the question, “Are activities being implemented as planned?”
• Outcome indicators track how successful program activities have been at
achieving program objectives. They help to answer the question, “Have
program activities made a difference?”
• Step 3: Define Data Collection Methods and Timeline
After creating monitoring indicators, it is time to decide on methods for gathering data and how often various
data will be recorded to track indicators. This should be a conversation between program staff, stakeholders,
and donors. These methods will have important implications for what data collection methods will be used and
how the results will be reported.
The source of monitoring data depends largely on what each indicator is trying to measure. The program will
likely need multiple data sources to answer all of the programming questions. Below is a sample table.
Information to be collected Data source(s)

Indicator Data source(s) Timing

• Step 4: Identify M&E Roles and Responsibilities
• The next element of the M&E plan is a section on roles and responsibilities. It is important to decide from
the early planning stages who is responsible for collecting the data for each indicator. This will probably be a
mix of M&E staff, research staff, and program staff. Everyone will need to work together to get data
collected accurately and in a timely fashion.
• Data management roles should be decided with input from all team members so everyone is on the same
page and knows which indicators they are assigned. This way when it is time for reporting there are no
surprises.
• An easy way to put this into the M&E plan is to expand the indicators table with additional columns for who
is responsible for each indicator, as shown below.
Indicator Data source(s) Timing Data manager

• Step 5: Create an Analysis Plan and Reporting Templates
• Once all of the data have been collected, someone will need to compile and analyze it to fill in a
results table for internal review and external reporting. This is likely to be an in-house M&E
manager or research assistant for the program.
• The M&E plan should include a section with details about what data will be analyzed and how the
results will be presented. These are important considerations.
• Another good thing to include in the plan is a blank table for indicator reporting. These tables
should outline the indicators, data, and time period of reporting. They can also include things like
the indicator target, and how far the program has progressed towards that target. An example of a
reporting table is below.
Indicator Baseline Year 1 Lifetime target % of target achieved

• Step 6: Plan for Dissemination and Donor Reporting
The last element of the M&E plan describes how and to whom data will be disseminated. Data for
data’s sake should not be the ultimate goal of M&E efforts. Data should always be collected for
particular purposes.
Consider the following:
• How will M&E data be used to inform staff and stakeholders about the success and progress of
the program?
• How will it be used to help staff make modifications and course corrections, as necessary?
• How will the data be used to move the field forward and make program practices more
effective?
CONCLUSION
After following these 6 steps, the outline of the M&E plan should look something like this:
1. Introduction to program
• Program goals and objectives
•Logic model/Logical Framework/Theory of change
2. Indicators
• Table with data sources, collection timing, and staff member responsible
3. Roles and Responsibilities
• Description of each staff member’s role in M&E data collection, analysis, and/or reporting
4. Reporting
• Analysis plan
• Reporting template table
5. Dissemination plan
• Description of how and when M&E data will be disseminated internally and externally
TIPS & RECOMMENDATIONS
• It is a good idea to try to avoid over-promising what data

can be collected. It is better to collect fewer data well than a
lot of data poorly. It is important for program staff to take a
good look at the staff time and resource costs of data
collection to see what is reasonable.
REFERENCES
Evaluation Toolbox. Step by Step Guide to Create your M&E Plan. Retrieved from:
http://evaluationtoolbox.net.au/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=23:create-m-and-e-plan&catid=8:planning-
your-evaluation&Itemid=44
infoDev. Developing a Monitoring and Evaluation Plan for ICT for Education.
Retrieved from:
https://www.infodev.org/infodev-files/resource/InfodevDocuments_287.pdf
FHI360. Developing a Monitoring and Evaluation Work Plan. Retrieved from:
http://www.fhi360.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/Monitoring%20HIV-AIDS
%20Programs%20(Facilitator)%20-%20Module%203.pdf
United Nations. Template for M&E plan. Retrieved from:
http://www.un.cv/files/Template%20for%20M&E%20plan.pdf
Thankyou
&
Godbless!!!

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Monitoring

An M&E plan should be developed by the research

An M&E plan should be developed at the beginning

This guide is designed primarily for program managers or

Defining program goals starts with answering three questions:

1. What problem is the program trying to solve?

2. What steps are being taken to solve that problem?

Information to be collected Data source(s)

Indicator Data source(s) Timing

Indicator Data source(s) Timing Data manager

Indicator Baseline Year 1 Lifetime target % of target achieved

Consider the following:

• It is a good idea to try to avoid over-promising what data

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