Monitoring and Evaluation Flashcards
What is monitoring?
the routine reporting of data on program implementation and performance
- are we doing the work we planned?
What is evaluation?
the periodic assessment of program impact at the population level and value
- how effective were our activities?
Compare monitoring and evaluation?
- monitoring is continuous e.g. day to day and evaluation is periodic e.g. mid term (important milestones)
- monitoring documents progress using selected indicators whereas evaluation is a comprehensive investigation of program achievements and other determinants
- monitoring focuses on inputs, activities and outputs and evaluation focuses on outcomes and impacts
- monitoring provides warning signs to managers and evaluation provides managers with strategy and policy options if corrective action is needed
- monitoring is self assessment and evaluation is external analysis
Why monitor and evaluate?
- Collect accurate information about the project
- Use that information to improve the project
Why is monitoring and evaluation important?
- Tracking resources
- Feedback on progress
- Improving project effectiveness
- Informing decisions
- Promoting accountability
- Demonstrating impact
- Identifying lessons learned
What are the purposes of monitoring?
- Management
- Reporting
- Accountability
- Advocacy
- Evaluation
What are the purposes of evaluation?
- Episodic assessment of specific indicators
- determine effectiveness or impact of services or activities
- during a given interval - Determine whether goals are being met
- Assess impact of a specific service or intervention
- HIV testing among TB patients - Advocacy
What is the definition of a mission?
- Deals with present and leads to the future
- It explains what an institution is currently doing.
What is the definition of a vision?
- Project’s dream
- Big picture of what you want to achieve
- It explains what an institution wants to be in future
What is a goal?
- The ultimate result of efforts at a broad, population level.
- Achieved over the long term (years) and through combined efforts of multiple programs
e.g. Decrease morbidity and mortality due to TB in Country X.
What is an objective?
- Specific milestones with defined timelines
- How the results of your short-term program activities contribute to the big goal.
- Several objectives can relate to the same goal.
- Link between activities and the goals.
Objectives must be?
SMART
1. Specific
2. Measurable
3. Achievable
4. Realistic
5. Time constrained
e.g. Increase NTP budget by 8% each year for the next four years
What are inputs?
- Resources needed to plan and implement ACSM
- “Raw materials” of an ACSM project
e.g. money, staff, policies, guidelines, equipment, partners
What are activities?
- The work that we do, what we implement
- Also called “processes”
e.g. training events, meetings, events, outreach, home visits
What are outputs?
- Immediate results of activities
- What we can measure/count right after the activity
- It does not address the value or impact of service
e.g. number of people trained, number of brochures produced
What are outcomes?
- Level of performance or achievements
- “Ripple effects” of activities
- What changes after outputs are produced
e.g.
Increased funding for TB after lobbying meeting
Short: Improved attitudes toward TB patients among DOTS nurses after a training
Medium: Increased satisfaction of TB clients
Long: TB clients stay in treatment longer
What are indicators?
- A variable that measures one aspect of a program/project or health outcome
- How we define our activities, outputs, or outcomes
- Signs or evidence we watch for to see if we have reached them
What makes up a good indicator?
- Provide information useful for program decision-making
- Are consistent with international standards and other reporting requirements, as appropriate
- Are defined in clear and unambiguous terms
- Non-directional and “independent”
- Have values that are:
- Easy to interpret and explain
- Precise, valid and reliable measures
- Comparable across relevant population groups, geography, other program factors, as needed
Characteristics of good indicators?
- Valid - accurate measure of a behavior, practice or task
- Reliable - consistently measurable in the same way by different observers
- Operational - defined in unambiguous, clear terms
- Measurable - quantifiable using available tools and methods
- Non-directional - allowed to vary in either direction
- Timely - provides a measurement at time intervals relevant and appropriate in terms of program goals and activities
- Programmatically important - linked to a public health impact or to achieving the objectives that are needed for impact
How do we plan for monitoring and evaluation?
- Identify who will be involved in the design, implementation, and reporting
- Engaging stakeholders.
- Clarify scope, purpose, intended use, audience, and budget for evaluation.
- Develop the questions to answer what you want to learn as a result of your work.
- Select indicators.
- Determine the data collection methods.
- Analyze and synthesize the information you obtain
- Interpret these findings, provide feedback, and make recommendations
What is impact?
More related to goal
The result of achieving specific outcomes
e.g.
- Higher rate of treatment success
- Reduction in deaths among MDR-TB patients
- Improved standard of living
