6. MONITORING, REVIEWS, AND EVALUATION

6.1 MONITORING, REPORTING AND REVIEWS OF SECTOR, THEMATIC, OR ISSUE-BASED PROGRAMS

67. The basic document for a national, sector or thematic program will include a conceptual framework for monitoring, reporting and review processes based on the following principles:

• The monitoring and reporting system shall be focused on mutually agreed results.

• The implementing national institution(s) shall be responsible for program monitoring and reporting.

• The implementing national institution(s) and the concerned development partners shall jointly establish the set of indicators to be monitored.

• The indicator set shall be based on international standards for the national, sector or thematic program to the extent that such standards exist. In the event that new indicators need to be created, the development partners and the implementing national institution(s) responsible for monitoring shall make a concerted effort to establish indicators that are simple, intuitive and realistic.

68. The implementing national institution(s) and development partners participating in the coordination mechanism for the national, sector or thematic program (TWG, Task Force, steering committee etc.) shall establish the schedule of joint consultations and reviews of the Program. Development partners shall respect this schedule and refrain from initiating additional missions. In order to minimize ad hoc review missions initiated by the headquarters of development partners, the implementing national institution(s) and development partners shall explore possibilities of joint missions by two or more development partners as well as designating "mission-free" periods.

69. The Program Director of a national, sector or thematic program shall lead all consultative and review processes, including chairing review meetings. The program manager shall be responsible for logistical arrangements for review meetings: planning and organising review meetings, drafting and circulating a draft agenda for comments from all stakeholders, preparation of documents and finalizing the agenda, and distribution of documents to participants. The program manager shall also be responsible for preparation of the report of the meeting and its distribution. All reports shall be written in a clear and concise manner. In the review processes, participation of all concerned stakeholders shall be ensured.

70. Program management shall have the option, where necessary, to establish its own review and consultation processes to focus on and resolve operational issues in a timely manner. These reviews shall focus on operational problem-solving and the identification of issues that may require the attention of the program coordination mechanism in place.

6.2 MONITORING, REPORTING AND REVIEWS OF PROJECTS OUTSIDE THE FRAMEWORK OF A SECTOR, THEMATIC OR ISSUE-BASED PROGRAM

71. In the case of a project that is outside the framework of a sector, thematic, or issue-based program but is within the agreed framework of a development partner's country strategy; the monitoring, reporting and review processes shall be conform to practices that have been established for activities that are being delivered under the umbrella of the national, sector, or thematic Program.

6.3 MONITORING MECHANISMS

72. Monitoring mechanisms at either the program or project level shall include: work plans, progress reports, and field visits. A work plan is a graphic presentation of the scheduling and sequencing of activities and tasks for a given time period and a listing of the parties responsible for each task. The work plan is usually in the form of a Gantt chart with activities, tasks and responsibilities listed on the left and a calendar view of the intended duration of tasks and activities on the right. The work plan shall be used for both management and monitoring of program or project activities to ensure the timely production of outputs. The program or project manager shall be responsible for preparation and dissemination of the work plan and for its regular revision to reflect completed tasks and necessary adjustment.

73. The progress reports document progress towards the production of planned outputs of development cooperation activities during a given reporting period. Constraints encountered in implementation and suggestions for resolving such problems shall be analyzed in the progress report and project budget and financial management issues, if any, shall also be highlighted. Project management shall prepare progress reports at least once a year.

74. The Program or Project management team shall undertake periodic field visits to observe program or project operations at first hand. Where possible, representatives of both concerned government institutions and development partners shall join the Program or Project management team to assess progress and to jointly resolve any outstanding implementation issues. A report on findings of such field visit shall be prepared by the Program or Project management team.

6.4 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT FOR MONITORING, REPORTING AND REVIEW ACTIVITIES

75. The Royal Government places a high priority on developing the capacity of implementing national institution(s) to effectively monitor, report on, and review progress of development cooperation activities to achieve planned development results. Thus, in the design of each development cooperation program or project special emphasis shall be giving to develop the capacities of the concerned implementing national institution(s) to carry out these functions.

6.5 EVALUATION

76. Evaluation is a systematic and objective assessment of an ongoing or completed program or project covering its design, implementation and results. The aim of an evaluation is to determine the relevance, effectiveness and, if possible, impact of the development intervention under review. All Program or Project Documents shall include a schedule for evaluations. To avoid duplication of effort and administrative burden serious effort shall be made to include the requirements of all funding development partners in the Terms of Reference for the evaluation. As a rule of thumb, evaluation shall be carried out at least once in the life of a program or project.

77. At the national, sector, or thematic program level, funding development partners shall make a serious attempt to harmonise their evaluation requirements. If a development partner considers it absolutely necessary to conduct additional targeted evaluation then it shall be carried out in close coordination with other funding development partners.

78. Three categories of evaluations are possible, each with a different purpose:

1. An On-going Project Evaluation may be required at any time during implementation if the project is encountering operational problems. Such an evaluation would typically make recommendations for revision or termination of the program or project.

2. A Scheduled Evaluation usually arranged at mid-term or end-of-program/project shall comprehensively assess and analyse development results or progress towards results. Such evaluations typically provide recommendations for adjustments to on-going projects or follow-up activities for completed projects.

3. An Ex-Post or Impact Evaluation may be arranged after project completion to assess the impact of results produced by the program or project.

79. In all cases, evaluations shall document lessons learned and, where appropriate, articulate best practices that could be used as “models” for development interventions in other situations. Evaluations shall emphasize learning in regard to future directions for the program or project, opportunities to affect policy development, and the general acquisition of knowledge by the development community.

80. The evaluation of a program or project shall be undertaken by independent professionals or consultants who have not been involved in the design or implementation of the activities to be reviewed.

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