My Communities

I think you should create an M&E plan to assist in tracking and assessing the results of the interventions throughout the life of a program. The data collected will ensure that the program is on track and to report on the results at the end of the program.

@Course_Operations said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 1.

Imagine that you are GOOD’s project manager. You are trying to convince MEH’s project manager to create an M&E plan. In the discussion forum, explain what you would you say to MEH’s project manager.

Sample Post: I think that you should create an M&E plan because __________ .

Respond to at least two of your peers’ messages. Which of the reasons for starting an M&E plan do you find the most convincing? Are there any other reasons for starting an M&E plan that your peer has missed?

I think you should create an M& E plan because you know precisely how the project is performing and where to focus more effort and resources to increase performance.

M&E plan actually improve and makes accountability easy which gives donors the basis to continue funding your projects, in addition M&E plan also improves team spirit individual sense of responsibility since everyone has clear roles

@STEPHANIE said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

I think you should create an M&E plan to assist in tracking and assessing the results of the interventions throughout the life of a program. The data collected will ensure that the program is on track and to report on the results at the end of the program.

I agree. Results play an important part in any program or project because they show that the program is failing or succeeding.

@oolacosmas said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

Good morning/Afternoon or Evening whatever time it is, Manager i was thinking you should create an M&E plan because;- assess the stakeholders’ understanding of the project;
-You will be able minimize the risk of project failure;
-Promote systematic and professional management; and
-Assess progress in implementation.
-It will assists you to determine the degree of achievement of the objectives.
-Determine and identify the problems associated with programme planning and implementation.
-It will generate data that allows for cumulative learning which, in turn, contributes to better designed
programmes, improved management and a better assessment of their impact.
-It assists in the reformulation of objectives, policies, and strategies in projects

@oolacosmas said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

Good morning/Afternoon or Evening whatever time it is, Manager i was thinking you should create an M&E plan because;- assess the stakeholders’ understanding of the project;
-You will be able minimize the risk of project failure;
-Promote systematic and professional management; and
-Assess progress in implementation.
-It will assists you to determine the degree of achievement of the objectives.
-Determine and identify the problems associated with programme planning and implementation.
-It will generate data that allows for cumulative learning which, in turn, contributes to better designed
programmes, improved management and a better assessment of their impact.
-It assists in the reformulation of objectives, policies, and strategies in projects

M&E greatly minimises the risk of project failure and also enables you to decisions based on results other than individual feeling

@DrakuaDanAmooti said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

M&E plan actually improve and makes accountability easy which gives donors the basis to continue funding your projects, in addition M&E plan also improves team spirit individual sense of responsibility since everyone has clear roles

That's interesting I never looked at it from that angle. M&E essentially helps in the operational functions of a program or project.

@carlama said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

I think you should create an M&E plan because the M&E plan will help you to focus on your goals and objectives. You will create clear indicators to measure your progress and decide on the method for data collection

I agree, it will also help to see that your program is on track

The M&E Plan helps assess progress of the program toward achieving its goals and objectives.The M&E team might also develop a Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP) to satisfy donor requirements. Based on information from the M&E Plan, the PMP identifies and defines performance indicators and data sources.

You should create an M&E plan to:

• clearly identify what success looks like for this project and clearly define what change you are aiming to achieve
• outline how the team can measure progress to see whether the project is on track, or needs review and adaptation to ensure it has successful outcomes
• generate monitoring data to enable the project team to communicate effectively with each other and beneficiaries based on this evidence of what is/isn't working and respond in a timely manner ensuring project success
• identify any project adaptions which differ significantly to the proposal activities and/or budget
• communicate with donors and seek approval for adaptations as required in the process of project delivery -> timely, informed communication ensures effective stakeholder relations, prevents issues at the end of the project/funding cycle and promotes successful funding relationships
• provide data for project progress reports, and contribute to the data set for evaluating overall project success and impact.

The creation and implementation of an effective M&E plan guides the team to focus on meeting the intended outcomes of the project i.e. the change, rather than focusing only on activities which may not necessarily lead to the change that was anticipated.

You should create an M&E plan to:

• clearly identify what success looks like for this project and clearly define what change you are aiming to achieve
• outline how the team can measure progress to see whether the project is on track, or needs review and adaptation to ensure it has successful outcomes
• generate monitoring data to enable the project team to communicate effectively with each other and beneficiaries based on this evidence of what is/isn't working and respond in a timely manner ensuring project success
• identify any project adaptions which differ significantly to the proposal activities and/or budget
• communicate with donors and seek approval for adaptations as required in the process of project delivery -> timely, informed communication ensures effective stakeholder relations, prevents issues at the end of the project/funding cycle and promotes successful funding relationships
• provide data for project progress reports, and contribute to the data set for evaluating overall project success and impact.

The creation and implementation of an effective M&E plan guides the team to focus on meeting the intended outcomes of the project i.e. the change, rather than focusing only on activities which may not necessarily lead to the change that was anticipated.

@Course_Operations said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 1.

Imagine that you are GOOD’s project manager. You are trying to convince MEH’s project manager to create an M&E plan. In the discussion forum, explain what you would you say to MEH’s project manager.

Sample Post: I think that you should create an M&E plan because __________ .

Respond to at least two of your peers’ messages. Which of the reasons for starting an M&E plan do you find the most convincing? Are there any other reasons for starting an M&E plan that your peer has missed?
I think you should create an M&E plan because it will help the manager;

• monitor the progress of the project,
• it will help the manager set his daily targets
• it will help him define the roles and responsibilities of his staffs

• M$E helps in identifying the targets of the project

• It helps the manager to come up with tools to collect data

• It helps the manager to identify what type of data to collect and analyse

@eliabkwikiriza said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

The M&E Plan helps assess progress of the program toward achieving its goals and objectives.The M&E team might also develop a Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP) to satisfy donor requirements. Based on information from the M&E Plan, the PMP identifies and defines performance indicators and data sources.

This is a good point as the PMP has become increasingly popular depending on the donor, particularly USAID. Donors may have their own format that they require you to complete for their own purposes of standardisation or measurement. So having clear M&E plans makes it easier for organisations to adapt or respond to donor compliance requests.

Good evening manager, I think that you should create an M&E plan because it will help inform how well you've carefully utilized the fund from your donors, and secondary it will help you find out what is working and what needs to be improved upon in the already existing plan.

@darcygray said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

I think you should create an M & E plan because it will allow you to communicate the success of your project to donors, which will allow you to continue to get funded. The chances of receiving continued funding for the project would be greatly reduced if you cannot provide convincing stats in your reports and proposals. Furthermore, constructing an MEL plan will help you to weigh the pros and cons of different indicators that your team is debating.

totally agree with you

I think you should create an M&E plan because the plan helps you set the goals to measure to track progress in your project . It helps you decide what information you should collect, at what intervals and from which source, what tools you will need . Your M&E plan will precise the information to gather so that you donot spend useful time collecting too much data that may not be neccessary to the success of your project

i think you should create an M&E plan because it will helps you to specified the perfect data collection tools for your project. in addititon to, you will able to measure activities and indicators related to your project objectives.

@ikoineke said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

Good evening manager, I think that you should create an M&E plan because it will help inform how well you've carefully utilized the fund from your donors, and secondary it will help you find out what is working and what needs to be improved upon in the already existing plan.

thats true

Hi Hussein
I agree much with the time element in you M&E plan. Time is one of the scarce resources in the life of a project and if things are not keep in time, results in delays in project implementation with consequences being increased cost and project failures

M&E is first a management issue before being a communication issue. It should answer the question "are we meeting our objectives?". If it is not the case, the project manager should decide on corrective action to be implemented by one of the partners. It is quite normal for a project to face difficulties but it is not important to communicate on all of them. What is important is to react and to take actions.

Are you suggesting that donors might be a bit too prescriptive? There is certainly some truth there but at the same time, donors must themselves monitor how their program are implemented via projects.

M&E in this context become Paramount because the so called project MEH is a blind project without knowing where it is heading to. However, M&E plan need to be created to measure the success or failure in order to continue at the same manner or adjust. In essence, to meet the end objective.

In other hand, GOOD is good to go because there is tract and accurate data to show the progress.

@Course_Operations said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 1.

Imagine that you are GOOD’s project manager. You are trying to convince MEH’s project manager to create an M&E plan. In the discussion forum, explain what you would you say to MEH’s project manager.

Sample Post: I think that you should create an M&E plan because __________ .

Respond to at least two of your peers’ messages. Which of the reasons for starting an M&E plan do you find the most convincing? Are there any other reasons for starting an M&E plan that your peer has missed?

It is always good to have a project M&E plan, this is because with M&E plan, the project will have information to analyze and report appropriately

Any project that does not have an M&E Plan is potentially gonna fail because there is no clear path on what information to be collected, how it should be collected, how to measure it, when to measure, why measuring it and who should use it it

@darcygray said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

I think you should create an M & E plan because it will allow you to communicate the success of your project to donors, which will allow you to continue to get funded. The chances of receiving continued funding for the project would be greatly reduced if you cannot provide convincing stats in your reports and proposals. Furthermore, constructing an MEL plan will help you to weigh the pros and cons of different indicators that your team is debating.

Good morning to All.
Mr Manager, I think you should set up M&E plan for the project HEM because, it will help you to feeds your donors with good Data information.
Reduce project failure and help you to track all information with regards to the project, help you to identify problem and the solution for such problem..

This is because by using M&E it will help them to easily know the progress of there project management they will be able to know if anything comes to hinder the progress and a way to handle any issues along the way. And it will give them accurate data that is needed

@Course_Operations said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 1.

Imagine that you are GOOD’s project manager. You are trying to convince MEH’s project manager to create an M&E plan. In the discussion forum, explain what you would you say to MEH’s project manager.

I think that you should create an M&E plan because you need to know how to measure and get the data that you need. What needs to be done first is to identify the goals for your project and work out the strategy plan for the your project. If the goal is to be able to loan out small amounts of money to girls; to see the success of this several things have to be planned and measured, for example; which communities are being looked at (how many?), people in charge of the micro loans, need a record each month of loans given out, eligibility of getting the loan?, put a time frame of when to measure success of the individuals business (6 months?)- this is to help keep track of how many loans are being given out and to whom, as well as to have date to present to your funders and partners.

Respond to at least two of your peers’ messages. Which of the reasons for starting an M&E plan do you find the most convincing? Are there any other reasons for starting an M&E plan that your peer has missed?

I think MEH should do an M&E plan because it will help to clearly define roles and responsibilities, decide on data to be captured and to track progress and impact for informed decisions and reporting to funders.

@Saleeman said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

I think that you should create an M&E plan because creating the plan make the project easier and faster. Doing this you will have to get an M&E officer to help you monitor i.e He/She will help to collect project information (data) regularly which will help you to measure the progress of the project and also help you evaluate how the project have achieve it goals.

@Saleeman What a well articulated thoughts and thanks for sharing ......What type of monitoring and evaluation system does your organization currently use?”.

@MWAKANYENZE said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

• M$E helps in identifying the targets of the project

• It helps the manager to come up with tools to collect data

• It helps the manager to identify what type of data to collect and analyse

@MWAKANYENZE Yes agreed M& E Plan will do all thsese...... and thanks for sharing ... but what type of monitoring and evaluation system does your organization currently use?”.

@Stacy-Ann said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

I think MEH should do an M&E plan because it will help to clearly define roles and responsibilities, decide on data to be captured and to track progress and impact for informed decisions and reporting to funders.

@Stacy-Ann Thanks for the invaluable nuggets in your post.... but note that informed decisions is not only for funders but also for other relevant stakeholders in the project even the beneficiaries!

@Course_Operations said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 1.

Imagine that you are GOOD’s project manager. You are trying to convince MEH’s project manager to create an M&E plan. In the discussion forum, explain what you would you say to MEH’s project manager.

I think that you should create an M&E plan because you need to work out the goals and strategy plan for your project. Since you do not know how to get the data or even know what to measure it is vital to create and MEL framework to help you measure and collect the data you need.
In terms of getting the data you need, clear links of collecting the data need to be made; who's collecting the data, how many communities is this project in?, pla time frame and record keep of who's getting loaned money and their business venture. Also, need to measure number of people loaned money, measure the success of the business venture on a 6 month mark, also eligibility of individuals asking for a loan needs to be clarified to be a more successful project.
This will all help with recording information for funders and partners.

Respond to at least two of your peers’ messages. Which of the reasons for starting an M&E plan do you find the most convincing? Are there any other reasons for starting an M&E plan that your peer has missed?

Easy to follow three point.

@Dmegastar said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

@MWAKANYENZE said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

• M$E helps in identifying the targets of the project

• It helps the manager to come up with tools to collect data

• It helps the manager to identify what type of data to collect and analyse

@MWAKANYENZE Yes agreed M& E Plan will do all thsese...... and thanks for sharing ... but what type of monitoring and evaluation system does your organization currently use?”.

@MWAKANYENZE easy to follow, agreed.

@Dmegastar said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

@Stacy-Ann said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

I think MEH should do an M&E plan because it will help to clearly define roles and responsibilities, decide on data to be captured and to track progress and impact for informed decisions and reporting to funders.

@Stacy-Ann Thanks for the invaluable nuggets in your post.... but note that informed decisions is not only for funders but also for other relevant stakeholders in the project even the beneficiaries!

@Stacy-Ann I agree and also It helps organisations be clear on their objectives for the project.

M&E plan is an important tool when planning a project. A good M&E plan will help to track the performance of the project physically and financially. It will help to keep a track of where the project is heading, which objectives has been achieved and how resources are utilizes. In other words the overall status of the project.

Also M&E is important for future planning. Can apply the lessons learned from different projects when planning new projects

I am very much of the opinion that you create an M&E plan because you will need to understand whether your project met its objectives.You will need to set indicators that are measurable and develop tools to collect data that will inform whether you are on the right track.you will also need to assign duties to your project team to ensure each one work towards the set goal.

@NgwayiE said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

Hi Hussein
I agree much with the time element in you M&E plan. Time is one of the scarce resources in the life of a project and if things are not keep in time, results in delays in project implementation with consequences being increased cost and project failures

couldn't agree more..getting time bad will lead to backlogs and a bad name.It could also have a bearing on finances

@Zeeniya said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

M&E plan is an important tool when planning a project. A good M&E plan will help to track the performance of the project physically and financially. It will help to keep a track of where the project is heading, which objectives has been achieved and how resources are utilizes. In other words the overall status of the project.

Also M&E is important for future planning. Can apply the lessons learned from different projects when planning new projects

true ..also assign team members roles so that you work towards set objects

I think they should create an M&E plan because it will help them keep a good track on the progress of the projects, measure changes in the cause of the project, and also evaluate the desired impact of the project.

@vicmangwiro said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

@Dmegastar said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

@MWAKANYENZE said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

• M$E helps in identifying the targets of the project

• It helps the manager to come up with tools to collect data

• It helps the manager to identify what type of data to collect and analyse

@MWAKANYENZE Yes agreed M& E Plan will do all thsese...... and thanks for sharing ... but what type of monitoring and evaluation system does your organization currently use?”.

@MWAKANYENZE easy to follow, agreed.

Data collection and analysis is imperative in M&E.

M&E is important because it helps one to determine whether the project is achieving the intended goals, whether resources are utilized efficiently, measure impact and, throughout the project's life-cycle, detect problems and take corrective measures.

@Zeeniya said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

M&E plan is an important tool when planning a project. A good M&E plan will help to track the performance of the project physically and financially. It will help to keep a track of where the project is heading, which objectives has been achieved and how resources are utilizes. In other words the overall status of the project.

Also M&E is important for future planning. Can apply the lessons learned from different projects when planning new projects

Hi Zeeniya, I couldn't agree with you more, M&E is vital for future planning and lessons learned from one project can be documented to aid the organisation itself and other role players.

The MEH programme should create a M&E plan as this would aid in measuring the magnitude of improvement achieved by the programme, the reach as well as the efficiency. The plan would also help in scaling the economical effect of the programme.
Monitoring could be done by taking account of girls involved in the programme on a daily basis as well as the level of publicity reached. An index of measuring the manner in which the loans are used should also be set up. Then evaluation should be checked via the business growth of the girls allocated the loan, since the aim of the program is to borrow out money as a means of easing livelihood. And not to be forgotten is a good financial report that would enhance more donation into the programme.

The MEH programme should create a M&E plan as this would aid in measuring the magnitude of improvement achieved by the programme, the reach as well as the efficiency. The plan would also help in scaling the economical effect of the programme.
Monitoring could be done by taking account of girls involved in the programme on a daily basis as well as the level of publicity reached. An index of measuring the manner in which the loans are used should also be set up. Then evaluation should be checked via the business growth of the girls allocated the loan, since the aim of the program is to borrow out money as a means of easing livelihood. And not to be forgotten is a good financial report that would enhance more donation into the programme.

@Wendica24 said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

I think you should create an M&E plan because unlike normal business organizations, in the social sector the success of an organization cannot be measured in the monetary wealth created by its operations, instead it needs to develop specific and measurable indicators that could help as a guide to improve on the way and have better results at the end...Because as the say says: what cannot be measured, cannot be improved!!

I really love the last sentence, as it covers all. The measurement could be monetary, achievements, and success of the organization.

Great discussion so far. @Abros, that was a good one. It is a straight and direct contribution. @all, I am one of your Course Ambassadors who is available to help you have a smooth learning experience.

Good morning Manager,

I think that it is a good idea to develop a M&E plan because of the following reasons:

1. Communication: having data about the performance will help to communicate to external stakeholders the results, engage the society and so be more appealing for funding
2. Project management: having processes for collecting data in a structural way help to have under control the programme, so detect the risks and mitigate them accordingly on time
3. Motivation tool: designing appropriately the KPIs of the programme can also help to motivate the employees to achieve the objectives as they can see tangible/measurable results
4. Performance tool: having a performance system will help the management team to reward employees based on performance and so push for meritocracy
5. Continuous Improvement: monitoring the processes and the results help to detect pain points and potential improvements of the programme, so it can be a tool for fostering a bigger impact

For the reasons above I believe it is critical to discuss together a share plan for M&E and agree on it with the team.

think you should create a M & E plan because it will allow you to communicate the success of your project to donors, which will allow you to continue to get funded. The chances of receiving continued funding for the project would be greatly reduced if you cannot provide convincing stats in your reports and proposals.

I think he need M&E plan because it will help them to measure how many businesses they have helped and to see if they could achieve more and give detail report to their donor

@malq92 said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

I like the fact that making and M&E will help communicate better to donors and make the work be more objective and purposely.

i was thinking you should create an M&E plan because;- assess the stakeholders’ understanding of the project;
-You will be able minimize the risk of project failure;
-Promote systematic and professional management; and
-Assess progress in implementation.
-It will assists you to determine the degree of achievement of the objectives.
-Determine and identify the problems associated with programme planning and implementation.
-It will generate data that allows for cumulative learning which, in turn, contributes to better designed
programmes, improved management and a better assessment of their impact.
-It assists in the reformulation of objectives, policies, and strategies in projects

@Ilene said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

M&E is important because it helps one to determine whether the project is achieving the intended goals, whether resources are utilized efficiently, measure impact and, throughout the project's life-cycle, detect problems and take corrective measures.

i was thinking you should create an M&E plan because;- assess the stakeholders’ understanding of the project;
-You will be able minimize the risk of project failure;
-Promote systematic and professional management; and
-Assess progress in implementation.
-It will assists you to determine the degree of achievement of the objectives.
-Determine and identify the problems associated with programme planning and implementation.
-It will generate data that allows for cumulative learning which, in turn, contributes to better designed
programmes, improved management and a better assessment of their impact.
-It assists in the reformulation of objectives, policies, and strategies in projects

I will create an M&E plan because it will help me use criteria that will help achieve the successful implementation of making loans available to those who actually need it, those who will be able to pay back to make recipients and donors alike happy.

@darcygray said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

I think you should create an M & E plan because it will allow you to communicate the success of your project to donors, which will allow you to continue to get funded. The chances of receiving continued funding for the project would be greatly reduced if you cannot provide convincing stats in your reports and proposals. Furthermore, constructing an MEL plan will help you to weigh the pros and cons of different indicators that your team is debating.

Your response is convincing but if you linked your answer to the MEH project then It would be better.

@NitishSana said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

think designing the M&E plan will enable a project team to understand how to quantify the performance of the project, if the project is not effective, it can be identified in the initial stages and corrective measures can be taken immediately. With the help of the defined metrics, it is also easier to document and scale up these projects in various

In the MEH project how can they quantify the performance? would you please elaborate more.

I think you should create an M&E plan because without the M&E plan you cannot track the progress of your project, you cannot measure the success of your project and you cannot proof that you are doing a very good project for the communities.

The M&E Plan will help in assessing progress of the program toward achieving its goals and objectives.

I will suggest MEH's project manager as following way.

I think that you should create an M&E plan because you can track the progress of your project by monitoring the how much of girls get loan from the project. If you prepared good evaluation plan then you can measure the effectiveness and efficiency of the project and It also helps you to track the what output/outcomes were expected and what happens in reality. We can measure our success through the evaluation so you have to prepare the evaluation plan. The monitoring plan help you track how much girls getting loan and you can compare that amount with our target and help in decision making if there required any modification in project activities or in action plan which finally leads to the project success.

After all you can prepare the good project report with clear output having good indicators and that may lead to further funding of the project and creating further sustainable model in the same project.

Thank you.

@jkurama said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

I think you should create an M&E plan because,
It will clearly define what your project goals are and what you need to be measuring exactly like, the how many girl have got loans in 6 months, the M&E plan also helps to track the progress of the project and the direction its taking which helps to catch anything not going according to plan and rectify it immediately. An M&E Plan also helps measuring success of the project.

I agree with you, M&E plan will help manager to have a track of the project and knowing day to day progress and if monitoring report show there something wrong it will be easier to rectify.

Hi guys,
I will advice MEH project manager to have a M&E plan so he make a bridge of connection between donors and beneficiaries about on going activities of the project, also through quarter reports, M&E team can know if they are going to meet the planned outcome and the percentage of success.
Other thing is M&E plan will help in controlling their time of execution of their activities and knowing if they are going to complete the project in planned time or more than planned time.
The last thing is donors will draw their trust to the project executors and beneficiaries knowing that the planned budget is used to the right activities and targeted group are benefiting from the project.

@Renaldo said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

think you should create a M & E plan because it will allow you to communicate the success of your project to donors, which will allow you to continue to get funded. The chances of receiving continued funding for the project would be greatly reduced if you cannot provide convincing stats in your reports and proposals.

Yeah, M&E plan will make a strong connection between donors, project team and beneficiaries

I think that you should create an M&E plan because it will help you measure, track, monitor and evaluate project processes in the different phase.
Secondly, it will help stakeholders feel safe and donors will be more confident in your organizational activities and funding.
Also, it increase the confidence of the beneficiaries but it will also create an atmosphere of transparency and accountability for the project. This will attract more stakeholders, clients etc.

@darcygray said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

I think you should create an M & E plan because it will allow you to communicate the success of your project to donors, which will allow you to continue to get funded. The chances of receiving continued funding for the project would be greatly reduced if you cannot provide convincing stats in your reports and proposals. Furthermore, constructing an MEL plan will help you to weigh the pros and cons of different indicators that your team is debating.

I think that communicate success to donors is just one of the reasons that requires to design an effective M&E plan. In my experience, NGOs have a double accountability: towards donors and towards beneficiaries. Very often the two accountabilities are conflicting and an effective M&S system may help to strike a balance.
An effective M&E system is also instrumental to reach an internal goal: to becoming a learning organization. To document and communicate success is an important external goal, however to address failures is crucial for an NGOs that wants to became more effective and accountable towards both beneficiaries and donors

@MICHAEL3937 said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

Hi guys,
I will advice MEH project manager to have a M&E plan so he make a bridge of connection between donors and beneficiaries about on going activities of the project, also through quarter reports, M&E team can know if they are going to meet the planned outcome and the percentage of success.
Other thing is M&E plan will help in controlling their time of execution of their activities and knowing if they are going to complete the project in planned time or more than planned time.
The last thing is donors will draw their trust to the project executors and beneficiaries knowing that the planned budget is used to the right activities and targeted group are benefiting from the project.

Thanks Michael 3937, you points are well in place. I think a strong M&E Plan attracts more people to the project.

@DhirendraNath said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

I will suggest MEH's project manager as following way.

I think that you should create an M&E plan because you can track the progress of your project by monitoring the how much of girls get loan from the project. If you prepared good evaluation plan then you can measure the effectiveness and efficiency of the project and It also helps you to track the what output/outcomes were expected and what happens in reality. We can measure our success through the evaluation so you have to prepare the evaluation plan. The monitoring plan help you track how much girls getting loan and you can compare that amount with our target and help in decision making if there required any modification in project activities or in action plan which finally leads to the project success.

After all you can prepare the good project report with clear output having good indicators and that may lead to further funding of the project and creating further sustainable model in the same project.

Thank you.

Very correct sir, what you just outline will help MEH PM but also other PM's who are novices in creating better tracking tools for their project.

@adesuadonatus45 said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

it allows to learn from each other’s experiences, building on expertise and knowledge

I think that you should create an M&E plan because you are able to set clear objectives like target population, proper time frame etc. it will also help to determine the progress of the project , recognize problems and make necessary changes since there will be clear data .

@Course_Operations said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 1.

Imagine that you are GOOD’s project manager. You are trying to convince MEH’s project manager to create an M&E plan. In the discussion forum, explain what you would you say to MEH’s project manager.

Sample Post: I think that you should create an M&E plan because __________ .

Respond to at least two of your peers’ messages. Which of the reasons for starting an M&E plan do you find the most convincing? Are there any other reasons for starting an M&E plan that your peer has missed?

I think that the main reason because you should create an M&E plan is to ensure accountability towards beneficiaries by designing a participatory M&E system able to register and document their perceptions and satisfactions with the outcomes of the project. It is important to have in mind that being accountable to beneficiaries implies that the ultimate goal of the project is that of improving their lives, therefore the M&E system should be designed with a view to empower beneficiaries in all the project cycle and to promote their active role and control on the activities.

An effective M&E system can also be instrumental to becoming a learning organization. This implies to address successes as well as failures in a transparent and courageous way. While during the project cycle the M&E plan enables to make the necessary adjustments to reach the desired outcomes, in the long run learning from mistakes may lead to consolidate long lasting knowldge

The importance of an M&E plan is that, it will keep track and enable the project manager observe the process of project implementation and the progress of the project through various information obtained and recorded over time within the project cycle.

I think MEH should create an M&E plan because it will allow MEH to track and share the success of their project to donors, which will allow them to continue getting funded. The chances of receiving continued funding for the project would be greatly reduced if you cannot provide manageable stats in their reports and proposals. ,In addition to that, constructing an M&E plan will help the project weigh the advantages and disadvantages of different aspects of the projects to successfully implement the objectives of the project.

It Is very important to develop a M&E program on your organization because it gives you an idea of where you are an make sure that you do the adjustments to go where you want to.

I think that you should create an M&E plan to help the implementation of the project and to strategies, it will help generate data that allows for cumulative learning

I think that you should create an M&E plan because it helps to demonstrate progress to internal management and to external stakeholders.

@Course_Operations said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

I think that you should create an M&E plan because

I think that you should create an M&E plan because without one you will not be able to track the progress of your project and know if the project is actually attaining its objectives. Monitoring of the project from the onset will ensure that you have the proper documentation of the performance of the project. This will assist you realize issues that arise in advance to ensure that corrective measures are undertaken and corrected. Collection of the data requires informed decisions on the information required to ensure that the correct data is collected and proper analysis done.
Important information such as the number of members that are registered in the micro-finance, number eligible for the loans depending on the eligibility criteria, the number having loans and the amounts given to them and finally the impact that the loans have to the businesses opened or advanced will be a great place to assess whether the micro-finance is actually impacting the desired population or not.
Without such information, the micro-finance may be giving loans to individuals who do not meet the criteria and therefore not affecting the intended population leading to loss of the funds given in form of loans and the individuals finally may be unable to pay the loans leading to greater negative impact than the intended positive impact in the target population.

@vicmangwiro said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

@Dmegastar said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

@Stacy-Ann said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

I think MEH should do an M&E plan because it will help to clearly define roles and responsibilities, decide on data to be captured and to track progress and impact for informed decisions and reporting to funders.

@Stacy-Ann Thanks for the invaluable nuggets in your post.... but note that informed decisions is not only for funders but also for other relevant stakeholders in the project even the beneficiaries!

@Stacy-Ann I agree and also It helps organisations be clear on their objectives for the project.

I tend to also think for them to measure their performance aside from the donors, they need to have a plan. This will also motivate them to work when they see the progress.

@DrakuaDanAmooti said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

@oolacosmas said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

Good morning/Afternoon or Evening whatever time it is, Manager i was thinking you should create an M&E plan because;- assess the stakeholders’ understanding of the project;
-You will be able minimize the risk of project failure;
-Promote systematic and professional management; and
-Assess progress in implementation.
-It will assists you to determine the degree of achievement of the objectives.
-Determine and identify the problems associated with programme planning and implementation.
-It will generate data that allows for cumulative learning which, in turn, contributes to better designed
programmes, improved management and a better assessment of their impact.
-It assists in the reformulation of objectives, policies, and strategies in projects

@oolacosmas said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

Good morning/Afternoon or Evening whatever time it is, Manager i was thinking you should create an M&E plan because;- assess the stakeholders’ understanding of the project;
-You will be able minimize the risk of project failure;
-Promote systematic and professional management; and
-Assess progress in implementation.
-It will assists you to determine the degree of achievement of the objectives.
-Determine and identify the problems associated with programme planning and implementation.
-It will generate data that allows for cumulative learning which, in turn, contributes to better designed
programmes, improved management and a better assessment of their impact.
-It assists in the reformulation of objectives, policies, and strategies in projects

M&E greatly minimises the risk of project failure and also enables you to decisions based on results other than individual feeling

I think you have raised very important nuggets here that will open the managers mind to see the probable ways that M&E will assist in ensuring that they attain the stipulated progress.

@Course_Operations said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

I think you should create an M&E because it is the only major way of measuring the progress of the project and can inform both donors and other partners who may wish to continue funding the same project.M&E results benefits both donors and the organization in a way that they will understand when went on well,what didn't went on well and what can be done in the future in case of the continuation of the same project or any alike.

I think you need to create an m&e plan because;

1. Creating an m&e plan helps you keep records.
2. It will help you determine the the criteria that you will use to select your beneficiaries because you can't just give out you grants haphazardly or in a biased way.
3. An m&e plan will help you determine the effectiveness of the grants on the beneficiaries.
4. It will also help keep track of all your beneficiaries for follow up.

THE MEH MANAGER SHOULD IMPLEMENT Monitoring and evaluation because:

it provides the only consolidated source of information showcasing project progress;
it allows actors to learn from each other’s experiences, building on expertise and knowledge;
it often generates (written) reports that contribute to transparency and accountability, and allows for lessons to be shared more easily;
it reveals mistakes and offers paths for learning and improvements;
it provides a basis for questioning and testing assumptions;
it provides a means for agencies seeking to learn from their experiences and to incorporate them into policy and practice;
it provides a way to assess the crucial link between implementers and beneficiaries on the ground and decision-makers

@LunaMichel said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

In my opinion you should create an M&E plan because, it is a great tool you can use to have a continuous knowledge about the things you can improve or change in order to achieve the objectives and goals for your project. And it will provide the necessary information for reports you should do to the people involved in the project.

This is basically the sum up for having an m& e plan. Good one.

@Course_Operations said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 1.

Imagine that you are GOOD’s project manager. You are trying to convince MEH’s project manager to create an M&E plan. In the discussion forum, explain what you would you say to MEH’s project manager.

Sample Post: I think that you should create an M&E plan because __________ .

Respond to at least two of your peers’ messages. Which of the reasons for starting an M&E plan do you find the most convincing? Are there any other reasons for starting an M&E plan that your peer has missed?

I think you should create an M&E because this took help keep checks on progress or decline of a the project GOOD'S. Progress or decline helps you adjust in the input activity into a project to avoid a fatal loss.

@Benjaminfranklyn said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

THE MEH MANAGER SHOULD IMPLEMENT Monitoring and evaluation because:

it provides the only consolidated source of information showcasing project progress;
it allows actors to learn from each other’s experiences, building on expertise and knowledge;
it often generates (written) reports that contribute to transparency and accountability, and allows for lessons to be shared more easily;
it reveals mistakes and offers paths for learning and improvements;
it provides a basis for questioning and testing assumptions;
it provides a means for agencies seeking to learn from their experiences and to incorporate them into policy and practice;
it provides a way to assess the crucial link between implementers and beneficiaries on the ground and decision-make

I think the M&E as a tool will set down prospects for the future as lack of planning for the future is failure itself. With an M&E all emergencies will be out of ones job

Monitoring and Evaluation plan is essential in project management in several ways including;

1. Good M&E Plan indicate to the project implementers exactly what their objectives are so they stay on course.
2. It helps to measure the progress of the project.
3. Good M&E plan states exactly how project progress is measured.
4. Good M&E also indicates exactly how impact measurement will be carried out making it easy for project evaluation.
5. Good M&E also indicates feedback measurement, this allows for adjustment of project activities for improvement. 6. Good M&E plan also helps in project report writing since exactly how succesful the project have achieved can easily be deduced from the M&E plan.

Monitoring and Evaluation plan is essential in project management in several ways including;

1. Good M&E Plan indicates to the project implementers exactly what their objectives are so they stay on course.
2. Good M&E plan states exactly how project progress is measured.
3. Good M&E also indicates exactly how impact measurement will be carried out making it easy for project evaluation.
4. Good M&E also indicates feedback measurement, this allows for adjustment of project activities to improve project outcome.
5. Good M&E plan also helps in project report writing since exactly how successful the project have achieved can easily be deduced from the M&E plan.

An M&E plan should be developed as it allows to make judgement about a project, to improve its effectiveness and inform programming decisions.

Monitoring and evaluation is important because: it provides the only consolidated source of information showcasing project progress. By monitoring progress against defined goals, a project manager can assess what is working and what is not, and from there can determine what changes should be made to a project. This makes the companies to make sound decisions concerning major projects undertaken and to know where to invest. Second important is to choose the right tool for the job. Today we can`t rely on traditional methods of Monitoring and Evaluation it’s simply because there is more Data involved and more projects are worked on at one time. Click Up is a project management solution that can help project managers easily monitor the overall progress of the team’s work. The features that this app has and the possibility to change the view on your working environment differs this software from the others on the market.

The importance of monitoring and evaluating (or, controlling) in project management is the difference between holding on to your steering wheel while driving down the expressway.. or not.

Managing a project is like an aircraft pilot. 99.9% of the time, the aircraft is off-course, but by monitoring the appropriate instruments, the pilot brings the aircraft back on course (control), only to have it drift off-course once again.

I think that I should create a Monitoring and Evaluation plan because it helps organization throughout the lifecycle of a project to identify opportunities for improvements to maximize the impact of the project among beneficiaries. Also, it supports project’s implementers measure progress against goals and to make adjustments to activities ensuring the projects keep on track with their targets.

@FeisalIssaHajiIdriss said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

The importance of monitoring and evaluating (or, controlling) in project management is the difference between holding on to your steering wheel while driving down the expressway.. or not.

Managing a project is like an aircraft pilot. 99.9% of the time, the aircraft is off-course, but by monitoring the appropriate instruments, the pilot brings the aircraft back on course (control), only to have it drift off-course once again.

M&E is also key to ensure the project meets expected impact.
best,
-Rolando

I strongly agree with bullet point #3!!!
best,
-Rolando

M&E is needed because

• It will help to fix measurable targets

• It will help to be time bound

• It will help to organise the program and activate whole system of the organisation

• Per employee efforts could bb measurable and track the progress of employee in individual and organisation in common

• Will help in setting the direction of further movement of program

• It will save last moment mashup and make you more visible, clear, crysp and success.

It will be very helpful if M&E plan is created. This will help measure and monitor the progress of the project and its success. It will help manage and also developed new strategies to better manage and improve upon the project.
This will at long round help GOOD to know whether they are on their way to achieving the mission, vision and objectives of the organization.

The biggest reason that you should create an M&E plan is that doing so will require you to clearly define the objectives of your project and its expected outcomes. For example, if an outcome of the MEH project is the generation of businesses and therefore employment, measuring the number of business started using the loans, and the number of jobs those business have generated, makes sense. On the other hand, perhaps a major outcome of MEH is increased income for the beneficiaries. In that case, you would be measuring the amount of each girls' income both before and after participation in the program. Without a solid M&E Plan, you are in danger of losing site of the reasons that you decided to conduct your project in the first place.

@RBerrios said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

I think that I should create a Monitoring and Evaluation plan because it helps organization throughout the lifecycle of a project to identify opportunities for improvements to maximize the impact of the project among beneficiaries. Also, it supports project’s implementers measure progress against goals and to make adjustments to activities ensuring the projects keep on track with their targets.

Yes, identifying areas for improvement and change throughout the project is crucial to its success. Catching problems with implementation early will enable the implementer to make appropriate changes in interventions early enough so that the desired outcomes can be achieved.

@AbdulRazakSawalAlhassan said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

Monitoring and Evaluation plan is essential in project management in several ways including;

1. Good M&E Plan indicate to the project implementers exactly what their objectives are so they stay on course.
2. It helps to measure the progress of the project.
3. Good M&E plan states exactly how project progress is measured.
4. Good M&E also indicates exactly how impact measurement will be carried out making it easy for project evaluation.
5. Good M&E also indicates feedback measurement, this allows for adjustment of project activities for improvement. 6. Good M&E plan also helps in project report writing since exactly how succesful the project have achieved can easily be deduced from the M&E plan.

This is a good summary that covers M&E from the beginning of the project to the final reporting phase.

I think you should create M&E plan because, they first need to know the actual number of girls that hey can afford to offer them such MEH loan service.
Secondly, they need to know or plan how many villages can that loan cover or the goal of covering which areas.
Thirdly, they will need to make a research on the better system of offering such service which will lead to win win situation for both of them, girls who will be offered such loan and funder/sponsors.
also environment(employees and office location), strategies and knowledge to the girl who are receiving such loans
should be planned and organized clearly.

@Course_Operations said in Module 1 Discussion: The Importance of M&E:

I think that you should create an M&E plan because

I think that you should create an M&E plan because,

1. it will help to monitor the progress of your project
2. it will help measure how well the project meets its objective

I think it's also important to have an M&E plan, as it helps track any mistakes that would bring about project failure.
And when these problems are tracked down at an early stage, it makes it possible and easier to make corrections and help the team to move in the right direction

I think that you should create an M&E plan because it will guide your team in implementing this project by:
• Describing your project’s activities and expected outcomes.
• Defining the indicators that will be measured to gauge success of the project.
• Describing how relevant data will be collected and how it will be analyzed for M&E.
• Assigning responsibilities for different M&E activities.