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M&E is the most important toll for better project implementation and development.

M & E is important as it results in better accountability, transparency and decision making. It also ensures the efficient use of resources.

It helps to make information-based decisions

This is amazing and would like to manage my own project too

M&E helps to access whether the project goals were met or the project still has to continue for much more longer.

Monitoring and Evaluations are the key elements of the project management cycle, inappropriate or lack or monitoring and evaluation plan will have the following negative consequence on the project.

• There would not be baseline
• There would not be project indicators
• The project outcome and impacts can not be measured

In refer to the above two cases, in the first project the project manager has M&E plan and teams knows what is the project goals. what to open 1200 saving account for girls in 34 Kenyan village in next 6 months. therefore everyone knows what to do to have successful project.
in the case of second project the project manager and project team know the donor demand, they that donor want to have accurate information from the field, the project progress, from the project goals, project outcome and project baseline, therefore now the project manager realized they need for project Monitoring and evaluation plan. therefore the project Monitoring and evaluation plan is the key for the successful implementation of the project and every project should have accurate M&E plan.

Risk and Assumption
there are number of risk and assumptions

• if there is not enough data or baseline, it would be difficult to measure the progress of the project and to measure the impact of the project
  of reach specific project the project manager need to have specific data and baseline
  the other risk for project outcome or impact measurement is the intervention of multi-organization, if there is number of organization working in the same field with the same community it would be difficult to understand the impact of your own work.

Good and clear introduction to the course!

Which data collection tools do you use?

M&E is important to track performance of a project over time and measure the project’s objectives.

You clearly defiend what M&E is all about

The importance of monitoring and evaluation is that it provides decision-makers with a strategy to plan for the sustainability of the projects and guidance for future endeavors. During the monitoring phase, an organization track, analyze, and report on a project. The information collected through monitoring reveals gaps or issues, which require resources to address. It helps with what area to prioritize. The information is freely circulated and available to stakeholders, which gives them input on the project and this transparency leads to better accountability.

The importance of M&E is to enable monitoring of the progress of project implementation. This is possible by defining a monitoring and evaluation plan to monitor activities and ensure the effective use of human, financial and material resources.
An information collection system will make it possible to calculate indicators to measure progress in achieving project objectives.

M & E is very vital as it gives a project the direction it should take apart from measuring the progress of the projects activities. An M&E plan is critical for any project to be successful.

The importance of the M&E to monitor and evaluate different projects in the firm to easily know and answer
Utilization of the resource for the targeted purpose
Retrieve efficient reporting to partners, donors and government.
To answer the ""WH'' questions.
Easily find where the project failure and immediate action before failure.

BOUKO AMADOU Ismaïla, from Benin

I invite friends to register to take his courses in order to strengthen their CV.

It is very interesting and important!

For MEH to have a plan for the project, they should know the followings.
Determine what exactly needs monitoring and evaluation.
Define and agree on the performance indicators which are used.
Take a baseline measurement using arrows before the project begins

M&E is not only important for donors and partners, it is important to make sure that we are working on is valuable and if we made an impact or not, what are the mistakes we made so we can improve in the next project.

The main mission throughout the course is to help MEH prepare their M&E plan growing gradually my understanding of the basics of M&E planning
Looking forward

It seems like M&E is important for measuring the overall effectiveness of the project for both the project implementers and the donors. It can let us know the efficiency of the project in using resources; whether the project has met the set objectives; Dividing roles and responsibilities amongst the members of the project; providing data to be included in the project report for both internal use and donor information; provides ongoing information that can drive project decision making. Because the M&E activities provide important information on how the project is doing organisations need to create M&E plans regardless of whether they are required by the donors or not.

M&E allow to check the “bottom line” of development work: to see if we are making a difference .

Le module est intéressant et limpide. Merci !

Importance of M&E
Enables to understand the objectives of the project,
Helps eliminate confusion and illusions about project objectives
To track the progress of the project
To make informed decision about the effectiveness of project and efficient use of resources
Establish tools to measure the project and create spaces for improvement.
It's important because we can easily set goals, we can measure whether those goals are being met efficiently, we can repeat actions if successful, and finally, we can document that evidence.

Importance of M&E
Enables to understand the objectives of the project,
Helps eliminate confusion and illusions about project objectives
To track the progress of the project
To make informed decision about the effectiveness of project and efficient use of resources
Establish tools to measure the project and create spaces for improvement.
It's important because we can easily set goals, we can measure whether those goals are being met efficiently, we can repeat actions if successful, and finally, we can document that evidence.

When can we begin?

Importance of M&E
Enables to understand the objectives of the project,
Helps eliminate confusion and illusions about project objectives
To track the progress of the project
To make informed decision about the effectiveness of project and efficient use of resources
Establish tools to measure the project and create spaces for improvement.
It's important because we can easily set goals, we can measure whether those goals are being met efficiently, we can repeat actions if successful, and finally, we can document that evidence.

Enables to understand the objectives of the project,
Helps eliminate confusion and illusions about project objectives
To track the progress of the project
To make informed decision about the effectiveness of project and efficient use of resources
Establish tools to measure the project and create spaces for improvement.
It's important because we can easily set goals, we can measure whether those goals are being met efficiently, we can repeat actions if successful, and finally, we can document that evidence.

Enables to understand the objectives of the project,
Helps eliminate confusion and illusions about project objectives
To track the progress of the project
To make informed decision about the effectiveness of project and efficient use of resources
Establish tools to measure the project and create spaces for improvement.
It's important because we can easily set goals, we can measure whether those goals are being met efficiently, we can repeat actions if successful, and finally, we can document that evidence.

Both projects seem interesting.

M&E is critical to the success of a project. This is because if a project begins without any understanding of how its progress will be measured, then there is no telling the extent to which a project completed its goals, or even what its goals are.

I agree with you!

So true, very concise definitions of what is being taught in the module.

Let me compare the importance of M&E with parents' duties. Parents always look for information about how is going everything around their children and they get involved in their children lives. So, it seems to be the M&E, a way to be involved during the whole Project's life.

MEH also needs to follow the same path like GOOD has done .1- set goals. 2. the scope of project. how many girls from how many villages are they going to reach 2. the schedule. how many weeks or months is the project duration and what are the deliverables and milestone of the project . measure progress of the project . what want well according to the educators and what needs adjustments, , manage resources
and people to find the right data . there must be a system of knowledge management and capacity development department in place , who follow staff learning and positioning and develop . M/E to reach the target.

it provides a more robust basis for raising funds and influencing policy

it provides a way to assess the crucial link between implementers and beneficiaries on the ground and decision-makers

it provides a basis for questioning and testing assumptions

M&E is very important for the project becasue it enables project managers and Implementors;

1. be able to track the project performance and non performing areas
2. B e able to know know whether the project is going in the right direction with it's set goals and targets.
3. Identify correct beneficiaries
4. be able to imrpove implementation through the feedback mechnism from the beneficieries

After taking the first module, I would say that M&E is important for understanding the progress of a project, It helps in the process of making informed decisions about a project. For example, how money should be spent or what should be done differently to ensure that the goal of the project is met. Finally, M&E is important for future projects, because it can help to know what worked or not and how that can be addressed in future projects.

Thank you

Overall, I agree with the assessment that GOOD is off to a great start and clearly knows the way forward. They have their set goals and measures of effectiveness to truly start gathering their data. MEH however, needs to decide which goal/measure they are going to implement, so that they can actually start their program and start gathering data. Sometimes no decision is worse than any decision. Recommend that MEH starts with measuring how many loans are given out and the success of the members repaying those loans on time.

Le suivi-evaluation peut-il t'amener à pouvoir gérer un ou les projets au fil des temps ?

Helps to see if the organization is achieving the intended goals of the project or whether the project needs some input for improvement

For a small organization that has no M&E Team, what are the best way to track their data for reporting purposes?

What I understand from the two projects is the important of M&E. From the GOOD project in Kenya there seems a continuous follow up based on monitoring and evaluation tools and they are successful and immediately respond get solved the problems they face. While In MEH project it seemed to have weak in monitoring and evaluating their projects from the scratches. Still time is available to startup from planning, implementation and evaluation of their projects and they can share the good experience from GOOD's projects.

Doing things seemed to be good but with with monitoring and evaluating it will be meaningless

Good luck for MEH team.
I will be glad to help them prepare their M&E plan.

Importance of M&E.

M & E are good for;

keeping a project in check
ensuring that planned project goal is achieved
ensuring that resources are not wasted
ensuring that a planned project brings long lasting impact.
Helps a company minimize loss by making use of reference data

very interesting
M&E plays very important role in any project beacuse when there is no data what we have done

M&E is very important in every project

Hi Team,
The two scenarios desrcibe an organization( GOOD) that understands the value of M&E to the project and have planned for it .
Its refreshing to note that the MEH team are not versed with M&E as a team, but appreciate its importance and I am hopeful are ready to be on this learning journey.
We are on this journey together!

M&E can provide the team and the organisation with more clarity and control over the design and goals of the projects and make informed decisions during various phases of the project. It also also help in ensuring optimum utilisation of the resources and the sustainability of the project. M&E also makes the process inclusive and participatory by making the stakeholders active, hence improving the all overall experience of the project.

1. Helps to curb problems earlier and make neccesary changes to ensure the success of a project.
2. Helps to keep projects on track.

M&E is important as it ensures that all resources (human resources & financial resources) are at least used/ spent reasonably. I think though it is a process of trial and error at the beginning. As time goes on, standards and systems are set for future projects.

It is of great importance if one must have deep knowledge of his/ her project's goal.
This has a way of keeping you in check and helping you achieve that goal through impacting plans.

It's depends on what you intend to achieve.
That way you can decide whether qualitative or quantitative data or both would yield the result.

M&E helps to review progress.
M&E helps identify problems in planning and/or implementation
M&E facilitates timely adjustments in the project

good start up

M&E are essential to any project or program. through this process organisation collect and analyze data and determine if a project /program has fulfilled its goals. below are some of the additional importance of M&E:

1. The M&E provide the only consolidated source of information showcasing project progress
2. provides basis for questioning and testing testing assuptions
3. it allows actors to learn from each others experience,building expertise and knowledge

In addition successful development projects today are thus grounded in careful planning, data collection, meticulous implementation and through reporting and analysis and this is where Monitoring and Evaluation comes into play

Linking M&E to organisation, some may ask why is monitoring and evaluation important for NGOs? right that's great question. I will list 5 ways NGOs can benefit from M&E .

1. Greater Transparency and Accountability
2. Improved project performance
3. Effective resource allocation
4. Promote learning and data driven decision making
5. systematic and professional management of the organisation

The project GOOD has a systematic and well-planned and agreed M&E Plan which will help them to measure the results and progress of the project.

• M&E plan will help managment for decision making
• M&E plan will help projects to measure progress
• M&E plan will help project to be in right track
• M&E plan will help project to track project to be on budget on scope and on time

M and E provides accountability of a project. GOOD donor and beneficiaries will find satisfaction with the project but MEH will raise questions of concern especially from the donor.

M&E is critical for assessing our program's progress and performance, as well as determining where and when to intervene if progress is slow or the program's objectives are not being met.

MEH, for example, could measure how many loans they disburse and how many businesses they successfully help over a certain period of time and compare that with their set target to disburse, say, 2000 loans to 2000 businesses over a period of six months.

MEH needs to know about how much is the amount they have. And they need to know about how many people they want to borrow them they are money.

Module one is fantastic

The more I know more about M&E, the more I find it very important

That's true. Without a solid M&E plan, no successful project today would be complete. They are like flashing indicators

M&E Plan helps the projects team to be organized and not do things as they see fit. Helps them team to know what data to collect at what time and who should collect it. With M&E Plan you know how the data you are to collect will be collected (tools), analyzed, stored and even utilized. a good and clear M&E Plan makes the project tracking smooth and exciting.

First: MEH team need to set their objectives and goals for the project.
this will include:- the number of girls they need to reach, and/ or the amount of money they would like to have loaned by a specific time period.
-A region in which they would like to affect, for instance; they are looking to help girls in 20 Tanzanian villages by end of the year 2023.

Second, Have officers in set stations eg villages to collect data of each girl or group of girls that receives the loans from them, there after make a plan to follow up on how those loans have helped them start their businesses or facilitate growth of already existing businesses.

Then come up with a plan on collecting feedback from the loan beneficiaries on the strengths and weaknesses of their project. +/- suggestions on what changes could be made to make the project better.

I have never heard of M&E and I did not know of its importance. Sometimes it is even difficult to ask the right questions and understand where this is taking our project. However, I am starting to realize that doing a M&E Plan will truly help us to track performance and to make better decisions. I am excited to continue to develop.

Robert Daniel is my name and I work with the Planning Monitoring and Evaluation unit in the Department of Family Health, Federal Ministry of Health. I have been part of several projects and programs both in Federal Ministry of Health and developmental organizations with contributions in the MEAL components. I have passion for data and very competent in the use of various quantitative and qualitative data analytic and visualization soft wares such as Microsoft Excel, SPSS, Epi Info and Power Bi. I love learning new things, ideas and adding to my knowledge. I am please to be in this platform and I promise to make good use of it to advance my knowledge and skills in monitoring and evaluation.

Thank you

I think that the main problem that we can face i which kind of data should we collect to measure the project progress

it provides a way to assess the crucial link between implementers and beneficiaries on the ground and decision-makers; it adds to the retention and development of institutional memory; it provides a more robust basis for raising funds and influencing policy.

M&E results in better transparency and accountability
Monitoring and evaluation are essential to any project or program. Through this process, organizations collect and analyze data, and determine if a project/program has fulfilled its goals. Monitoring begins right away and extends through the duration of the project. Evaluation comes after and assesses how well the program performed. Every organization should have an M&E system in place. Here are ten reasons why:

M&E helps ensure resources are used efficiently
Every project needs resources. How much cash is on hand determines things like how many people work on a project, the project’s scope, and what solutions are available if things get off course.

I think it isn't wise to create and start a project without having and M&E plan with a plan B

The MEH project is also a good one to start off. As developing an actual M&E plan will help us get into the topic straight away. This is what I was looking for.

Je trouve que ce cours est très intéressant

I agree with you

I share your point of view

t 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;
it adds to the retention and development of institutional memory;
it provides a more robust basis for raising funds and influencing policy.

M&E is essentially a management tool that allows managers to assess the status or progress of a programme and report on it accordingly. M&E embeds credibility and accountability within programmes and determines the way in which donors fund and engage with these programmes.
Project monitoring and evaluation is used to measure a project's progress. It's important because it lets you keep tabs on a project and identify potential problems.

Learning the importance has made to understand the significance of having an M&E plan before the implementation of project starts.

Monitoring and evaluation is important because it provides the only consolidated source of information showcasing project progress

The importance of M&E is that both (monitoring and evaluation) can be regarded as effective tools to be used in assisting the team members to understand how the implementation of the project is going to be successful. Through monitoring, it assists the team to progressively check at different assigned stages of the implementation process and to suggest improvement strategies if there are problems faced along the way. On the other hand, evaluation is a tool of checking at the end of the project whether the objectives of the project are achieved or not. Through Monitoring and Evaluation the importance of using data is paramount in that it can avoid biases in determining the success or failure of the project. The data can be collected through proper approaches such as survey, interview, and comparing the figures and the allocated budget with expected outcomes that should be achieved at the end of the project.

Well, by having M&E plan you would be able to have a clear picture of your goals, what you want to do? and how will you be doing it? hence with having M&E plan you can identify the gaps and available problems during the project as you would have the clear understanding of when you need to submit your report to the donor and how to collect your required data.

Project Assumptions: pAt some point in your life, you’ve probably been told, “Never make assumptions.” However, making assumptions in project management is an everyday activity. Assumptions help you define scope and risks and fine-tune your estimates for time and cost. Of course, it is essential to document and validate your assumptions.
Consider something simple, such as creating a book. Let’s say your friend has an idea for a coffee table book and has asked you to manage the project. His first request is for a budget so he can secure funding. As you define the scope, it’s clear that your friend is uncertain on many details, including page count, image inclusion, cover style and the weight of the paper to be used for the pages.
Since all of these factors will impact cost and production complexity, you will have to make assumptions about the specifications and validate those assumptions as acceptable or unacceptable to your friend. After further discussion, your friend tells you he plans to include 50 photos in the book. You can base your assumption on the 50 images or, anticipating that this number will increase over time, you can make an assumption that there will be between 75-90 pages with images.
You can see how assumptions directly affect schedule as well. For instance, imagine you’re leading a project at a park that involves building a swing set. When setting up your project, you are given the budget and assigned team members, one of whom is in charge of materials. As you create your schedule, you ask the person in charge of materials when the cement will arrive. This person replies that he’s not sure when the cement will arrive but that he believes it will be between June 1 and June 10.
Project Risk: Once you’ve built your scope and identified the assumptions that are behind the scope and estimates, you will want to begin assessing areas of risk. Risk is the same in project management as it is in the real world; it is a hazard or chance that can create damage.

m&E results in better transparency and accountability
Because organizations track, analyze, and report on a project during the monitoring phase, there’s more transparency. Information is freely circulated and available to stakeholders, which gives them more input on the project. A good monitoring system ensures no one is left in the dark. This transparency leads to better accountability. With information so available, organizations need to keep everything above board. It’s also much harder to deceive stakeholders.stakeholders in this case are anybody effected by GOOD AND meh.
M&E provides a detailed blueprint of everything that went right and everything that went wrong during a project. Thorough M&E documents and templates allow organizations to pinpoint specific failures, as opposed to just guessing what caused problems. Often, organizations can learn more from their mistakes than from their successes.

M&E improves decision-making
Data should drive decisions. M&E processes provide the essential information needed to see the big picture. After a project wraps up, an organization with good M&E can identify mistakes, successes, and things that can be adapted and replicated for future projects. Decision-making is then influenced by what was learned through past monitoring and evaluation.

M&E helps organizations stay organized
Developing a good M&E plan requires a lot of organization. That process in itself is very helpful to an organization. It has to develop methods to collect, distribute, and analyze information. Developing M&E plans also requires organizations to decide on desired outcomes, how to measure success, and how to adapt as the project goes on, so those outcomes become a reality. Good organizational skills benefit every area of an organization.

M&E helps organizations replicate the best projects/programs
Organizations don’t like to waste time on projects or programs that go nowhere or fail to meet certain standards. The benefits of M&E that we’ve described above – such as catching problems early, good resource management, and informed decisions – all result in information that ensures organizations replicate what’s working and let go of what’s not.

M&E encourages innovation
Monitoring and evaluation can help fuel innovative thinking and methods for data collection. While some fields require specific methods, others are open to more unique ideas. As an example, fields that have traditionally relied on standardized tools like questionnaires, focus groups, interviews, and so on can branch out to video and photo documentation, storytelling, and even fine arts. Innovative tools provide new perspectives on data and new ways to measure success.

M&E encourages diversity of thought and opinions
With monitoring and evaluation, the more information the better. Every team member offers an important perspective on how a project or program is doing. Encouraging diversity of thought and exploring new ways of obtaining feedback enhance the benefits of M&E. With M&E tools like surveys, they’re only truly useful if they include a wide range of people and responses. In good monitoring and evaluation plans, all voices are important.

Every organization benefits from M&E
While certain organizations can use more unique M&E tools, all organizations need some kind of monitoring and evaluation system. Whether it’s a small business, corporation, or government agency, all organizations need a way to monitor their projects and determine if they’re successful. Without strong M&E, organizations aren’t sustainable, they’re more vulnerable to failure, and they can lose the trust of stakeholders.

The M&E is important in a way that gives you a understand of how progressive or not you are in order to take better decision regards to "how best can you do some activities", to improve your organization and get better outcomes.

The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Officer will be responsible for the design, coordination and implementation of the monitoring and evaluation, research, and learning framework of the Project.

Monitoring and Evaluation provides a way to assess the crucial link between implementers and beneficiaries on the ground and decision- makers. It adds to the retention and development of institutional memory; it provides a more robust basis for raising funds and influencing policy.

The only way in which MEH can know what gaps needs to be addressed is by setting up an M&E plan.

This is a very clear and set out manner of introducing what M&E is and it's importance.

I have already become acquainted with two fictitious projects. GOOD and MEH. In my humble opinion, these are two viable projects. I can't wait to familiarize myself with the different terms of the project. Which would be favorable to me at my own expense.

Create the right tools that guide the manager and assigned experts to track how project is going and to have the necessary information to communicate to the different stakeholders in a proper way the project status, project achievements and project results at specific milestone planned by the project.
Create at the beginning of implementation a good M&E plan help to do not waste time or other resources for having the necessary information to tell how project is performing or to have in time useful information regarding necessary changes or modifications to be discussed for some unexpected changes happened and not planned during design of the project.

M&E provides qualitative and quantitative data to leadership and other stakeholders who have an invested interest in program success. M&E often results in hard reports that can be analyzed, and results shared. Helps companies stay organized. M&E helps with tracking progress of implementation and record keeping.
Projects are monitored so as to: assess the stakeholders' understanding of the project; • minimize the risk of project failure; • promote systematic and professional management; and • assess progress in implementation. One needs to recognize the role played by the various stakeholders in monitoring.

One of the greatest benefits of M&E is helping organizations to track, analyze and report on relevant information and data throughout the life cycle of a project. This allows the project team to provide robust evidence for all their actions and decisions to stakeholders, donors and community members from day one.
What is the importance of monitoring and evaluation in project management?
it provides a way to assess the crucial link between implementers and beneficiaries on the ground and decision-makers; it adds to the retention and development of institutional memory; it provides a more robust basis for raising funds and influencing policy.

M&E is a management tool to monitor the progress towards the projects activities and evaluate it against the set output or outcomes. M&E provides a plan/direction by taking small steps to achieving the overall project goal. Monitoring helps in obtaining data on the progress of the activity and evaluation defines that progress to be efficient/good or slow/bad. If any activity was not achieved; during evaluation process problem areas can be identified and the lesson learned applied to next phase of the project. M&E is done by collecting data through surveys (quantitative or qualitative). Lack of M&E in a project fails to provide fact based progress towards overall goal of the project. M&E is an important tool to keep the project on track and let the project managers know if their area of work is going slow or not achieving the goals set up for that particular timeframe.