MONITORING AND EVALUATION EXAM NOTES

1) Characteristics of a project are:

 Has a pre-set SMART objectives
 Involves activities
 Uses resources
 Has time frame
 Outcomes
 Target group of beneficiaries
2) Rationale of monitoring include:
 To know where unexpected issues/problems are occurring
 To know alternative course of action given the new circumstance
 To know whether the various activities are undertaken as specified
in the project plan.
3) Monitoring refers to a systematic collection and analysis of information
as a project progresses.
4) The aim of monitoring is to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and
impact of a project or organization.
5) Why monitoring and evaluation normally go together? Because while
monitoring as an internal process , assesses progress o regular basis for
the sake of improved management and decision making, evaluation
reflects what happened and is happening in order to improve the future.
6) Benefits of monitoring include:
 Reducing waste
 Enables you to solve problems
 Is a condition for receiving donor funds
 Keeping an eye on progress towards objectives.
7) Aspects to consider in monitoring include:
 Routine, regular activity
 Keep up to date records

1
 MONITORING AND EVALUATION EXAM NOTES

 Information relates to objectives

8) Evaluation is the assessment at one point in time that concentrates
specifically on whether the objectives of the project have been achieved
and what impact has been made.
9) Information obtained from evaluation is often used to make the
following decisions about the project:
 Continuation of the project
 Draw up lessons that can be applied to other projects
 Review implementation strategies.
10) Project evaluation involves assessment of whether the project is
doing the right thing in the right way.
11) Types of evaluation are: formative and summative
12) When it is informative, this type of evaluation also referred to as
baseline survey is carried out before an actual project is implemented.
While summative evaluation is also known as the end-term evaluation
or project completion evaluation is intended to carry out immediately at
the project conclusion.
13) Effectiveness is a measure of the extent to which a development
programme or project achieves the specific objectives it set.
14) Efficiency tells you that the input into the work is a propriate in
terms of the output.
15) Impact tells you whether or not what you did made a difference to
the problem you attempted to address.
16) Why undertake M&E? it enables you to check the bottom line of
development work.
17) Through monitoring and evaluation, you can
o Review progress
o Identify problems in planning/implementation

2
 MONITORING AND EVALUATION EXAM NOTES

o Adjust
18) Who does the evaluation? Built in self-evaluation, participatory
evaluation, or external evaluation.
19) Built-in self-evaluation: those that directly involved in the
implementation, participatory evaluation: staff and external evaluators,
external evaluation: individuals outside the implementation team.
20) A system is a set of interacting or interdependent components
forming and integrated whole.
21) What is M&E system? Is the set of planning, information
gathering and synthesis and reporting progress along with the necessary
supporting conditions required for the outputs of M&E to make valuable
contribution to decision making and learning.
22) The M&E system normally consist of three elements
 Input/output monitoring
 Impact monitoring and ongoing evaluation
 External evaluation and specific studies.
23) The M&E system succeeds: because of: the overall organization
is sound, and with the help of local experts.
24) Indicators are bits of information that highlight what is happening.
25) Impact indicators are indicators that show what extent the project
has contributed towards its goals.
26) Result indicators are indicators that show what extent planned
results have been achieved.
27) Activity indicators are indicators that show what activities have
been completed.
28) Input indicators are indicators that show what resources have
been used by the project.
29) Logical framework is a project management tool used to structure
the main components of an intervention.

3
 MONITORING AND EVALUATION EXAM NOTES

30) Advantages of logical framework include:

 It clarifies the relationship which underlie judgments about likely
efficiency and effectiveness of a project.
 It identifies the main factors related to the success of the project.
 It provides a basis for monitoring and evaluation.
31) Why use LOG frame?
 Defines and clearly identify key activities
 Define resource requirements
 Outputs
 Define critical assumptions.
32) At which stage of the project can a LOG frame be used?
Used throughout the entire project lifecycle.
33) Tenets of a LOG frame are
 Results oriented management
 System analysis
 Contract law
 Scientific orientation
 Cause-effect dimension.
34) How can we verify the scientific method?
By observing validity and reliability.
35) How can a project deliver its goals when employed logical
framework?
36) A project can deliver its goals when employed logical framework
because it provides an overview of a project’s goal, activities, and
anticipated results.