USAID’s Approach to Monitoring

Capacity Building Activities

Experiences, lessons learned,

and best practices
Duane Muller, USAID
November 5, 2007
UNFCCC Experts Meeting on Capacity Building
St John’s, Antigua
USG commitment to Capacity Building

• Range of agencies and programs committed to capacity building for climate

change

• Efforts by industry, states, local governments, universities, schools and NGOs

Types of assistance USAID provides
• technical assistance
• capacity building & institutional strengthening
• training and scholarships
• food aid and disaster relief
• infrastructure construction
• small-enterprise loans
• budget support
• enterprise funds
• credit guarantees
USAID’s Global Climate Change Program
Assistance to over 45 countries:

• Clean energy technology

• Sustainable land use/ forestry
• Adaptation to climate change

Capacity building=cross cutting

Monitoring & Evaluation

Complementary roles
 Monitoring and Evaluation
MONITORING
• Clarify program objectives
• Link project activities to their
resources/objectives
• Translate into measurable
indicators/set targets
• Collect data on indicators
• Report on progress
EVALUATION
• Analyzes why and how intended
results were/were not achieved
• Assesses contributions of
activities to results
• Examines results not easily
measured
• Explores unintended results
• Provides lessons
learned/recommendations
Experiences with Monitoring

Traditional Project Monitoring vs.

Performance Monitoring
Traditional Project Monitoring

Tells us what is happening:

• Are project activities or tasks on schedule?

• Is spending consistent with spending plans?

“LIMITED FOCUS”
What does performance monitoring involve?

• Tools for measurement

• Assessment of current situation

Performance Baseline Performance Target

• Data collection methods

Performance Targets

Defines the specific, planned level of result to be

achieved for each indicator, within an explicit timeframe.

How much? Quantity

How good? Quality
When? Time
8 Steps to Monitoring
1) Indicators/Definitions
2) Data source
3) Method: data collection
4) Frequency: data collection
5) Responsibilities: acquiring
data
6) Data analysis plans
7) Plans for evaluations
8) Plans for reporting/using
performance information
Performance Indicators

What works and what doesn’t

Two types of Indicators
OUTPUT OUTCOME
Measures immediate things Measures the impact

Example: Example:
Number of people trained Number of tons of CO2
sequestered
PERFORMANCE INDICATOR UNIT TYPE

Quantity of greenhouse gas emissions, measured in CO2 Outcome

metric tons CO2 equivalent, reduced or sequestered equivalent
as a result of USG assistance in energy, industry,
urban, and/or transport sectors

Number of people trained in global climate change persons Output

including UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change, greenhouse gas inventories, mitigation, and
adaptation analysis

Number of laws, policies, agreements or regulations Policies/ Outcome

addressing climate change proposed, adopted, or agreements,
implemented as a result of USG assistance etc.
Characteristics of Good Performance Indicators

1) Valid

2) Reliable

3) Useful for Management

4) Adequate

5) Timely

6) Practical
4 steps to selecting performance indicators

1) Clarify the results statements

2) Develop a list of possible indicators

3) Assess each possible indicator

4) Select the “best” performance indicator

Performance Indicators can serve as useful tools

• Measure inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes and some impacts

• Can be integral to a monitoring system

• Communicate achievements

• Identify problems

• Serve as a management tool

Performance Indicators: Limitations

• Don’t capture what is going on at the local level

• Don’t take into account the enabling environment

• Broad indicators can be subjective

• Often have policy implications

Lessons Learned: Indicators
• Avoid broad statements

• Identify targets for change

• Study the activities &

strategies

• Be inclusive

• Be selective
Foreign Assistance Reform

A New Strategic Framework for

Foreign Assistance
The Problem

• Foreign assistance has not been strategically

focused

• Lack of systematic goal and subsequent indicators

• Inability to track funds and associated results

centrally
Foreign Assistance Coordination and Tracking System
(FACTS)
Pilot tested in 2007

Instrument for collecting standardized data

• improve the coordination and efficiency
• increase transparency of assistance funds
• improving performance and accountability for results

Lessons learned
• Feasible
• Requires resources and data, takes time, involves
communication
 Paris Declaration on AID
Effectiveness
Taking action to strengthen ownership,
alignment, harmonization, results and mutual
accountability of foreign aid.
Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2005)

• Over 100 signatories

• Capacity development is an endogenous process

• Emphasis on indicators at the local level

In sum, we have we learned…

• Monitoring is complex

• Performance indicators can be useful tools, but there

are limitations

• FACTS
– Considerable resources
– Time requirement
– Constant dialogue/communication
– Refinement with experience
Where do we go from here…..

• Is the Paris Declaration effective for capacity building

monitoring and evaluation efforts?

• Should the ‘country driven approach’ be applied to

capacity building monitoring and evaluation efforts?
For further information:

Duane Muller
USAID
EGAT/ESP/GCC
Tel 1-202-712-5304
Fax 1-202-216-3174
Email: dmuller@usaid.gov
Website: www.usaid.gov
Keyword: climate change