Monitoring of GoI Programmes

Experience of CMD
 Monitoring
 Aims to provide Project Management and stake holders with early
indications of progress, or lack there of, in the achievement of
objectives through periodic re-measurement of appropriate
parameters
 Purpose is to measure and assess performance in order to manage
outputs and outcomes more effectively
 Focuses on assessing
 Inputs & implementation processes (Process Monitoring)
 Contribution of various factors to a given developmental outcome
(Outcome Monitoring)

INPUTS OUTPUTS OUTCOMES

Experts Assets created Income increased
Materials People trained Employment generated
Funds

Adapted from ‘Handbook on Monitoring & Evaluating for Results’, UNDP

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 2

 Monitoring of GoI Schemes
 District Level Monitoring (DLM) of all programmes of the MoRD
 Initiated during December 2000 with 68 Districts on a pilot basis
 Presently covers 128 Districts in 26 States
 At present CMD covers 7 Districts in Tamil Nadu (Total 15 Districts
covered, of which 6 were in Kerala)
 DLM of Total Sanitation Campaign & Swajaldhara
 Initiated on 370 districts in 22 states and 1 UT during January 2005
 CMD’s involvement is in 10 Districts of TN and Pondicherry

 Concurrent Monitoring of Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana (RSVY)

 CMD is involved in Concurrent Monitoring in Palakkad & Wayand Districts

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 3

 DLM of MoRD
 Supplementary Mechanism to the in-house monitoring
 Objectives
 Timely, authentic and reliable information about the performance and
progress of the programmes
 Qualitative feedback
 Verification of the Assets/Beneficiaries
 Projection of achievements and success stories
 Supplements Traditional Monitoring System
 Confidence building in beneficiaries
 Independent Professional Support
 Reports
 Monthly Financial and Physical Performance reports
 Quarterly Qualitative Reports

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 4

 DLM of MoRD
 Sampling Plan
 Covering all the CD Blocks
 In a Block 50% of the villages are covered considering the coverage of the
programmes
 Physical verification of assets/beneficiaries of schemes as given below:
• SGRY - 100%
• SGSY - 100%
• IAY - 100%
• TSC - 25%
• ARWSP - 50%
• DPAP/IWDP - 100%
• PMGSY - 100%
• CLR - 100%
 Workshops
 Meetings of grass root implementing officers (VEOs, Engineering Staff) on a
quarterly basis to discuss issues in implementation
 District level workshop for BDOs and Assistant Engineers
 Workshop for all District level implementing officers
 Regular meetings with Project Officers to discuss findings of monitoring

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 5

 DLM of MoRD - Methodology
 Field Officers posted in each District and supervisors to oversee the
field officers
 Co-ordinated by faculty members (1 faculty member looks after 2-3
Districts)
 Overall co-ordination by senior faculty member
 Collection & Reporting of physical and financial progress of schemes
(from DRDAs) before 10th of every succeeding month to MoRD
 Physical verification of assets/beneficiaries (including employment
generation) from grass roots level (Blocks & villages)
 First Stage
 Collection of details from District/Block, cross checks and verification
 Selection of panchayats, based on the number of works/beneficiaries
and programmes
 Collection of related data from Line Depts. like KWA, Revenue Dpt.,
TWADB, Health Dpt., SW, etc.

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 6

 DLM – Methodology…
 Second Stage
 Discussions with IAs (VEOs, BDOs, Engineers, PO, People’s
representatives) on the findings of the field verification for their views to
ascertain reasons for problems
 Verifications by faculty members of CMD
 Third Stage
 Discussions with DRDA officials based on the above two stages
 Field visits involving officials from DRDA and local representatives
 Fourth Stage
 Preparation and submission of reports to MORD on a quarterly basis

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 7

 GoI Monitoring Systems

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 8

 Workshop for National Level Monitors
 CMD conducted the familiarization course for the National Level
Monitors of MoRD
 First of its kind
 A three day session was arranged by CMD
 Forty two experts from various parts of the Country attended the course
 CMD prepared course material
 Sessions on various aspects of Monitoring were covered by the experts
from the Ministry, State and CMD

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 9

 DLM of TSC & Swajaldhara
 Introduced to ensure better and improved implementation of TSC
Swajaldhara and to have proper, effective and universal coverage of
water & sanitation facilities in rural areas
 Initiated after the DDWS has observed that
 physical progress is uneven and skewed across the districts
 improper practice of design and construction of hardware norms
 inadequate focus on hygiene education, water quality and health activities
 Low focus on training of implementers
 Poor operation and maintenance
 Inadequate involvement of stakeholders esp. GP, NGOs, Teachers & PTA
 Poor departmental monitoring & follow up

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 10

 DLM of TSC & Swajaldhara
 The objectives of the programme is to gather regular data about
 Financial and physical progress and process of implementation
 Identification of gaps in implementation, if any, across all levels (village,
block, district & state)
 Ascertaining stakeholders view on Project Management and
approaches to sustainable O&M
 Assessing institutional issues related to programme and information
management
 Monitoring Agencies at the District level, co-ordinated by a Nodal
Agency at the national level
 Reports physical & financial progress of the scheme on a quarterly
basis (qualitative & quantitative)
 Online updating of data (physical & financial – quantitative) by all
the Monitoring agencies after every quarter

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 11

 DLM of TSC & Swajaldhara - Sampling Plan
 Coverage of all blocks in the District in one year
 8 Control GPs (CGPs) in a District and 12 GPs in a quarter
 CGPs will be continuously monitored for the year
 200 households to be covered in CGPs (75 APL, 125 BPL) in a
quarter and 300 households from other GPs (100 APL, 200 BPL)
 30 schools (10 from CGP) in a quarter
 11 CSCs in a quarter (3 from CGP)
 20 Anganwadis (8 from CGP)
 6 Rural Sanitary Marts (3 from CGP)
 2 Production Centres (1 from CGP)
 2 Main Drinking Water Sources from each GP (total 40)

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 12

 DLM of TSC & Swajaldhara - Methodology
 The team of DLM at the District level include 5 competent
professionals – a civil engineer, a public health expert, a
communication expert, a social development expert and a water and
sanitation expert
 2 Field Officers per District and a supervisory staff for 5 Districts
 Overall co-ordination by faculty members & senior faculty
 Pre-designed schedules for District, households, school,
Anganwadi, CSC, Rural Sanitary Mart & Production Centre
 Field visits by supervisors and expert team to assess the reported
progress
 Discussions with stakeholders
 Quarterly reporting to Dept. Drinking Water Supply, MoRD and
Nodal Agency

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 13

 RSVY – Palakkad & Wayanad Districts
 Initiative of the Planning Commission of India to assist the most
backward Districts in the country
 Assistance of Rs. 45 crores per District in 3 years through the State
Planning Board (SPB)
 Invested in schemes for the total development of the District, to fill the
critical gaps identified in various sectors and sub-sectors
 31 projects in Palakkad in 4 sectors (Agriculture, water Resources,
Social Services & HRD) covering about 50 different components
through 25 IAs
 17 Projects in Wayanad in 5 sectors (Agriculture, Natural Resource
Management, Service Delivery, Poverty Eradication & Employment
Generation, infrastructure Development and HRD) through 19 IAs
 IAs include Line Dpts., NGOs & PRI – HRD projects through the SPB

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 14

 RSVY - Processes

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 15

 RSVY – Processes…
 The Project Implementation Process
 Through Line departments/PRIs/NGOs/Instts. using the existing
arrangements for similar projects and according to Decentralised
Planning Procedures
 District Level Implementation Committee (DLIC) chaired by District
Panchayat President with District Collector as Member Secretary - issue
of AS, Approval of necessary changes in implementation & decision on
release of funds to the implementing agencies
 Financial release through a joint a/c operated by District Panchayat
President & District Collector
 Monthly review of the schemes by the DLIC (4th Saturday of every
month)
 Quarterly revision of the projects by State Level Steering Committee

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 16

 Concurrent Monitoring of RSVY
 Initiated from April 2004 onwards in Palakkad & November 2004
onwards in Wayanad
 Carrying out Process/Output monitoring as well as Outcome
Monitoring
 One Project Officer in each District exclusively for monitoring
activities
 Activities include
 Co-ordination & liaison with the different implementing agencies
 Collating baseline information of all the projects/components
 Assisting and advising IAs in preparation/revision of action
plans/schedules and setting milestones (on a quarterly basis)
 Designing detailed, project specific reporting formats
 Collecting Physical & Financial progress details on a monthly basis from
the IAs

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 17

 Concurrent Monitoring of RSVY
 Activities……
 Field visits to assess physical achievements of all the projects (all
projects to be covered once in three months)
 Field visits to collect feed back from beneficiaries on a
sample/community basis (10% of the beneficiaries covered in a quarter)
 Ascertaining issues in implementation of the different projects
 Regular feedback to the Project Management and IAs and assisting in
the effective conduct of monthly DLIC review
 Review of status of projects against milestones and produce quarterly
reports on the implementation of the Scheme (qualitative and
quantitative)
 Co-ordination with NSSCE for quality inspection of the ongoing
civilworks
 Tracking the outcome of the projects against the identified monitoring
targets/indicators (like agriculture productivity, addl area irrigated, SHGs
formed, No. of micro enterprises, etc.)

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 18

Stumbling Blocks during Initial Stages
 Lack of effective co-ordination/communication/follow-up between
the District Project Management Unit and IAs
 Lack of project approach in IAs
 Non-availability/inconsistency of data
 Lack of exclusive manpower
 Inefficient resource allocation, mostly manpower
 Absence of proper documentation (frequent transfer of key personnel
affect the progress of implementation)
 Low levels of project ownership
 Procedural delays owing to the ‘regular’ work pressure (Project
Management Unit and IAs) resulting in delays in implementation

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 19

 Stumbling Blocks……
 Inadequate technical expertise at the District/PRI level
 Unavoidable procedural delay in activities like tendering in projects
involving civil construction (lack of sufficient participation, quotes
higher than the allowed limits, delay in negotiations, etc.)
 Low levels of monitoring within the IA, esp. on projects where
contractors are involved
 Low levels of inter departmental/agency partnerships

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 20

 Improvements after Regular Monitoring
 Availability of consistent data on the progress of implementation
 Proper maintenance of official records
 Improved co-ordination between multiple agencies involved in
implementation
 More appropriate and transparent beneficiary selection
 Proper feed back for Implementing Authorities/Project Manager
 Effective conduct of periodic reviews at different levels
 Effective mid-term corrections
 Improvement in quality of components of the project and civil constrn.
 Improved awareness and proactive involvement of beneficiaries in
the implementation process
 More focus on the success of the strategy of implementation, as the
progress is tracked through indicators developed for the purpose
 Better adherence to implementation schedules

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 21

 Good Principles for Monitoring
 Focuses on results and follow up as well as processes
 Depends on good project design
 Requires regular visits to verify and validate processes and
continuous documentation of the achievements and challenges as
they occur
 Regular analysis of progress reports
 Use of participatory monitoring mechanisms to ensure
commitment, ownership and feedback on performance
 Assessment of progress and performance based on clear criteria by
developing indicators and baselines
 Assessing the relevance, performance and success of
interventions based on empirical evidence
 Generate lessons learned, ensure learning through all monitoring
tools, adapt strategies accordingly and avoid repeating mistakes
from the past

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 22

 Good Principles ….
Selecting the Right Mix of Monitoring Mechanisms

Reporting and Analysis Validation Participation

•Periodic progress report •Field visits •Outcome groups

•Quarterly qualitative •Spot-check visits •Steering

reports committees/mechanisms
•Work schedules/plans •External assessments/ •Stakeholder meetings
monitoring
•Project/programme •Beneficiary surveys •Focus group meetings
delivery reports
•Substantive project •Evaluations •Periodic review
documentation
learning takes place through all monitoring tools or mechanisms

Adapted from ‘Handbook on Monitoring & Evaluating for Results’, UNDP

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 23

 Thank You…...

December 7, 2021 Centre for Management Development 24