Chapter Two: Indicators Project M & E

Introduction
Indicators provide critical information on performance, achievement and
accountability, which is the cornerstone of effective monitoring and
evaluation. In addition, the data from indicators provide the strategic
insights that are essential for the effective management of a project. It is
impossible to underestimate the value of indicators in continuing to
improve knowledge about the a project and the effectiveness of the
impact. To be valuable indicators, indicators need to be of high quality and
able to collect the right data in the right place at the right time.
Objectives
After studying this chapter, participants will be able to:
• Define what indicators are?
• Identify the type of indicators
• Understand the importance of indicators in project M & E
Contents
2.1. Definition: indicators

2.2.Criteria of good indicator

2.3. Guidelines for developing indicators
2.4. Type of indicators

2.5. The importance of indicators

Definitions of Indicators

• Indicators are measure of progress or lack of progress used to assess

progress towards meeting stated objectives.

• Fundamentally, an indicator provides a sign or a signal that something

exists or is true.

• It is used to show the presence or state of a situation or condition

• In the context of monitoring and evaluation, an indicator is a quantitative

metric that provides information to monitor performance, measure
achievement and determine accountability
 Activity 1
Can you think of a specific rural based project and can you identify the
indicators?
For example:
• Number of youth who participate in vocational training
• Number of communities where the program has operated
• Number of partner staff members who attend training
• Percentage of the population who live below the poverty line
• Percentage of employment or unemployment of a particular group of
the population
• Number of training or workshop conducted
• Number of promotional campaign materials (e.g. poster, fliers…)
distributed
• Percentage of the population who are literate or illiterate
• Number or percentage of the population who are infected by a
particular disease (e.g. HIV/AIDS)
 • 2.2. Criteria of Good Indicator?

• Valid: Measures the effect it is supposed to measure

• Reliable: Gives same result if measured in the same way

• Precise: Is operationally defined so people are clear about what they are
measuring

• Timely: Can be measured at an interval that is appropriate to the level of

change expected

• Comparable: Can be compared across different target groups or project

approaches
Or The “CREAM” of Good Performance Indicators
✓ Clear = Precise and unambiguous
✓ Relevant = Appropriate to subject at hand

✓ Economic = Available at reasonable cost

✓ Adequate = Sufficient to assess performance
✓ Monitorable = Amenable to independent validation

If any one of these five criteria are not met, formal performance indicators
will suffer and be less useful.
2.2. Guidelines for Developing Indicators
The guidelines are structured into five sections which represent the five
main stages in the development and reporting of indicators:
• Establishing the purpose of the indicators
• Designing the conceptual framework
• Selecting and designing the indicators

• Interpreting and reporting the indicators

• Maintaining and reviewing the indicators
2.4. Type of indicators
A. Quantitative indicators
• Quantitative indicators employ some type of count to indicate change.
They are usually measured numerically or by percentages.
• Measuring change through counting allows you to define the precise
amount of increase or decrease in impact.
• Percentage change also suggests a fixed measure of impact. .
Quantitative Indicators : Should be SMART
SMART indicators define the quantity and quality of expected change.
 Indicators that are SMART—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and
Timebound—ensure the gathering of reliable evidence about how much or how well
objectives are being or have been achieved.
 SMART indicators help us clearly define the quantity and quality of expected change,
and ensure that it is measurable (i.e., can be reported, counted or observed); that the
targets are timebound and achievable within the project’s scope and scale; and that
the resultant data will be relevant and useful for decision‑making.
Quantitative Indicators : Should be SMART
1. Specific • Is the indicator sufficiently defined so it is clear what is being measured?
• Would two or more project staff members understand it in the same way?
• Are qualitative and/or ambiguous terms in the indicator defined?
• Is the measurement unit specified (including disaggregation categories as
appropriate)?
• For percentages, are the numerator and denominator defined?
Quantitative Indicators : Should be SMART
2. Measurable
• Can data be collected and analyzed in a timely manner?
• Can the indicator be observed, counted, self‑reported or otherwise
measured?
• Is the data collection and analysis effort (the expertise, time and staff
required to collect and analyze the indicator data) commensurate with
the needs of the project?
Quantitative Indicators : Should be SMART
3. Achievable
• Is the nature of the change measured through the indicator achievable,
given the duration and resources of the project?
• If the indicator collects data that is prone to seasonal changes, can it be
collected at the same time of year over the life of the project to
demonstrate the change?
• Have the targets been specified? Are the targets
Quantitative Indicators : Should be SMART
4. Relevant
• Is the indicator the most appropriate measure of progress of the output?
• Will the data help us gauge whether the output have been achieved?
• Will the indicator be useful for project management?
• Will the indicator help to test the pathways of change/TOC and inform
project learning?
Quantitative Indicators : Should be SMART
5. Time Bound
• Does the indicator include information on when the target change is
anticipated to take place? (i.e., time qualifier in accordance with the
project’s activities schedule and TOC)?
• Have targets been set on the relevant timeframes? Is it clearly specified
when the target should be achieved??
Quantitative Indicators : Should be SMART

Examples of Quantitative indicators

Counts/Absolute Numbers
Plural array of independent sources of information encouraged
a. # of non-government news sources or private sector news sources that exist
b. # of target CSOs publishing bulletins

Percentage
Increased use of new information technologies
a. % of target CSOs using Internet, with Internet homepage, or using e-mail
 B. The Use of Proxy Indicators

“Better to be approximately correct than precisely wrong.” (Anon.)

You may not always be precise with indicators, but you can strive to be
approximately right. Sometimes it is difficult to measure the outcome
indicator directly, so proxy indicators are needed. Indirect, or proxy,
indicators should be used only when data for direct indicators are not
available, when data collection will be too costly, or if it is not feasible to
collect data at regular intervals. However, caution should be exercised in
using proxy indicators, because there has to be a presumption that the
proxy indicator is giving at least approximate evidence on performance.
For example, if it is difficult to conduct periodic household surveys in
dangerous housing areas, one could use the number of tin roofs or
television antennas as a proxy measure of increased household income.
These proxy indicators might be correctly tracking the desired outcome,
but there could be other contributing factors as well; for example, the
increase in income could be attributable to drug money, or income
generated from the hidden market, or recent electrification that now
allows the purchase of televisions. These factors would make attribution
to the policy or program of economic development more difficult to
assert.
C. Qualitative indicators
Qualitative indicators, by definition, measure change over time against
specific, predetermined criteria.
They address the broad picture, the detailed nature of the change or process, or the
evolution of relationships among institutions, groups, individuals, or phenomena
D. Exogenous Indicators
Are those that cover factors outside the control of the project but which might affect its
outcome, including risks (parameters identified during project design that might
compromise project benefits) and the performance of the sector in which the project
operates.
2.5. Importance of Indicators
• A. Very simply, indicators are standardized measures that allow for
comparisons over time, over different geographic areas and/or across
programs.
• B. They provide strategic information that is essential in detecting
changes
• C. Indicators track specific performance in order to monitor the
implementation and effectiveness of different activities
Key terms
Validity—the extent to which a measurement or test accurately measures what is
intended to be measured.
Reliability—consistency or dependability of data collected through the repeated use of a
scientific instrument or a data collection procedure used under the same conditions
 Summary
In this chapter, we have studied that indicators provide critical information
on performance, achievement and accountability, which is the cornerstone
of effective monitoring and evaluation. Indicators can be qualitative
quantitative, indirect or exogenous used to indicate or measure project
inputs, processes, outputs, outcome and impact.
 Chapter Summary review Questions
Assume a project intervention aimed to increase in the number of Grades 5-6 primary
students continuing on to high school within 3 years by 10% , by improving their reading
proficiency. The project intervention wants to improve 500 grade 5-6 students reading
proficiency by running 5 reading complain 100 students in each room. Based on the
information provided, fill the indicators
Project Indicators
Goal/impact ?
Outcome ?
Output ?
Activities ?
Thank you