Training Course on Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation-Rwanda

About the course

With increased emphasis on the importance of participation in development, there is a growing recognition that monitoring, and evaluation of development and other community-based initiatives should be participatory. Participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) expand the notion of accountability to answer not only whether organizations are fulfilling the terms of the funding they receive, but also whether they are fulfilling the needs and goals of the communities they serve. PM&E requires including community voices in monitoring and evaluation and building the capacity of community members to become active partners in this process. This training aims to enhance the use of Participatory Monitoring & Evaluation (PM&E) approach for development projects/programmes.

Target Participants

This course is designed for researchers, project staff, development practitioners, managers and decision makers who are responsible for project, program or organization-level M&E and who want to implement participatory approaches.

What you will learn

By the end of the course the learner should be able to:

• Use participatory monitoring & evaluation approaches in executing their responsibilities
• Understand PM&E process
• Develop PM&E results levels
• Define indicators for participatory monitoring and evaluation
• Develop logical frameworks and other monitoring and evaluation frameworks in PM&E
• Carryout participatory M&E planning
• Understand data collection for PM&E
• Develop tools and techniques for rural appraisal in PM&E
• Carryout data Analysis in PM&E
• Implement Participatory impact assessment
• Overcome the challenges they face in using participatory approaches in monitoring and evaluation

Course duration

5 days

Course Outline

Introduction to Participatory Monitoring & Evaluation (PME)

• Definition of Participatory Monitoring & Evaluation
• Purpose and Benefits of Participatory Monitoring & Evaluation
• Principles of Participatory Monitoring & Evaluation
• The relevance of Participatory Monitoring And Evaluation
• PM&E and project impact
• Challenges in using participatory approaches

Development and Implementation of a PM&E Process

• Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation Frameworks
• Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation Plans
• Participatory PM&E process graphic presentation
• Planning the PM&E Process and Determining Objectives and Indicators
• Data Collection methods and tools
• Data analyzing
• Sharing information and definition of actions to be taken

Developing PM&E Results Levels

• M&E results chain
• Components of results chain
• Linking the result levels

Indicators for Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation

• What are indicators
• Types of indicators
• Characteristics of good indicators
• Participatory process of indicator definition

Logical Framework Approach in PM&E

• LFA – Analysis and Planning phase
• Design of logframe
• Risk rating in logframe
• Horizontal and vertical logic in logframe
• Using logframe to create schedules: Activity and Budget schedules

Participatory Project design

• Generating objectives for project planning
• Developing an action plan for implementation
• Group dynamics of participatory decision making

Tools and Techniques for PME

• Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)
• Beneficiary Assessment
• SARAR
• Other techniques
  • Visual self-evaluation tools
  • Testimonials
  • Photographing the evidence
  • Community records and indicators

PM&E Planning

• Importance of planning
• The Situation Analysis
• The PM&E Plan – how to prepare it
• Development of action plan and implementation

Designing PM&E system (Steps)

• Conditions for effective PM&E systems
• Defining the purpose and scope
• Defining M&E questions to guide the identification of indicators
• Answering the information needs of target audiences
  • Identifying audiences
  • Formulation of the M&E questions
  • Choosing indicators and/or specific statements and analysis for answering M&E Questions.
• Identification of Baselines and Milestones for quantitative and/or qualitative indicators
• Data capturing methodology
• Using the information for the action-learning process and reporting

Data capturing Methodology and Data Analysis for PM&E

• Participatory Information Gathering Tools and Methods
• Determining the balance of quantitative and qualitative data
• Triangulating data collection sources and methods
• Determining sampling requirements
• Preparing data collection methods/tools
• Establishing stakeholder complaints and feedback mechanisms
• Quantitative data analysis
• Qualitative data analysis: The basic steps
• Using NVivo for qualitative data management and analysis

Participatory Evaluation

• Evaluation questions
• Evaluation design
• Participatory data collection
• Evaluation data analysis
• Evaluation findings dissemination and action planning

Participatory Impact Assessment

• What is participatory impact assessment
• Process of PIA
• Community defined indicators in PIA
• Participatory tools and methods in PIA
• Project attribution

Reporting and Action-learning in the PM&E

• Reporting on progress toward outcomes to Stakeholders and Participatory dissemination.
• Communication activities to partners and stakeholders
• Assessment of work with cross-cutting themes
• Lessons learned
• Key activities and results that need planning
• Using the information for the action-learning process and reporting