Monitoring and Evaluation in the NGO Sector in Pretoria, South Africa

Monitoring and Evaluation in the NGO Sector (Pretoria, South Africa)

Course Description

Monitoring is vital for informed decision-making (evidence-based decision-making) as it helps in gauging implementation progress against what was planned; aligning actual implementation, budgets, quality and scope with what is in plans. It is an essential management function in every business, NGO and government organisation. Monitoring entails the collection and analysis of data relating to what is being implemented largely pertaining to progress or lack thereof, quality, scope and budgetary issues.

This Garvey Africa institute M&E course provides the fundamentals of planning and implementing programme-based monitoring and evaluation NGO staff, human rights activists and development workers. The course enhances participants’ understanding and skills of monitoring and evaluation. Focused on developing usable skills, the course helps participants to develop sustainable and cost-effective monitoring and evaluation tools and practices appropriate for their workplace (their projects and institutions). It also seeks to deepen one’s understanding of M&E and their processes, principles, methodologies and tools, which knowledge is vital within the workplace and beyond.

Participants are encouraged to come to the course with a project for which they can develop a monitoring and evaluation plan.

Who Should Attend this Course?

  • Government and NGOs officials, project managers and project team members, M&E
  • officers, development workers
  • Policy-makers and regulators working on projects
  • Any persons interested in M&E

Learning Outcomes

The course helps participants:

  • understand the basic concepts and practical approaches for performance monitoring and evaluation
  • gain hands-on experience in designing M & E plans
  • understand results-based M & E
  • know how to set up an M & E framework
  • track performance indicators over the life of the project
  • strengthen skills for evaluating a project against set results
  • develop and implement a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation system
  • understand the role of stakeholders in monitoring and evaluation

The Course Covers

  • Introduction to monitoring and evaluation
  • Fundamentals of monitoring and evaluation
  • Theories of change and formulating evaluation questions
  • Monitoring and evaluation for development results
  • Setting up a monitoring and evaluation framework
  • Evaluation designs
  • Performance monitoring and evaluation plans
  • Results-based monitoring and evaluation systems
  • Participatory monitoring and evaluation approaches
  • How to build capacity for monitoring and evaluation
  • Planning and managing evaluations
  • Monitoring and evaluation indicators and measurement
  • Linking indicators to baselines, milestones and targets
  • Data collection methods for monitoring and evaluation
  • Managing data quality
  • Data analysis and reporting results
  • Design of results in monitoring and evaluation
  • Communicating of monitoring and evaluation results to stakeholders

TRAINING METHODOLOGY

The training approach is highly interactive. It uses a mixture of presentations by the facilitator and by participant(s), group or individual exercises, use of case studies and role plays. These proven learning techniques enhance understanding and retention of covered issues