VC M&E Module 3 - Assess Capacity and Resources
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This document provides a guide for assessing monitoring and evaluation (M&E) resources and capacity for initiatives. It outlines a 4-step process for initiatives to: 1) assess financial resources for M&E; 2) assess human resource needs and capacity; 3) assess physical resources; and 4) reflect on implications for M&E system design. Worksheets are provided to inventory available budgets, technical skills, and physical assets to identify gaps and guide the M&E system design process. Common pitfalls discussed include not properly scoping M&E plans based on available resources and capacity. The guide emphasizes the importance of a thorough resource assessment to develop an appropriate and realistic M&E system.
VC M&E Module 3 - Assess Capacity and Resources
- 1. VALUE CHAIN MONITORING AND EVALUATION GUIDE MODULE 3 Assess the Initiative’s M&E Resources & Capacity
- 2. GETTING STARTED Be Be Be thrifty! realistic! creative! 1 May 22, 2012
- 3. GETTING STARTED 2 May 22, 2012
- 4. GETTING STARTED 3 May 22, 2012
- 5. MATERIALS / INPUTS RECOMMENDED So, key inputs for this step are: • Anticipated or actual budget • Project manager • Possibly, project staff 4 May 22, 2012
- 6. STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE • Assess the Initiative’s Financial 1 Resources To Implement M&E • Assess the Initiative’s Human Resources 2 Needs and Capacity for M&E • Assess the Physical Resources To 3 Implement M&E • Reflection on the Implications for the M&E 4 System Design 5 May 22, 2012
- 7. STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: STEP 1 Assessing Financial Resources •M&E is expensive! •Important to generate an understanding of what resources are available to support M&E 6 May 22, 2012
- 8. STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: STEP 1 Consider the following expenses: • Direct M&E staff salaries • Indirect salary allocations to support M&E • Outsourcing costs for services such as data collection, data analysis, or training • Travel budgets to support M&E meetings, retreats, field visits, etc. • Consulting budgets to support baseline, midline and endline evaluations, as well as action research • Hardware costs for tools such as PDAs, GIS devices, software (e.g., statistical programs), mobile phones, or tablet computers • Communications costs including website development, newsletters, etc. • Publications and media development costs 7 May 22, 2012
- 9. STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: STEP 1 additional sources of Investigate funding: • Donors interested in funding research proposals submitted by value chain initiatives (CARE lead members can come in handy to help find them). • Engage research assistants, graduate students and interns on an interim basis to pursue strategic analyses and studies. • Be proactive and entrepreneurial, but careful – being too ambitious can overwhelm you and your colleagues. 8 May 22, 2012
- 10. STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: STEP 1 COMPLETING STEP 1 • Brainstorm the potential costs or line items you think you will need for M&E. • Review the budget to see how much money has already been allocated to these areas. If you are still in the design phase, gather information from past projects on M&E costs for those line items and develop an initial estimate of M&E costs to give yourself a starting figure. • Capture your information in the draft M&E Budget 9 Worksheet. May 22, 2012
- 11. STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: STEP 1 M&E Budget Worksheet Budget Item Available Comments budget M&E FUNDS M&E staff positions / salaries Evaluation (baseline, midline, endline studies) Monitoring system design and data collection Research, studies (from consultancy lines) Events – training workshops, learning events, routine meetings Technology - GIS mapping, mobile phones, etc Total available M&E funds 10 SAVE THIS WORKSHEET!!! YOU WILL CONTINUALLY REFER TO IT AS YOU DESIGN YOUR May 22, 2012 M&E PROGRAM!!!
- 12. STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE • Assess the Initiative’s Financial Resources 1 To Implement M&E • Assess the Initiative’s Human Resources 2 Needs and Capacity for M&E • Assess the Physical Resources To 3 Implement M&E • Reflection on the Implications for the M&E 4 System Design 11 May 22, 2012
- 13. STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: STEP 2 Assessing Human Resources •M&E systems require people to carry out: Information collection Data analysis Report preparation Sharing Reflection Information dissemination 12 May 22, 2012
- 14. STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: STEP 2 COMPLETING STEP 2 1. Brainstorm the technical skills you anticipate the M&E system will need. 2. Identify all individuals with a direct and indirect responsibility for M&E. 3. Use the M&E Human Capacity Worksheet to capture the technical skills and individuals you have listed. 4. Fill in the worksheet. 5. Identify which individuals or units you anticipate taking on the tasks you have identified. 6. Finally, reflect on your matrix. 13 May 22, 2012
- 15. STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: STEP 2Human Capacity Worksheet M&E M&E Technical Skills Needed Individual / Unit % time M&E M&E Officer Project Manger LME Unit Director ACD/P M&E Regional Coordinator Field Staff Data collection partner CBO partner M&E staff CARE USA EDU 14 Summary Assessment of Human Capacity May 22, 2012
- 16. STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE • Assess the Initiative’s Financial 1 Resources To Implement M&E • Assess the Initiative’s Human Resources 2 Needs and Capacity for M&E • Assess the Physical Resources To 3 Implement M&E • Reflection on the Implications for the M&E 4 System Design 15 May 22, 2012
- 17. STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: STEP 3 Assessing Physical Resources Physical resources for M&E include: Computers and other hardware Software for data storage and analysis, such as Excel or SPSS Motorized and non-motorized vehicles for transporting personnel to information collection activities Telephones and/or mobile phones GIS tools 16 Internet connectivity Mobile network access May 22, 2012
- 18. STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: STEP 3 COMPLETING STEP 3 1. Brainstorm the physical resources you anticipate needing. 2. Discuss how readily you can access each, whether directly or through existing partners. 3. Assess whether you can fill any gaps through the existing budget. If you are working on a proposal, assess what it would cost to fill this gap and whether you can realistically build this into the project budget. 4. If you do not think you can fill the budget gap, mark this as an issue to be taken into consideration as you advance the M&E system design process. 17 May 22, 2012
- 19. STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE • Assess the Initiative’s Financial 1 Resources To Implement M&E • Assess the Initiative’s Human Resources 2 Needs and Capacity for M&E • Assess the Physical Resources To 3 Implement M&E • Reflection on the Implications for the 4 M&E System Design 18 May 22, 2012
- 20. STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: STEP 4 Reflection •Consolidate resource information •Review findings •Generate conclusions 19 May 22, 2012
- 21. COMMON PITFALLS •Initiatives do not adequately assess their M&E resources and capacity. •Initiatives do not match the M&E design to their M&E capacity and resources. •Initiatives do not manage client expectations •Initiatives do not scale down their M&E plans sufficiently when confronted by M&E capacity and resource demands. •Initiatives fail to consider the political aspects of M&E involved in budget and resource allocations •Initiatives overestimate client support for M&E. •Clients treat unfavorable information in a way that creates disincentives to generate and disseminate information, which makes it difficult in turn to use information productively. •Initiative management de-emphasizes M&E and/or fails to provide it with consistent and visible support. •M&E is viewed by initiative management and staff as a separate function (or in other words, as a non-core function) to be done periodically and then primarily for external clients. •Clients are primarily interested in positive results and either ignore or punish bad news, thereby discouraging learning and adaptive management. 20 May 22, 2012
- 22. QUESTIONS ? COMMENTS ? 21 May 22, 2012
- 23. Want to Learn More? Multiple ways to continue the discussion and continue learning: • Initiate a monthly session on the M&E guide and case studies from across CARE. Contact cpennotti@care.org • Join the Market Engagement Community of Practice on LinkedIn. • Join a task force to review and refine the universal 22 indicators. Contact nardi@careinternational.org May 22, 2012
Editor's Notes
- #4: Financial capacity to do M&E – Money Human capacity to do M&E – People, skills and knowledgePhysical capacity to do M&E – Equipment, technology and machines.(from page 27)
- #5: This step of the M&E system design process is best completed initially by a small group, particularly on questions of budget. So, if you are working on a project that has already been awarded, you will need to have the budget available and likely the project manager so that you can look at the financial picture holistically
- #13: So, as you design your system, you need to understand who these people are, what skills and knowledge they have and the overall level of human resources available – both within the team and externally – to support your M&E system.
- #20: pg. 30