The Monitoring and Evaluation System, Your World to getting Information

Monitoring and Evaluation Systems, The Reality

Some organizations believe it or not don't have basic statistics that can really tell a story. What kind of information are we talking about here? information like the number of people they are reaching out to with their developmental support, the number of men and women benefiting from the programme and maybe their membership. Ofcourse their may have genuine reasons for this but C'mon even you would agree that such information is highly, highly important. Some of the reasons why some organizations rarely have any information to share with others on the implementation of their programmes or projects is because they dont have a Monitoring and Evaluation System in place. Monitoring and Evaluation systems are a must have entity for all organizations. Yes...ALL ORGANIZATIONS. You see, whether its a bank or simple store there is always going to be a need for information. Every organization needs information whether people want to believe it or not. In an organization without any form of Monitoring and Evaluation System, there is little if not no reliable information you can actually get your hands on. But then, what is a Monitoring and Evaluation System?

Understanding Monitoring and Evaluation Systems

Monitoring and Evaluation Systems are simply by definition a means to provide information needed to assess and guide a programme or project, ensure internal and external reporting requirements and inform future programming. This definition may be a mouthful but look at it this way, imagine you wrote a document that explains your plans for the next 5 years. Among those things include you buying a house, maybe buying a nice home and perhaps getting married to a wonderful spouse. Now for you to achieve those goals there are alot of things involved which you pen down into that document. For you to actually understand whether you are actually succeeding you need to have information. What kind of information? You need information on what it will take to buy a home, how much money you should put aside and were. What will it cost to start a family and what are the possibilities of finding a good decent home in the next 5 years? All this requires a good system of data collection on your part. When you have that information then can you begin to plan and guide your life properly assuming that all conditions are stable. Same goes with Monitoring and Evaluation Systems when it comes to developmental projects and programmes.

Elements of Good Monitoring and Evaluation System

There is always something organizations should never forget when developing a Monitoring and Evaluation System for an organization. Monitoring and Evaluation Systems need resources and when we talk of resources they need funds, man power and time to develop and operationalize. When creating the system there is need to understand the whole organization structure and also understand what are the capacities of each and every element of the organization. There is need to understand among some of the things, who collects the data, who analyses and reports on it, how often should it be collected analyzed and reported on within the year and finally who will use this information. As the world keeps advancing in science and technology many organizations have adopted having a web-based Monitoring and Evaluation System that allows staff to automatically upload information on the internet wherever they are.

In developmental programmes or projects, Web-Based Monitoring and Evaluation can be really helpful in collecting data and information. Collecting data and information is one thing but collecting the right kind of information is another. When having a Monitoring and Evaluation System it doesn't always have to be computerized but the point is can the organization manage it, maintain it and operationalize it in all its functions? It is recommended to get the Monitoring and Evaluation person involved in setting the system, but if the organization has the funds even a consultant can be considered. In future articles a more in depth understanding will be done concerning the Monitoring and Evaluation Systems.