Monitoring
Monitoring is a crucial aspect of any action planning process. There are two types of ‘monitoring’ incorporated within this toolkit:
- Results Monitoring – Monitoring the effectiveness (or success) of the activities, to identify if they having the desired effect. For example, monitoring water quality, if the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) activities are targeting the reduction of water pollution.
- Process Monitoring – Monitoring the implementation of the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) activities, rather than the results. For example, monitoring the project interactions with stakeholders, that activities are running on time, and external influences.
In both cases, if set up and adopted correctly, monitoring will provide feedback to inform the development of any changes that may be needed to improve the actions/activities implementation or desired impact.
Results monitoring (and also some process monitoring) is built around ‘indicators’, which are measures that can be monitored, and can be quantitative or qualitative, and will reflect if your action/activity is achieving its aim. This monitoring section focuses on the monitoring of the IAPs once they have been developed. Indicators (for activity results and some processes) will already have been identified through the IAP development phase (2.2 of the WRAP Toolkit). Process monitoring is much less formal than results monitoring and can be done using a variety of methods, from keeping reflective journals, or formal records of meetings and stakeholder interactions. The purpose is to provide qualitative evidence to identify where the problems implementing the activities are arising.
In an integrated action plan, it is also imperative that the monitoring strategy is designed using an integrated approach, i.e. by experts from different disciplines (e.g. conservation, livelihood, economics, policy, etc). This will allow a single well designed indicator to collate information that is useful to multiple disciplines. The ‘Monitoring tools selection matrix’ is a key tool in this aspect.
The results and process monitoring findings will then be used in the following ‘Evaluation’ stage of the WRAP toolkit to identify any corrective actions that may need to be taken.
| Description | |
| Activity Planning Logframe (doc) |
The Activity Planning Logframe is an implementation and monitoring tool (also in the co-ordinated implementation section) to facilitate project planning. In terms of monitoring it requires the identification of ‘verifiable indicators’ for the IAP Goal, Purpose, Actions and Activities. |
| Gantt Chart (doc) |
A Gantt Chart is visual tool that allows the monitoring of activities against time by indicating a and finish date. This is an implementation and process monitoring tool and can be found in the co-ordinated implementation section. |
| Monitoring tools selection matrix (word &pdf) |
This is a key tool in the management of monitoring indicators. It is a matrix that promotes an integrated approach to, and therefore efficient, data gathering for activity results (and process) indicators. In addition there is scope to link the proposed monitoring activity with ecosystem services that are likely to be affected and potentially enhanced owing to implementation. |
| IAP Process Monitoring – purpose and methods (pdf) |
Describes in more detail what process monitoring is and the reasons for undertaking it. The document also provides examples including proformas (from Lewins 2004) to aid in application of process monitoring. |
References
Lewins, R. (2004) Evaluating action planning for enhanced NRM in PU Kolkata - developing the draft process monitoring tools. Oxford, UK.
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