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Helping you Implement Effective Social and
Behavior Change Projects

How-To-Guide

HOW TO DEVELOP A MONITORING AND EVALUATION PLAN

INTRODUCTION
Click here to access this Guide in Arabic ABOUT HOW TO GUIDES

SBC How-to Guides are short guides that

‫ انقر هنا‬،‫لمراجعة هذا الدليل باللغة العربية‬
provide step-by-step instructions on how
to perform core social and behavior
What is a Monitoring and Evaluation Plan? change tasks. From formative research
through monitoring and evaluation, these
A monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plan is a document that helps to track and
guides cover each step of the SBC
assess the results of the interventions throughout the life of a program. It is a
process, offer useful hints, and include
living document that should be referred to and updated on a regular basis. While
important resources and references.
the specifics of each program’s M&E plan will look different, they should all
follow the same basic structure and include the same key elements.

An M&E plan will include some documents that may have been created during
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the program planning process, and some that will need to be created new. For
example, elements such as the logic model/logical framework, theory of change,
and monitoring indicators may have already been developed with input from key
stakeholders and/or the program donor. The M&E plan takes those documents
and develops a further plan for their implementation. TABLE OF CONTENTS

Why develop a Monitoring and Evaluation Plan?

Introduction
It is important to develop an M&E plan before beginning any monitoring
activities so that there is a clear plan for what questions about the program What is a Monitoring and Evaluation
need to be answered. It will help program staff decide how they are going to Plan?
collect data to track indicators, how monitoring data will be analyzed, and how
the results of data collection will be disseminated both to the donor and
internally among staff members for program improvement. Remember, M&E
data alone is not useful until someone puts it to use! An M&E plan will help
Why develop a Monitoring and
make sure data is being used efficiently to make programs as effective as
possible and to be able to report on results at the end of the program. Evaluation Plan?

Who should develop a Monitoring and Evaluation Plan? Who should develop a Monitoring and
Evaluation Plan?
An M&E plan should be developed by the research team or staff with research
experience, with inputs from program staff involved in designing and
When should a Monitoring and
implementing the program.
Evaluation Plan be developed?

When should a Monitoring and Evaluation Plan be

Who is this guide for?
developed?

An M&E plan should be developed at the beginning of the program when the Learning Objectives
interventions are being designed. This will ensure there is a system in place to
monitor the program and evaluate success.
Estimated Time Needed

Who is this guide for?

Prerequisites
This guide is designed primarily for program managers or personnel who are not
trained researchers themselves but who need to understand the rationale and Steps
process of conducting research. This guide can help managers to support the
need for research and ensure that research staff have adequate resources to
Step 1: Identify Program Goals and
conduct the research that is needed to be certain that the program is evidence
Objectives
based and that results can be tracked over time and measured at the end of the
program.
Step 2: Define Indicators
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing the steps for developing an M&E plan, the team will: Step 3: Define Data Collection Methods
and TImeline
1. Identify the elements and steps of an M&E plan
2. Explain how to create an M&E plan for an upcoming program Step 4: Identify M&E Roles and
3. Describe how to advocate for the creation and use of M&E plans for a Responsibilities
program/organization

ESTIMATED TIME NEEDED Step 5: Create an Analysis Plan and

Reporting Templates
Developing an M&E plan can take up to a week, depending on the size of the
team available to develop the plan, and whether a logic model and theory of
change have already been designed. Step 6: Plan for Dissemination and
Donor Reporting
PREREQUISITES
Conclusion
How to Develop a Logic Model

STEPS Templates

Step 1: Identify Program Goals and Objectives

Samples

The first step to creating an M&E plan is to identify the program goals and
objectives. If the program already has a logic model or theory of change, then Tips & Recommendations
the program goals are most likely already defined. However, if not, the M&E plan
is a great place to start. Identify the program goals and objectives.
Defining program goals starts with answering three questions:
Glossary & Concepts

1. What problem is the program trying to solve?

2. What steps are being taken to solve that problem? Resources and References
3. How will program staff know when the program has been successful in
solving the problem?
References
​Answering these questions will help identify what the program is expected to do,
and how staff will know whether or not it worked. For example, if the program is
starting a condom distribution program for adolescents, the answers might look
like this:

High rates of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted

Problem
infections (STIs) transmission among youth ages 15-19

Promote and distribute free condoms in the community at youth-

Solution
friendly locations

Lowered rates of unintended pregnancy and STI transmission

Success among youth 15-19. Higher percentage of condom use among
sexually active youth.

From these answers, it can be seen that the overall program goal is to reduce
the rates of unintended pregnancy and STI transmission in the community.

It is also necessary to develop intermediate outputs and objectives for the

program to help track successful steps on the way to the overall program goal.
More information about identifying these objectives can be found in the logic
model guide.

Step 2: Define Indicators

Once the program’s goals and objectives are defined, it is time to define
indicators for tracking progress towards achieving those goals. Program
indicators should be a mix of those that measure process, or what is being done
in the program, and those that measure outcomes.

Process indicators track the progress of the program. They help to answer the
question, “Are activities being implemented as planned?” Some examples of
process indicators are:

Number of trainings held with health providers

Number of outreach activities conducted at youth-friendly locations
Number of condoms distributed at youth-friendly locations
Percent of youth reached with condom use messages through the media

Outcome indicators track how successful program activities have been at

achieving program objectives. They help to answer the question, “Have program
activities made a difference?” Some examples of outcome indicators are:

Percent of youth using condoms during first intercourse

Number and percent of trained health providers offering family planning
services to youth
Number and percent of new STI infections among youth.
These are just a few examples of indicators that can be created to track a
program’s success. More information about creating indicators can be found in
the How to Develop Indicators guide.

Step 3: Define Data Collection Methods and TImeline

After creating monitoring indicators, it is time to decide on methods for

gathering data and how often various data will be recorded to track indicators.
This should be a conversation between program staff, stakeholders, and donors.
These methods will have important implications for what data collection
methods will be used and how the results will be reported.

The source of monitoring data depends largely on what each indicator is trying
to measure. The program will likely need multiple data sources to answer all of
the programming questions. Below is a table that represents some examples of
what data can be collected and how.

Information to be collected Data source(s)

Implementation process and

Program-specific M&E tools
progress

Service statistics Facility logs, referral cards

Reach and success of the program Small surveys with primary audience(s),
intervention within audience such as provider interviews or client exit
subgroups or communities interviews

The reach of media interventions Media ratings data, brodcaster logs,

involved in the program Google analytics, omnibus surveys

Reach and success of the program Nationally-representative surveys,

intervention at the population level Omnibus surveys, DHS data

Focus groups, in-depth interviews,

Qualitative data about the outcomes
listener/viewer group discussions,
of the intervention
individual media diaries, case studies

Once it is determined how data will be collected, it is also necessary to decide

how often it will be collected. This will be affected by donor requirements,
available resources, and the timeline of the intervention. Some data will be
continuously gathered by the program (such as the number of trainings), but
these will be recorded every six months or once a year, depending on the M&E
plan. Other types of data depend on outside sources, such as clinic and DHS
data.

After all of these questions have been answered, a table like the one below can
be made to include in the M&E plan. This table can be printed out and all staff
working on the program can refer to it so that everyone knows what data is
needed and when.

Indicator Data source(s) Timing

Number of trainings held with health Training attendance Every 6

 Indicator Data source(s) Timing

providers sheets months

Number of outreach activities conducted Every 6

Activity sheet
at youth-friendly locations months

Number of condoms distributed at youth- Condom distribution Every 6

friendly locations sheet months

Percent of youth receiving condom use Population-based

Annually
messages through the media surveys

DHS or other
Percent of adolescents reporting condom
population-based Annually
use during first intercourse
survey

Number and percent of trained health

Every 6
providers offering family planning services Facility logs
months
to adolescents

DHS or other
Number and percent of new STI infections
population-based Annually
among adolescents
survey

Step 4: Identify M&E Roles and Responsibilities

The next element of the M&E plan is a section on roles and responsibilities. It is
important to decide from the early planning stages who is responsible for
collecting the data for each indicator. This will probably be a mix of M&E staff,
research staff, and program staff. Everyone will need to work together to get
data collected accurately and in a timely fashion.

Data management roles should be decided with input from all team members so
everyone is on the same page and knows which indicators they are assigned.
This way when it is time for reporting there are no surprises.

An easy way to put this into the M&E plan is to expand the indicators table with
additional columns for who is responsible for each indicator, as shown below.

Data
Indicator Data source(s) Timing
manager

Training
Number of trainings held with Every 6 Activity
attendance
health providers months manager
sheets

Number of outreach activities

Every 6 Activity
conducted at youth-friendly Activity sheet
months manager
locations

Number of condoms distributed Condom Every 6 Activity

at youth-friendly locations distribution sheet months manager

Percent of youth receiving

Population-based Research
condom use messages through Annually
survey assistant
the media
 Data
Indicator Data source(s) Timing
manager

Percent of adolescents reporting DHS or other

Research
condom use during first population-based Annually
assistant
intercourse survey

Number and percent of trained

Every 6 Field M&E
health providers offering family Facility logs
months officer
planning services to adolescents

DHS or other
Number and percent of new STI Research
population-based Annually
infections among adolescents assistant
survey

Step 5: Create an Analysis Plan and Reporting Templates

Once all of the data have been collected, someone will need to compile and
analyze it to fill in a results table for internal review and external reporting. This
is likely to be an in-house M&E manager or research assistant for the program.

The M&E plan should include a section with details about what data will be
analyzed and how the results will be presented. Do research staff need to
perform any statistical tests to get the needed answers? If so, what tests are
they and what data will be used in them? What software program will be used to
analyze data and make reporting tables? Excel? SPSS? These are important
considerations.

Another good thing to include in the plan is a blank table for indicator reporting.
These tables should outline the indicators, data, and time period of reporting.
They can also include things like the indicator target, and how far the program
has progressed towards that target. An example of a reporting table is below.

Lifetime % of target
Indicator Baseline Year 1
target achieved

Number of trainings held

0 5 10 50%
with health providers

Number of outreach
activities conducted at 0 2 6 33%
youth-friendly locations

Number of condoms
distributed at youth- 0 25,000 50,000 50%
friendly locations

Percent of youth receiving

condom use messages 5% 35% 75% 47%
through the media.

Percent of adolescents
reporting condom use 20% 30% 80% 38%
during first intercourse
 Lifetime % of target
Indicator Baseline Year 1
target achieved

Number and percent of

trained health providers
20 106 250 80%
offering family planning
services to adolescents

Number and percent of 10%

new STI infections among 11,00022% 10,00020% reduction 5 20%
adolescents years

Step 6: Plan for Dissemination and Donor Reporting

The last element of the M&E plan describes how and to whom data will be
disseminated. Data for data’s sake should not be the ultimate goal of M&E
efforts. Data should always be collected for particular purposes.

Consider the following:

How will M&E data be used to inform staff and stakeholders about the
success and progress of the program?
How will it be used to help staff make modifications and course
corrections, as necessary?
How will the data be used to move the field forward and make program
practices more effective?

The M&E plan should include plans for internal dissemination among the
program team, as well as wider dissemination among stakeholders and donors.
For example, a program team may want to review data on a monthly basis to
make programmatic decisions and develop future workplans, while meetings
with the donor to review data and program progress might occur quarterly or
annually. Dissemination of printed or digital materials might occur at more
frequent intervals. These options should be discussed with stakeholders and
your team to determine reasonable expectations for data review and to develop
plans for dissemination early in the program. If these plans are in place from the
beginning and become routine for the project, meetings and other kinds of
periodic review have a much better chance of being productive ones that
everyone looks forward to.

Conclusion

After following these 6 steps, the outline of the M&E plan should look something
like this:

1. Introduction to program
​ rogram goals and objectives
P
Logic model/Logical Framework/Theory of change
2. ​Indicators
Table with data sources, collection timing, and staff member
responsible
3. Roles and Responsibilities
 Description of each staff member’s role in M&E data collection,
analysis, and/or reporting
4. ​Reporting
Analysis plan
Reporting template table
5. Dissemination plan
Description of how and when M&E data will be disseminated
internally and externally

TEMPLATES
M&E Planning: Template for Indicator Reporting

M&E Plan Indicators Table Template

SAMPLES
M&E Plan: Data Sources Table Example

TIPS & RECOMMENDATIONS

It is a good idea to try to avoid over-promising what data can be collected.
It is better to collect fewer data well than a lot of data poorly. It is
important for program staff to take a good look at the staff time and
resource costs of data collection to see what is reasonable.

GLOSSARY & CONCEPTS

Process indicators track how the implementation of the program is
progressing. They help to answer the question, “Are activities being
implemented as planned?”
Outcome indicators track how successful program activities have been at
achieving program goals. They help to answer the question, “Have
program activities made a difference?”

RESOURCES AND REFERENCES

References

Evaluation Toolbox. Step by Step Guide to Create your M&E Plan. Retrieved from:
http://evaluationtoolbox.net.au/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=23:create-m-and-e-plan&catid=8:planning-
your-evaluation&Itemid=44

infoDev. Developing a Monitoring and Evaluation Plan for ICT for Education.
Retrieved from: https://www.infodev.org/infodev-
files/resource/InfodevDocuments_287.pdf

FHI360. Developing a Monitoring and Evaluation Work Plan. Retrieved from:

http://www.fhi360.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/Monitoring%20HIV-
AIDS%20Programs%20(Facilitator)%20-%20Module%203.pdf

Banner Photo: © 2012 Akintunde Akinleye/NURHI, Courtesy of Photoshare

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