ABSTRACT

This article is about the techniques of monitoring, the art of evaluating and the frustrating fact that most practitioners and decision-makers could not care less whether monitoring data exists. Projects and programmes are still conceptualized without taking lessons already learnt into account, while public money is still invested in prevention programmes and campaigns which elsewhere proved ineffective. The question of programme relevance, efficiency and impact is generally only asked in a final evaluation rather than in the concept phase, and little money and attention are spent on monitoring during the implementation of the programme.

This article first provides details about the challenges of getting the process of monitoring and evaluation right. A sound way to plan programme M&E is presented, including a short outline of what constitutes a theory of change and why a variety of tools is necessary to collect data. Additionally, the two most common approaches to collecting, storing and interpreting data are discussed. The article then focuses on the complexity of monitoring and evaluating multi-sector development programmes and why using sport as a tool requires extra attention. In a last step, the inevitable need to reflect on the requirements of presenting scientific evidence to practitioners, decision-makers and the media is discussed.