Monitoring and evaluation
Funders provide money and resources for projects because they believe the projects will result in some benefits to the wider public or to a particular group of people. They will often make their decision on the basis that the successful bid will achieve some "outcomes" and that they believe that the range of activities (outputs) that are being proposed are likely to make this happen.
They are also interested in gathering information about how successful (or not) different approaches are to solving problems and delivering change. Not least so they can work out what to fund in the future but also so they can tell others about the lessons that different projects have learned. Of course they want all their projects to be a success but funders will not necessarily be upset if they aren't as long a they have learned something.
That is why monitoring and evaluation are so important.
Monitoring
Funders are very likely to want to know how you will go about monitoring the project you are asking them to fund. From the project's point of view this is also important so you know if you need to change what you are doing - as the old saying goes you cannot manage what you don't measure.
So it is worth spending time in the preparation of you project thinking about how you will monitor what you are doing in terms of outputs as well as outcomes.It does not have to be complicated but if you do not do it from the start of the project you may never be able to demonstrate what you have achieved. It is also important to monitor your budget so that you know if you are under-spending or over- spending and that the spending is in line with any bid that you make (How will we account of the money that we spend?)
The key thing to identify in a funding application is what you will monitor and how you will do it. You may also include how often you will review the results of this monitoring so that you can take any action that you may need to take to get things back on track. It is sometimes helpful to include a timetable of reporting both internally to your own organisation but also back to the funders. Many of the larger funding programmes have monitoring requirements that will ask you to provide information on how you are progressing towards meeting your outcomes and outputs, and how much you are spending against your forecast for the project. This is often on a quarterly basis, but for some programmes can be on a monthly basis. To do this you will need to keep adequate records which allow you to collect this information. You may already have a record keeping system that will be adequate for the information required, but some funding programmes have quite strict requirements in terms of providing evidence to support outcomes, so do make sure you know what is expected. Remember that the general rule of thumb is too keep all key records that are generated in relation to the project, such as timesheets both for volunteers and staff, beneficiary records such as training sessions attended, and records to justify what you spent your funding on. As well as helping you to collect the information for monitoring purposes, you will need to keep robust records as evidence that your project was carried out as you stated in your application, if your project is subject to an audit by the funding body. If the monitoring and record keeping requirements are high, you may be able to include some administrative support within the bid to meet the requirements of the funder.
The critical importance of monitoring is that you can identify early on if you are deviating from what you say in any bid and can therefore talk to the funder to explain what has happened and what action you are going to take to put it right or even to agree a change in the agreed outcomes and outputs - and at worst abort the project and hand back outstanding monies.
Evaluation
Evaluation is about making an assessment of the achievements of a project. In larger and more long-term projects you may wish to include an interim evaluation too.
Make sure the project is going in the right direction, this is formally known as formative evaluation and is useful for improving or refining an ongoing project. Most often project evaluation is carried out towards the end of a project, this is known as summative evaluation, which tends to focus on the overall quality and impact of the project. The complexity and timing of the evaluation and who will undertake it will depend on the size and nature of the project. You will use the results of the monitoring system as part of an evaluation but it should go further than just a description of the hard facts and statistics.
There are a few methods of collecting data for evaluation purposes. These can include face to face, telephone or postal surveys, observation or case studies. For a good project evaluation the following factors should be taken into account.
Timing and resources - Adequate time and resources should be given for the evaluation to be carried out
Scope - The scope and limits of the evaluation are made clear, and it includes both successful and unsuccessful elements of the project
Methodology - Appropriate research methods and tools are used and includes soft outcomes where appropriate
Analysis - Is robust and thorough
Report - Written in an accessible language, is clear, logical and makes clear conclusions and recommendations.
An evaluation should include qualitative information about how all the different stakeholders feel about what has or has not been achieved, consider what has been learned from undertaking the activities, identify what could be improved if the project continues or if a similar project is conducted in the future.
It is often a good idea to get someone independent to carry out an evaluation - someone without a vested interest in the answer. If you feel that this is a good idea then a fee for this should be included in the budget of the project - most funding programmes will allow this but it is wise to check the small print.
In preparing you bid you should be clear about how you are going to evaluate the project. This should be done both in terms of the process (how you will do it) and in terms of the criteria for the evaluation (what are the things that we think will matter about the project).
