Integrating Planning Monitoring and Evaluation to Increase Effectiveness

Integrating Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation to Increase Effectiveness of HIV/AIDS related Interventions: THE LOGFRAME APPROACH Workshop organized by Laetitia Lienart IAS Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation Expert

M&E DEFINITION & ROLE M&E is a systematic process of collecting and analyzing information to accompany the implementation of an action, project or programme and assess its process, outcomes and impacts. LEARNING / CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT ACCOUNTABILITY Institutional Memory & Evidence* M&E is not an audit nor does it seek to place blame.

WHAT MAKES M&E SUCCESSFUL? E Ethical, Effective, Efficient V Valued A Accurate, Achievable, Accessible L Learning-oriented U Usable, Used, Useful A See above A T Timely, Transparent, Technically sound I Inclusive O Objective N Non-biaised

Another Success Key for M&E: linkages with Planning Monitoring Organization’s Strategy Evaluation

MAIN STEPS OF AN “IDEAL” PME PROCESS 1 Planning (during project design phase): design of a logic model (logframe) and M&E plan 2 3 4 5 6 Data collection (monitoring, desk reviews, surveys, interviews, etc. ) Data analysis Reporting & dissemination Use of M&E findings Monitoring of M&E use Failing to plan is Planning to fail! A logic model (LF) is essential for results-based management and for a successful M&E which needs to have a clear understanding of what the project is supposed to achieve and how…*

WHAT IS A LOGFRAME? § A 4 x 4 table giving a clear and synthetic picture of the project goal, purpose, outputs and activities, their respective indicators (KPIs) and sources of verification as well as assumptions/risks which could affect the project implementation. Intervention logic Goal: Purpose: Outputs: Activities: Indicators Verification Assumptions

WHAT IS A LOGFRAME? (cont. ) HERE The LF process helps guide the planning of a journey from where we are now, HERE, to where we want to go, THERE. A - Where do we want to be? What are our objectives & expected results*? B - How will we get there? What are activities do we have to undertake? C - What may stop us getting there? What are the risks and how can we manage them? What assumptions are we making? D - How will we know if we’ve got there? What are our indicators and targets? What evidence do we need? E – What do we need to get there? What detailed resources and related budget are needed?

STEP 1 - DEFINE THE ‘DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE’ OR GOAL § The Goal is the higher order objective, the longer term impact, that the project will contribute to. § The Goal defines the overall “big picture” need or problem being addressed; it expresses the justification of what is planned. TIPS ü Use only one Goal statement. ü Formulate the goal as a verb: e. g. Accelerate the response to HIV/AIDS in the Nbiya region (or) Decrease the AIDS mortality rate in the Nbiya region.

STEP 2 - DEFINE THE ‘IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE’ OR PURPOSE § The Purpose describes the specific and immediate results (outcomes) of the project. § The Purpose should not be entirely deliverable, i. e. fully within the project manager’s control. If it is deliverable, then it should be an Output*. TIPS ü The Purpose should be SMART: Specific/Simple, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant & Time-based (i. e. linked to project duration). ü Have only one Purpose. If you think you have more, then you may need more than one logframe; or your multiple purposes are in fact indicators of a single purpose or lower outputs. ü Formulate the purpose as a verb: e. g. Improve access to HIV/AIDS treatment in the Nbiya region (timing will be included in the indicator). **

STEP 3 - DESCRIBE THE ‘RESULTS/PRODUCTS’ OR OUTPUTS § The Outputs describe what the project will deliver in order to achieve the Purpose. They are the results that the project must deliver in the control of the project manager. § Outputs are nouns + adjectives. E. g. a) Medical infrastructures rehabilitated/reinforced in the Nbiya region; b) HIV/AIDS awareness of Nbiya region’s inhabitants raised; c) Health care workers of the Nbiya region adequatly trained on HIV/AIDS; d) Partnerships between Nbiya’s government and drug supplier(s) initiated; etc. § Typically there are between 2 – 8 Outputs; any more than that and the logframe will become over-complicated.

STEP 4 – DEFINE THE ACTIVITIES § The Activities describe what actions will be undertaken to achieve each output. § Activities are usually actions (use nouns). E. g. needs assessment, recruitment of experts/consultants, design of materials, development of training programme, selection of participants/trainers/suppliers, organization of coordination meetings, distribution of awareness materials, implementation of works, procurement of equipment & supplies, etc.

STEP 5 – TEST THE LOGIC FROM THE BOTTOM TO THE TOP § When the four rows of column 1 have been drafted, the logic needs to be tested: use the IF/THEN test to check cause and effect, reading from the bottom up: Ø If we do these activities, then this output will be delivered. Ø If we deliver these outputs, then this purpose will be achieved. Ø If the purpose is achieved, then this will contribute to the Goal.

STEP 6 – UNDERTAKE A RISK ANALYSIS IDENTIFY THE RISKS § Taking all the activities needed for Output 1, ask the question: ‘if we complete these Activities successfully, then what can stop us delivering Output 1? ’. Repeat for all the other Outputs taking each Output and its associated activities in turn. § Taking all the Outputs together, ask the question: ‘if we deliver all these Outputs successfully, then what can stop us achieving our Purpose? ’ § Now ask the question: ‘if we are achieve our Purpose successfully, then what can stop us contributing to the Goal? ’

STEP 6 – UNDERTAKE A RISK ANALYSIS (cont. ) ANALYSE AND MANAGE EACH RISK § What is its likely impact ? high, medium or low. § What is its likely probability? high, medium or low. You may at this point decide to hereafter disregard insignificant risks. § Discuss & agree possible mitigation measures; transfer them into Column 1 (i. e. extra activities) of your LF. § Example: Ø risk: decrease in the # of health care workers affected to the Nbiya region Ø mitigation measure/new activity: advocacy/lobbying to the relevant authorities & stakeholders involved in health care workers management

STEP 7 – FORMULATE THE ASSUMPTIONS § Assumptions are what remains after the mitigation measures have been put in place (even if mitigation measures are successful, it is unlikely you can remove the risk completely). § Assumptions are external factors which could affect the success of the project but over which the project manager has no direct control. § Example: ‘’Strong commitment and continuous support of the Nbiya’s authorities towards combatting HIV/AIDS‘’ § Logic test: once Activities have been carried out, and if the Assumptions at this level hold true, Outputs will be delivered. Test the same logic for the upper levels.

STEP 8 – IDENTIFY INDICATORS (KPI) § One of the key strengths of the logframe approach is that it forces the planning team to build into the design how the project will be monitored and evaluated. § Indicators and verification are needed to show what data we intend to use to measure progress, and how that data will be collected. § In most circumstances there is not enough baseline data available at the design stage against which progress can be measured; in which case the logframe helps to pinpoint the gaps and determine what needs to be done.

STEP 8 – FORMULATE KPIs Use the maxim Q Q T - Quantity, Quality, Time § Step 1: Set the basic indicator. § Step 2: Add Quantity - an amount or percentage that will be achieved. § Step 3: Add Quality – a built-in quality measure to specify the indicator. § Step 4: Add Time – when this should be accomplished by. Avoid using general phrases such as ‘As soon as possible. ’ It is important to include a balance of terminal/end of project indicators (TARGETS) and some midterm indicators (MILESTONES).

STEP 8 – FORMULATE A KPI (example) § Step 1: Increase in access of HIV/AIDS treatment § Step 2 (Quantity): [%] Increase over the baseline in number of HIV/AIDS infected people (of the Nbiya region) receiving drugs or At least [X] % of HIV/AIDS infected people (of the Nbiya region) receive drugs § Step 3 (Quality): [%] Increase over the baseline in number of HIV/AIDS infected people (of the Nbiya region) receiving drugs with limited side effects* § Step 4 (Time): [%] Increase over the baseline in number of HIV/AIDS infected people (of the Nbiya region) receiving drugs with limited side effects by [year/month] or within [duration]

STEP 8 – INDICATOR EVOLVING INTO MILESTONE/TARGET § Indicators are a means by which change will be measured while milestones & targets are respectively mid-term and end “goals”. § As in the early stages of a project, there may not be the baseline information needed to set targets, there will be mostly indicators. Further stakeholder meetings and data gathering will lead to targets. § Example (for a project lasting 4 years ): Ø [%] Increase over the baseline in number of HIV/AIDS infected people receiving drugs with limited side effects within [X] years is an indicator Ø 10% Increase over the baseline in number of HIV/AIDS infected people receiving drugs with limited side effects within 2 years is a milestone Ø 25% Increase over the baseline in number of HIV/AIDS infected people receiving drugs with limited side effects within 4 years is a target

STEP 9 – IDENTIFY THE EVIDENCE § The final element of developing the logframe is to decide how KPIs will be measured – what evidence we will use. This is a vital stage of the initial planning that is often overlooked. Building in evidence sources at this stage will make the monitoring and evaluating of the project easier. § The evidence will almost invariably be documents (or sometimes interviews, films, DVDs, videos or audiotapes. ) § It should be considered when you formulate your indicators; so complete columns 2 and 3 of the LF at the same time.

STEP 9 – IDENTIFY THE EVIDENCE (cont. ) Some typical sources of verification § Minutes of meetings and attendance lists § Stakeholder feedback & focus groups § Surveys and reports § Newspapers, radio and TV recordings, photographs, satellite imagery § National and international statistics § Project records, reviews and reports § External evaluation reports, training evaluation questionnaires, etc.

STEP 10 - AND FINALLY, A FIFTH ROW? § For simplicity we say a logframe is a 4 x 4 grid but often a further 4 boxes are attached under the 16 -box logframe to indicate the costs and resources needed to fund the project activities together with pre-condition assumptions that need to be agreed. Inputs Budget summary Accounts Staff months summary (budget lines) Pre-conditions; Assumptions made to carry out the activities

EXAMPLE OF A COMPLETE LF Always date your LF! Intervention logic Indicators / Milestones / Targets Verification Goal : Decrease the AIDS mortality rate in Nbiya. Proportion of AIDS caused deaths decreased by [X]% by Year 4 (I) Reports, statistics, surveys, etc. Purpose: Improve access to HIV/AIDS treatment in Nbiya. 25% Increase over the baseline in number of HIV/AIDS infected people receiving drugs with limited side effects within Year 4 (T) Reports, statistics, surveys, hospital patient/attendance list, drug delivery receipts, etc. Sustainable commitment from authorities & partners Outputs: O 1. Medical infrastructures rehabilitated/reinforced in Nbiya O 2. HIV/AIDS awareness of Nbiya region’s inhabitants raised O 3. Health care workers of Nbiya adequately trained on HIV/AIDS O 4. Partnerships between Nbiya’s government and drug supplier(s) initiated 1. At least one hospital is running independently in Nbiya by Year 2 (M) 1. Reports of regular control visits to the hospital 2. Posters/leaflets & other awareness materials 3. Training reports & post-training skills evaluation stats 4. Mo. U/agreement, minutes of meetings Medical infrastructures regularly maintained. No security restriction that may prevent reaching pops. All trainees fully affected to HIV/AIDS & on a sustainable way 2. # of awareness campaigns organised by Year 2 (I) 3. At least 50 health care workers of Nbiya trained by Year 4 (T) 4. 1 # of partnerships initiated by Year 2 (I) 4. 2 At least 2 partnership agreements signed by Year 4 (T) Activities: to be developed with the same method Assumptions

THE LF AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL The LF can help report to project partners, sponsors & other stakeholders what we are doing and why. This can be achieved by taking a Step-by-step presentation approach § 1. Goal: "The overall goal is to. . . " § 2. Purpose: "In order to contribute to this goal we in this project will. . . " § 3. Outputs: "We will achieve this objective by taking direct responsibility for. . . " § 4. Activities: "Let me describe our strategy in more detail. We believe that if we. . . " § 5. Activity level Assumptions: "and if. . " § 6. Output level Indicators: "we will achieve our targets of. . . "

THE LF AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL (cont. ) § 7. Purpose: "In addition to reaching these targets, several other things must happen if we are to achieve our major objective of . . . " § 8. Output level Assumptions: "These other factors, outside our direct control, include. . " § 9. Purpose level Assumptions: "We believe that if we can achieve our major objective, we will contribute to our overall goal. This contribution is, however, affected by factors outside of this project. These include. . . . All of these factors taken together will be sufficient to realise this goal. The strategy we propose is an important and cost effective step towards that end. " § 10. Verification: "We propose that our performance be monitored and assessed in the following way. . . "

REPORTING USING THE LF § Complete the table for each different logic intervention level and at different times during the project cycle. PROGRESS/MONITORING REPORT COUNTRY…………PROJECT TITLE……………… PERIOD COVERED………… CODE…………… DATE ……………. . PREPARED BY…………… Project Indicators of Structure achievement Insert Provide a Provide comments 1. Likely to be activities indicators report against each completely achieved and inputs from the LF against activity and input 2. Likely to be each (e. g. on the extent partially achieved activity and to which the 3. Unlikely to be input assumptions are achieved being met) & x Too early to judge recommendations the extent of where appropriate achievement from the LF Progress Comments & Rating recommendations

TASK TO PRACTICE THE LFA § Subject: the Nbiya region is severely affected by HIV/AIDS, with children and women among the most HIV infected populations. You wish to apply for a tender launched by a major donor in order to address HIV/AIDS related health problems in that region. § Methodology: each working group is expected to follow all the above-presented steps to eventually design and present a complete LF with 3 outputs and max 3 activities per output. Use the fact sheet as main background.