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Session Objectives
• By the end of the session participants
should able to:
Intervention Design, Annual Planning • Explain the linkage between intervention design
and M&E frameworks and M&E

Godfrey Bwanika • Explain the rationale for integrating M&E in the

intervention design

• Explain success factors for M&E in interventions

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Introduction Introduction Cont.

• Managing for results requires that intervention design, • Key aspects of an intervention design are built into the
annual planning and M&E must be linked processes. intervention agreement.

• Starting point for implementation is the initial • Changing these can be difficult and time consuming.
intervention design as outlined in the appraisal report.
• Thus it is critical that the initial design be as high quality as
possible.
• But design is an ongoing process for the life of the
intervention. • The initial design team must build in flexibility to allow
changes at intervention start-up when the design is
• Continually adapting the intervention strategy in revised.
response to new understanding and to changing contexts.

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Intervention Design as an Ongoing Process

Design cont.
• Why is change to the intervention
• Need for a comprehensive participatory process of
design necessary? reviewing and, where necessary, improving design at
• Changing context. start-up.
• Development cycle includes many steps that lead to start-
up, each of which takes time.
• After start-up, the two main opportunities for improving
the intervention design are:
• The initial design is undertaken with limited
time and resources.
• With minimal participation of grantees/implementers • On an annual basis as part of the annual progress review and
designs change at the start planning process

• Implementation may require more time and resources • During the Mid-Term Review (MTR).

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Moments in Intervention Life Moments cont.

• Design Tasks
• Assess feasibility, scope and rationale of intervention. • Start-up phase
• Develop understanding of goals and
• Determine the goal and objectives. objectives with key stakeholders.
• Outline main outputs and key activities. • Review and revise the initial design.
• Outline intervention implementation process and
structures. • Design and plan work in sufficient detail
to allow for implementation.
• Outline the M&E system.
• Develop a detailed operational M&E
• Develop the budget and specify staffing levels system.
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Moments cont Moments cont.

• Annual review of the work plan and •Supervision (recurrent)
budget • Discuss overall progress of the
intervention.
• Check if the outputs, purpose-level
objectives and goal remain relevant; • Decide on changes that should be made in
adjust. the annual work plan.
• Decide what activities and tasks are • Assess any potential changes in the overall
necessary to deliver outputs.
design that require funding agreement
negotiations.
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Moments cont Moments cont

• End of the early implementation phase • Mid-term review (or reviews between
phases)
• Review overall intervention strategy in light • Review achievement of outputs and progress
of early implementation experience. towards the purpose(s) and goal.

• Develop recommendations for the work • Assess appropriateness of the overall

plan in the next phase. strategy.

• Negotiate any significant changes to • Redesign the intervention as necessary.

intervention design for the next phase.

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Moments cont Good Practices for Project Design

• Beginning of the phase-out period  There are six good practices in any design process of a
development intervention.

• Identify the priorities of final activities in  Involve all relevant stakeholders in participatory processes of
intervention design.
order to maximize impact.
 Undertake a thorough situation analysis, together with primary
• Review and adjust strategies with a view stakeholders to learn as much as possible about the context
to sustained impact
 Develop a logical and feasible intervention strategy that clearly
expresses what will be achieved (goal and purposes) and how it
will be achieved (outputs and activities).

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Good Practices cont. Using the Logical Framework Approach

• Agree and focus on cross-cutting issues of poverty,  This process was originally developed in the 1970s to
climate change, HIV/AIDS, gender and participation. improve the quality and clarity of intervention design.

• Plan for long-term capacity development and  The LFA process is based on participation of key
stakeholders, including primary stakeholders.
sustainability
• to ensure that the project contributes to the empowerment
and self-reliance of local people and institutions.
 The intervention design that results from the LFA process is
summarized in a table that is referred to as the logical
framework matrix, or logframe.
• Build in opportunities and activities that
• Support learning and enable adaptation of the project strategy  While the LFA has become widely accepted as useful for
during implementation
planning, it also has some clearly recognized problems.

 So the standard LFA planning process has been improved in

different ways over the years.
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Flexible and Critical use of the LFA means: Logical Framework Approach
• Recognizing that development is not mechanical
• Build options and opportunities for adaptation into the design; • Recognizing that quantifiable indicators and
qualitative information
• Valuing outcomes (achievements between tangible • Opinions and stories of change, are needed for M&E;
outputs and long-term impacts)
• Make results explicit in the logframe; • Guarding against bureaucratic control
• Report more on outcomes, (interim) impacts and planned
• Avoiding over-simplification of large interventions improvements and less on activities and outputs;
• Using multiple purposes, a cascading logframe or a five-layer
logframe;

• Including peoples visions and aspirations

• Tracking assumptions as part of M&E to help
• Identify opportunities during the planning rather than focusing only
guide the intervention strategy.
on problem analysis;
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Linking Intervention Design with the Annual Work Plan

and Budget
What is the AWPB?
• The most important operational and planning tool of an
• The LFM shows the main activities of an intervention intervention is the annual work plan and budget (AWPB).

• The AWPB guides daily implementation and includes:

• Each year the implementers need to identify which • Work plan: a log frame-based description of each
activities are needed for the coming year and prepare a activity/output/indicator per component;
budget. •
• Schedule or time plan: specifying when activities are to take place
and in what order;
• The logframe is the basis for the annual work plan and •
• Budget: identifying the cost of each output and activity per
budget (AWPB) component;

• Personnel plan: identifying responsibilities, additional staff needs,

• An operational plan must be detailed enough to enable staff training;
staff and implementing organizations
• Know what they are expected to do, when and how. • Material/equipment plan: requirements for each output and activity
per component, including procurement.
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Preparing the AWPB Preparing the AWPB

• Information is drawn from the intervention appraisal report, • Take the activities from the revised log-frame matrix and list
the agreement, any specific strategic plans, and plans and them in the first column of the work plan.
reports of previous years.
• List them in terms of which activity is needed in order to do
• AWPBs are produced for each level of participants in the others.
intervention,
• Intervention primary stakeholders according to their needs and
demands using a bottom-up participatory process. • Clarify them further and add sub-activities, if needed.

• AWPB should be made just before any funding allocations for • For each (sub-) activity, specify the following:
the following fiscal year, to give a clear indication of the • Milestone what is to be done by when,
funds required by the intervention. • Who is responsible for implementing it and for checking it,
• When it should start and finish,
• Staff requirements in terms of person-months,
• To develop an AWPB, here are some basic steps: • Quantity of material and equipment needed,
• Cost and cost category and important assumptions.
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Preparing the AWPB

• Check the plan by ensuring that
Preparing the AWPB
• The total cost is within the budget • AWPB is the basis for more detailed operational
• People are not overloaded or forgotten in terms of responsibilities planning:
(or that there are gaps or contradictions). • Work plans per intervention component,
• Per staff member,
• Also make sure that timing is realistic and consistent. • Per month/quarter/half-year, etc.
• You cannot have the same person or piece of equipment scheduled •
at the same time
• Some interventions use Gantt charts to show when
activities are to happen during the year.
• Do the above with the main stakeholders to ensure a shared
sense of responsibility.
• However, these charts do not show other important
information, such as responsibility and resources, so
• Compile the final consensus into the AWPB document and
other charts are also needed
send this to the appropriate body for approval, including a
"no objection" from the cooperating
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Linking M&E to Intervention Design Linking M&E to Design cont

• Developing M&E starts long before start-up.  During formulation, a broad M&E framework should be
• developed and included in the formulation and appraisal
documents.
• The initial intervention design strongly influences the ease
with which M&E is implemented later on through, for
example:  This framework provides:
 Sufficient detail to enable budgeting and allocation of technical
• The relationships and commitment established with partners and expertise,
local people, particularly the intended primary stakeholders;
•
 An overview of how M&E will be undertaken
• The logic and feasibility of the intervention strategy;
 Some guidance for staff about how M&E should be set up during
• The resources allocated to M&E (funding, time, expertise); start-up.

• The degree of inbuilt flexibility that allows M&E findings to have a  The M&E framework complements the highly summarized
steering function;
M&E information that is the logframe.
• Any operational details of M&E that might be established during
initial design.  Much of what is developed for the M&E system during the
9/7/2016 [email protected] 25 initial
9/7/2016 design phase will only be indicative of the final plan.26
[email protected]

Designing for Learning, Empowerment and Designing for Learning, Empowerment and
Sustainability Sustainability cont.
• Designing a good development intervention requires  Involving stakeholders in intervention design is important
• Careful attention to the social processes and institutional specifically for:
development to;  Inspiring them to identify, manage and control their own
development aspirations, and so empower themselves;
• Enable learning and the empowerment of primary stakeholders
• Lead to sustained benefits.  Ensuring the intervention goals and objectives will be
relevant and, as a result, meet the real needs of the rural
poor;
• To do this you need the following:
• Involve Stakeholders in intervention Design Processes:  Ensuring the intervention strategy is appropriate to local
circumstances;
• Interventions without good stakeholder consultation are
setting themselves up for failure.  Building the partnerships, ownership and commitment
needed for effective implementation
• Those that do consult widely increase their chances of
success.  Local participation in the early phase can also be cost-
effective in the long run.
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Designing for Learning, Empowerment and Sustainability cont Designing for Learning, Empowerment and
Sustainability cont.
• Be Clear about Cross-Cutting Issues: Poverty, Gender,
Participation • Plan for Capacity Development and Sustainability
• Don’t only focus on delivering infrastructure and public facilities
• A shared understanding by stakeholders of the concepts of
poverty reduction, gender equity and participation is critical.
• But it is the people who use and maintain a structure.
•
• It is the only way to secure agreement on how to build these • A major lesson is investing in capacities is at least as important as in
concepts into the intervention strategy. infrastructure for sustained poverty reduction.

• Differing understandings can lead to diverging objectives.

• To ensure this focus, questions to consider during
intervention design and adaptation are:
• Agreeing on terms like "poverty" and "basic necessities" is • Whose capacities are being built through the intervention?
essential both for good project design and M&E.
• Will these capacities reduce rural poverty?
• Opportunities for reaching agreement need to be created.
• If not, what else do we need to do in terms of capacity-building to
have a lasting local impact?
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Plan for Learning and Adaptation During How Initial Intervention Design Influences M&E
Implementation • Unintentionally, M&E is often set up to fail
• Build in mini-research phases at key moments. during initial project design.

• Make it explicit that the intervention strategy • How? For example,

and log frame should be revised each year.
• There is not an adequate budget for M&E,

• Make "adaptive management" a key function • Insufficient time and expertise have been allocated to M&E
in the terms of reference for senior during the start-up phase,
management and partner contracts.
• There is insufficient flexibility in the design to enable the M&E
system to influence the intervention during implementation.
• Budget for experimentation and for the
unexpected.
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• Initial project design influences M&E through:

What Makes a Weak Basis for Effective M&E
• The relationships and commitment established with • Failure to make the M&E department to be part of the
partners and local people, particularly the intended project-management (organizational structure).
primary stakeholders
• Lack of logic in intervention strategy or existence of
• The logic and feasibility of the project strategy unrealistic objectives, makes a good M&E almost
impossible.
• The resources allocated to M&E (funding, time,
expertise) • Failure of the design team to allocate enough
resources to the M&E system .
• The degree of inbuilt flexibility
• Rigidity of the intervention design
• The operational guidelines for M&E.
• Failure to establish a broad framework for the M&E
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system
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during the design phase.
[email protected] 34

Introduction Overview of purpose of this section of the appraisal

Documenting M&E in the Intervention Appraisal Report report
Specific Context Features that Affect Geographic coverage, the range of intervention
• The last M&E-related step for the design team is M&E components and the organisational hierarchy
writing down the suggested M&E framework in the M&E Purpose and Scope Broadly defined including the intervention M&E needs
appraisal report. and the information to be generated
Key Performance Questions, Description of information gathering and organising
• Indicators, Information-Gathering methods to enable resource allocation
Requirements and Implications for
• How this is done can strongly affect the start-up of the M&E System
the intervention. Internal Self-Evaluation Processes General outline of key processes, tasks and events
(input/ output monitoring, ongoing
evaluation and impact evaluation)
• What should be included in the appraisal report External Evaluations (ongoing and Frequency of external evaluations and how the
impact evaluations) intervention will be integrated into this evaluation
with regard to M&E framework? process
Intended Primary Stakeholder and Early identification of stakeholders for their involvement
Partner Participation in M&E in M&E planning at start-up
Structures and Staffing for M&E Approximate staffing levels and types, roles and
responsibilities
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Capacity-Building
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for M&E Types of support needed to create sufficient 36
[email protected]
appropriate M&E capacity among project stakeholders

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Key Messages
Appraisal Report on M&E cont. • Intervention (re-)design is an ongoing process over the life
Section Heading Description
cycle.
Process for Detailed Planning of M&E Including draft timeframe for
during Start-Up development of the M&E system
• All intervention actors need to understand good design
Communication Strategy Broad description of key audiences and
types of information that should be principles to respond to the context.
communicated to them
Budget Approximate budget for key items (staff
time, materials, evaluation and training • Good practices for intervention design (and adaptation)
events, publication/documentation, include:
consultants) • Involving stakeholders,
Appendices • Completing a detailed situation analysis,
M&E Responsibilities of Project Management • Ensuring a logical intervention strategy,
Terms of Reference for those Responsible for M&E and for Consultants Providing • Identifying cross-cutting objectives,
M&E Support
• Planning for capacity development and sustainability, and
Detailed M&E Budget
• Planning for learning and adaptation.
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Key Messages cont.

• The output of the LFA is the log frame matrix, which
Conclusion
summarizes the intervention logic (with assumptions) and • The design of the intervention has a direct effect
M&E. on its implementation strategy.

• The implementation strategy has an influence on

• The logframe matrix can be used to track progress with the annual work plans developed to achieve the
annual work plans and impacts. desired intervention outcomes.
•
• Developing a good M&E system depends on paying • The intervention design also influences the
implementation strategy.
adequate attention to M&E during the initial design
phase.
• The M&E system should be outlined in the intervention • The intervention design has a direct effect on the
appraisal report. M&E system that is established.

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