Development Cooperation Handbook/The video resources linked to this handbook/The Documentary Story//List of questions and answers that the Eugad Team asks to the Monitoring Team

List of questions and answers that the Eugad Team asks to the Monitoring Team|List of questions and answers and answers that the Eugad Team asks to the Monitoring Team

Question 1

 * Can you share with us the issues and questions you plan addressing and the information you expect to receive from this mission? 

It would help our partners to share thoughts with their team members and thus represent the voice of their organisation in the meetings with you.? Answer :  Being more specific to the monitoring exercise, this is structured over five criteria. These are:


 * 1) Relevance and Quality of Project Design: The appropriateness of project’s objectives to the real problems, needs and priorities of its target groups/beneficiaries and the quality of the project design through which these objectives are to be achieved.
 * 2) Efficiency of implementation to date: How well were the means/inputs applied to the activities and converted into results (as in "outputs").
 * 3) Effectiveness to date: The contribution made by the project’s results (as in "outcomes") to the achievement of the project purpose.
 * 4) Impact prospects: As presently implemented, the project’s likely contribution to the project’s Overall Objective.
 * 5) Potential Sustainability: The likelihood of a continuation in the stream of benefits produced by the project after the period of external support has ended.

Question 2 &amp; 3

 * Since we have implemented only 25% of the Action Gantt, it will be possible for us to measure the efficeincy of activities undertaken to produce the expected results. However, it is not yet possible for us to measure the outcomes, i.e. the expected changes occurring as a direct consequence of the project. This is because these changes are not directly achieved by the project team but are a consequence of the proactive participation of other project stakeholders who are expected to capitalize the project results and use them according to the Action plan. Do you agree with this? 
 * If we cannot yet address the issue of measuring or evaluating the outcomes, we cannot yet evaluate the coherence of the project design, i.e. its capacity of individuating the adequate project outputs that will enable action beneficiaries to take corrective actions on the factors generating the identified problems, thereby contributing to the achievement of action objectives. Do you agree with that?

Answer:  Without studying any of the documentation of your project, I understand that the project is at an early stage. So, by experience, I would say that the focus would be more on the design and the quality of the Logical Framework Matrix-logframe (a good logframe clearly defines the intervention logic, it has SMART OVIs that can be realistically measured and takes into consideration the risks and the assumptions) and the activities undertaken so far and less on the achievement of the results and the specific objectives (project purpose). Also, based on the design and the progress so far, the likelihood of impact and sustainability can be assessed (the real impact and sustainability come usually after the end of a project).  

Question 4

 * In your letter, you stated that the Objective of Monitoring is to enable focused project management decisions. Since the applicant is not listed as a Recipient of the Monitoring results, we were wondering if you plan sharing the mission results and recommendations with us so that the project mangement team is better able to take focused decisions?

Answer

Our output is a two pages report, with concrete structure (it is based on the five monitoring criteria). We are contractually obliged to send it directly to the EC in Brussels. The Task Manager of the project should circulate it to the project stakeholders in order that they are aware of the monitoring recommendations. So, yes, the results of the mission will be noticed to you (through the official channel, this being the Task Manager in Brussels).

Question 5

 * Does your Organization have a web site where the organization is presented? Does Europaid have a web site where the scope and the method of external monitoring missions are explained?

Answer

Our organization, being an Institute inside the National Technical University of Athens has a web-site but it is more academic-oriented than business-oriented.

You will not get any valuable information from there. Nevertheless, I am sending you two links from the web-site of Europeaid that refer to the monitoring and the assurance of projects quality.


 * http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/how/ensuring-quality/index_en.htm
 * http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/how/ensuring-quality/monitoring-projects/index_en.htm

See also:


 * Monitoring report summaries: 1; 2;


 * Full Monitoring report