MONITORING GRANTS

This guidance note is intended as a practical guide to designing a monitoring and evaluation5 (M&E) framework for policy research projects or programmes.6 Its primary audience is M&E designers and managers but it can be useful for anyone involved with M&E activities. The guidance note aims to support the first steps in designing and structuring the M&E framework (that is, what aspects or areas of policy research projects to monitor and evaluate, why, when and how). It does not include guidance on how to build a whole M&E system, which would require more detailed guidance on M&E data collection, storing, management, analysis and use. The guidance note presents one model for designing a comprehensive M&E framework that goes beyond counting outputs or citations; it works to track changes more closely, paying attention to often-neglected elements of strategy and management. It highlights the importance of identifying key M&E questions for each M&E area as a way to bridge often existing gaps between M&E areas, approaches and specific indicators (often needed e.g. for logframes). It is deliberately concise and somewhat simplified so as to be useful for during the actual design process.