EQUIP3 views the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of our activities as central to overall project implementation and success. For this reason, for our associate awards we have developed an approach that includes:
Data from each of these elements is combined to render a rich portrait of the project’s overall impact, and its prospects for sustainability. In developing project performance monitoring plans, we start with M&E approaches and tools that we have developed, and adapt these as necessary to build out project-level systems.
The EQUIP3 Approach to Monitoring and Evaluation
Our approach is designed to answer the following questions:
1. To address Strategic USAID Accountability: How is the project contributing to USAID’s strategic global education, governance, economic development and other initiatives?
2. To address Project Accountability: What non-USAID outputs and outcomes are important for understanding participant, partner and project performance?
3. To address Sustainability and Scalability by Local Stakeholders: Are community partners and key local, regional and national government decision makers:
• Acquiring the outcomes-oriented evidence and cost-benefit information that will inform decisions about the types of program interventions for youth that they are willing and able to sustain and/or scale up?
• Able to identify the types of capacity-building and support necessary to sustain interventions?
• Putting policies, programs and capacity in place to sustain interventions when the project ends?
4. To address EQUIP3 Special Studies/Applied Research: What questions need to be answered to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of new and existing EQUIP3 implementation and M&E activities? What new approaches might be useful? What do EQUIP3 stakeholders want to know more about?
Examples of Monitoring and Evaluation
>Literacy and Community Empowerment Program (LCEP) Final Report
See section 1.5 on LCEP’s progress monitoring approach, as well as the Results tables that contain data from the LCEP’s monitoring reports.
>Haitian Out-of-School Youth Livelihood Initiative (IDEJEN) Performance Monitoring Plan 2007-2010
Describes the project’s key M&E activities, including the impact, outcome and output indicators, data collection methodologies, and data management and analysis.
Applied Research Study
These activities draw out additional insights from the experience of Associate Award projects. Research efforts include ongoing data collection, data analysis, and a final report detailing the findings.
