Background:
Hetta Institute for International Development (HIID) is a USA-based professional educational corporation specializing in human capacity building. The Institute specializes in helping the mid and senior-level executives, particularly those from the developing countries, to upgrade their skills. HIID was founded in 2001 and registered with Arizona Corporation Commission, Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Hetta Institute for International Development is also registered with the New Jersey Department of the Treasury Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services. HIID also partners with the Center for Executive Training and International Development (CETID), a professional training provider in sustainable development, registered and based in Manhattan, New York City, USA. Since 2001, HIID has provided short term training courses to hundreds of high-ranking government and corporate officials.
Course Description:
Project Monitoring and Evaluation skills have become important aspects of project development, management tools for social change. It has become a cornerstone to community development in virtually all industries, including sustainable development, healthcare, education, and banking. To successfully implement a project or a program, an effective monitoring system must be put in place to ensure that projects and programs are on track and alternative measures are available in case the programs get off track. For a better understanding of the course, the first part of this course reviews the course outlines of project development and management and the second part analyzes the Monitoring and Evaluation systems. The focus of this course is to bring to the course participants the proven techniques, guidelines, and strategies for successful monitoring, evaluating, and completing community or government projects on time.
Course Learning Objectives:
This short course aims to enhance the skills of the program officers, managers, and senior officials on how to effectively implement, monitor, evaluate, and design sustainable programs and projects.
Course Content:
The course is delivered in a workshop setting facilitated by seasoned professional facilitators with practical experience. One session will be devoted to site visits to relevant institutions.
The “Fundamentals of Project Monitoring and Evaluation for Program Officers” course has some of the following key areas of learning organized into the following modules:
- Overview and Expectations of the Course
- Development issues and challenges in the new millennium
- History of project development
- Project development models
Nature of a Project:
- Objectives
- Using a SMART tool to identify objectives
- Defining a project
- Programs versus projects
- Characteristics of a project
- What is Project Management?
Project Development Process:
- Define project scope
- Specify features, design
- Baseline system
- Build the product, testing
- Deliver products to customers
Project Life Cycle:
- Phase #1: Defining the scope of the project
- Phase #2: Planning the project
- Phase #3: Executing the project
- Phase #4: Delivering the Project
The Parameters of a Project:
- Scope
- Quality
- Cost
- Duration
- Resources
- Integration
- Communication
- Procurement
- Risks
Planning the Project Implementation:
- Establishing project priorities
- Project priority matrix
- Project management trade-offs
- Tools for project planning: SWOT Analysis
Implementing the Project:
- Creating a work breakdown structure
- Creating a project team and project review group
- Developing status report process
- Making changing to the project
- Assessing the quality of the project
- Making forecasts
How to use WBS tool to identify staff:
- Using the Logical Framework
- Team-building factor
- Dealing with risks and uncertainty
- Time management
- Risk management process
- Change process
Monitoring the project:
- What is monitoring?
- How to design the monitoring system
- The project control system
- How to design progress report system
- PERT Network tool
- Tracking Gantt Charts
- Formative evaluation
- Process evaluation
- Outcome evaluation
- Cost-benefit analysis
- Program documentation and reporting
Measuring Project Performance Requires the understanding of three values:
- Planned Value (PV)
- Earned Value (EV)
- Actual Cost (AC)
Finding Variances in the project:
- Actual Costs (ACS)
- Budget at Completion (BAC)
- Cost Variance (CV)
- Schedule Variance (SV)
- Calculating the Cost Performance Index (CPI)
- Finding the Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
- Completing the Estimate to Complete (ETC)
- Preparing for the estimate at completion (EAC)
- Finding the Variance at Completion (VAC)
- The five rules of Earned Value Management (EVM)
Monitoring and Evaluation:
- Fundamental concepts of Program Monitoring and Evaluation
- What are Monitoring & Evaluation?
- Stages of Monitoring & Evaluation
- Factors that impact monitoring & evaluation
- Benefits of monitoring & evaluation?
- How to design effective monitoring & evaluation?
- How to assess the impacts of a project?
- Why and when to evaluate?
- Concluding remarks and reflections
Factors Affecting Monitoring and Evaluation:
- Dependence on the clarity of objectives and availability of indicators
- Time constraints and the quality of Monitoring and Evaluation
- Objectivity and independence of evaluators and their findings
- Learning or control?
- Feedback from Monitoring and Evaluation
- Responsibilities and capacities
Stages of Monitoring and Evaluation:
- Project planning
- Project programming
- Identification and formulation
- Project implementation
- Plan monitoring, evaluation, and audit
- Activities and Assessment
- Project Conclusion
- Carry out evaluation and audit assessments
Designing an Effective Monitoring and Evaluation System:
- Establishing the purpose, objectives, and scope of the M&E system
- Identifying performance questions, information needs and indicators
- Planning information gathering and organization
- Planning critical reflection process and events
- Planning for quality communication and reporting
- Planning for the necessary conditions and capacities
Elements of Program Logical Framework Model
- Assumption/context
- Problem statement
- Implementation – Input/output activities
- Outcomes
- Impacts
How to Carry Out Effective Monitoring and Evaluation?
- Know the project aims and objectives as the baseline
- Determine what sort of data to be used – Quantitative or Qualitative data
- What is the purpose of Monitoring and Evaluation? Formative or Summative?
- What are the Methods/tools/participants?
- Results-Based Management (Life Cycle Approach)
- Setting the Vision
- Defining the Result Map and Result Based Management Framework
- Planning for Monitoring and Evaluation
- Implementing and Using Monitoring
- Managing and using Evaluation
Assessing the Impacts of the Projects
- These are the longer term effects that the project may have – how has participating impacted on the life of people who took part.
- Record expectations at the beginning
- Carry out a midpoint review
- Complete an end of session review
- Will they come again/ take part in future opportunities
- Think about sustainability for the future
- Did the event meet their expectations
- What did they enjoy/ not enjoy
- Things they gained
- Is there anything they want to do as a result of attending this event
- Ask for simple words to summarize an event
Exercise, Group Project, Case Studies, field trips:
- Case studies and best practices
- Exercise and group presentations
- Models of project Monitoring and Evaluation
- Best practices in project Monitoring and Evaluation
- Selected case studies of M&E
- Pros and cons of M&E
- Challenges in program Monitoring and Evaluation
- Implementation Failures
- How to design evaluation metrics
- How to evaluate project against standards
- How to evaluate project against stakeholders’ expectation
- How to evaluate external processes
End of course Activities:
- Project Design
- Group presentations
- A case study of best practices
- Computer training with a brand new laptop to take home
- Site visits
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the course, participants will benefit the following from the course:
- Participants’ skills will be enhanced in better management of community or government programs.
- The course will enhance participants in designing a step-by-step approach to developing and managing project Monitoring and Evaluation.
- The course will empower participants to become better able to assess needs, articulate plans, and evaluate projects.
- Participants will understand how to improve productivity, understand the basic project management skills, effectively organize projects, estimate project costs, and create dependable monitoring techniques.
Learning Methodology:
The course is based on a participatory, active learning approach, group discussion, case studies, problem-solving exercise, and group presentations. Active participation is required and key to the success of the workshops. Other methods used in this course include case studies, guest speakers, project Monitoring and Evaluation exercises, problem-solving exercises. Assessment is through effective class participation, group presentation, group projects, and class attendance.
Who should attend?
The course is intended for senior staff in private or public sectors that have the responsibility for developing, designing, and implementing a project. Senior public officials, project managers, senior project consultants, heads of departments, supervisors, personnel officers, senior government staff, and other personnel as deemed appropriate by management.
Course Duration:
2 weeks
Training Locations and Scheduled Dates:
Phoenix, Arizona, USA;
JSQ, New Jersey, USA: Mar 16-27; Jun 15-26; Aug 17-28, 2023
Washington DC, USA:
Course Materials:
Include PowerPoint presentation slides, carefully selected reading materials, exercises, case studies, reading references, and a laptop computer.
Course Fees:
The course fee is $5,500 per person for two weeks. The course fee covers the following: instruction, course materials, and one brand new laptop computer to take home, administration expenses, field trips, cultural programs, and miscellaneous program-related expenses.
How to Register:
To receive a letter of invitation and supporting documents, you must complete and forward the registration form to the training director as soon as possible. To participate in this course, the applicant must:
- 1. Send a completed application form
- 2. Have a bachelor’s degree/or have relevant work experience at senior management level
- 3. Be nominated by the head of his/her department
- 4. Be a senior member of the department/organization
- 5. Demonstrate a devoted interest in the course
- 6. Have proof of English proficiency
- 7. Demonstrate proof of financial sponsorship of the course
