Process Monitoring

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Process Monitoring

• Workshop on ME of Rural Livelihoods Programmes
• August 12, 2013

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Components of ME
IMPACTS
Results Measurement / Evaluation
OUTCOMES
Results Monitoring
INTERMEDIATE OUTCOMES
Process Monitoring
OUTPUTS
Progress Monitoring
ACTIVITIES
Project Inputs / Components Human Resources,
Funds, Technology, Policy
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Monitoring in Development Project

• Progress Monitoring Measuring and Tracking
  Progress of Outputs
• Results Monitoring Measuring and Tracking
  Progress of Results
• (Outcomes)
• Process Monitoring Assessing and Tracking
  quality of processes
• (both, in project and within community) that
  effects Outputs and
• Outcomes

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What should be the focus of Process Monitoring?

• Assess Quality of Project Processes
• Are the processes effective to produce quality
  outputs?
• Are the processes effective enough to induce
  outcome / results?
• Are the processes efficient and uses resources
  (human, funds) optimally?
• Examines Internal Processes in Community
  (Institutions, Village)
• What Outputs are causing desirable changes in
  Community(Outcomes)?
• Is our Assumptions, Conditions or Risks regarding
  causal relationship between Output and Outcome
  holds or are they changing?
• What processes in Community (with regard to
  inclusion and participation, decisions, resource
  distribution, etc.) are influencing Outcomes?

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What should be the focus of Process Monitoring?

• Capturing multi-dimensional nature and process of
  changes being experienced
• What are the social dimension of changes
  Inclusion Participation, Social and Gender
  Norms, Social Capital and Empowerment
• What are the economic dimension of changes
  poverty, vulnerability reduction, resource
  expansion
• What changes are being experienced in local
  governance

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What more the Process Monitoring can focus on?

• As a medium for Sensitization and Capacity
  Building of Institutions
• Participative process (Disclosing observations
  and analysis) acts as a strong means of
  sensitization
• Securing commitment for change through intensive
  and extended engagement
• Facilitating new pilots and processes through
  community institutions

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How projects use Process Monitoring?

• Strategic Decision Making
• New Project Policies, Strategies and Guidelines.
  Ex. Village Organization (VO) certifying that
  inclusion of all left out poor has been achieved
  was included as a trigger for fund release in
  BRLP. BRLP decentralized the funds for VO
  meetings from DPMU/BPMU to VOs.
• Introducing effective project processes. Ex. The
  social inclusion and piloting of several PIP
  process led to introduction of a robust Social
  Assessment Process in TRIPTI.
• Changes and fine tuning project processes to be
  more effective and accessible to community. Ex.
  Approval of Micro Credit Plan of groups and fund
  disbursement process was simplified and made
  shorter in BRLP. Frequency of MCP process was
  also made need based.
• Changes in Process to Improve Outcomes. Ex.
  Agriculture demonstration process was made more
  systematic with substantially high handholding
  support from MACP for improved adoption of
  technology after Community Score Card (CSC)
  pilots.
• Changes in Community Operational Manual based on
  field insights to ensure it is a dynamic / living
  project document.
• Adopting Results Oriented Process Approach for
  Implementation. Ex. OCTMP institutionalized a
  longer term process oriented approach for
  capacity building for Water Users Associations.

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How projects use Process Monitoring?

• Operational Decision Making
• Decisions related to specific communities /
  villages and institutions where inputs (Training,
  Hand-holding, Conflict resolution, funds, etc.)
  from project teams are required are identified
  and immediately acted upon. Ex. Decisions taken
  by District and Block Project Teams on a monthly
  basis in PVP and BRLP. Action Taken Report by
  project teams in PVP.
• Emerging trends are captured and fed in
  developing priority plans. Ex. Many of the
  campaign / drive mode plans in BRLP were based on
  emerging field trends.
• Piloting new Approaches / process before being
  considered as a strategic option. Ex. Piloting
  inclusion of left-out poor in sample village
  through VO In 6 villages 316 left-out-poor
  households were identified by VOs and 29 new SHGs
  were formed with 322 members (all 316 HH
  included) BRLP June 2009.

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What is the Methodology?

• No standard text book approach
• Mixed Method Approach Qualitative and
  Quantitative
• Mostly Participatory Approaches but Observation,
  Case Examination and Survey Techniques are used
  in Combination
• What we mostly used
• Process Observation
• Process Mapping (particularly those within
  Community)
• Focus Group Discussion
• Case Interview / Examination
• Key Informant Discussion
• Community Score Card and Ranking Method
• Historical Narratives
• Pictorial Tools for self / participatory rating
  and assessment
• Sample Household interview
• Satisfaction and Opinion Survey

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What are the Critical Success Factors?

• Focus on processes that are critical for project
  results and consistent with project cycle
• Intensive vs. Extensive approach
• Design carefully the Process Monitoring Framework
  (PVP Illustration)
• Setting and agreeing on process quality standards
  / indicators (to maintain objectivity)
• Ex. Project Awareness building process ? To what
  extent the community should know, what they
  should know, who should know, whether it has
  elevated interest among community?
• Contextualizing process indicators and techniques
  to project setting
• Social and cultural setting
• Maintain focus on important project cohorts
• Pro Poor, Inclusion and Participation (Equity),
  Empowerment and Social Capital, Transparency and
  Governance, Sustainability
• Building Capacity of teams in qualitative and
  participatory approaches continuous training
  eyes and ears on details
• Collection and recording of qualitative data is
  comparatively difficult
• Community response differs with techniques used
  evaluate and select
• Commitment of project leaders and teams for
  accepting findings contrary to their expectation

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What gives better Results?

• Focused Thematic Studies
• Intensive, provides detailed insights
• Captures variations across communities
• Uses several techniques together
• Rapid Process Appraisal
• Review of all key project and community processes
  in samples
• Immediate actionable activities for teams
• Action taken report as a means of fixing
  accountability (PVP)
• Using Process and Results Monitoring together
• Describes results from process perspective
• Meaningful approach for process oriented
  livelihood projects

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How should project prepare Process Monitoring
Plan?
Project Process What (Process Quality Indicators) What Outcomes are affected When (Period / Project Cycle) How (Techniques) Where (Location) Who (Responsibility)
 PIP Process 100 of habitation coverage At least 90 participation in habitation meeting Targeted Households list prepared and approved by Gram Sabha Separate list for most vulnerable and deprived households All left-out poor households are identified and listed At least 80 of the poor are included in SHGs All Poorest of the Poor included in SHGs through special assistance Community Mobilisation Phase Observation, Key Informant, Sample Check, Document Review Village / GP District Project Team State Team Partner Organization
             
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PM Framework - Illustration from PVP

• Participatory Identification of Poor (PIP)
• Process Quality Indicators
• There is no exclusion of households reported
  including migrating and nomadic households
• All households thought to be belonging to poor or
  very poor by the community is included in the
  target list of poor and very poor households
  prepared through PIP
• All households who are either tribal or disable
  or thought to be belonging to vulnerable category
  by the community is included in separated
  individual target list prepared through PIP
• PIP process has adhered to procedure elaborated
  in COM based on material evidence
• Filled up PIP Cards
• Social Mapping charts of each habitation prepared
• Habitation wise target individual lists prepared
  (List of poor and very poor household, list of
  disabled, tribal list, list of vulnerable)
• Feedback
• Check with groups in different habitations/village
  whether there are households who have been
  wrongly classified or missed because they were
  not present during PIP process
• Check with groups in different habitations/village
  whether there are individuals who have been
  missed in the individual target list

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PM Framework - Illustration from PVP

• Activities related to Participatory
  Identification of Poor (PIP) Process
• a) Habitation wise meeting for awareness of PIP
  exercise
• At least one meeting in each habitation conducted
  by the village Panchayat members
• At least 90 of the community had the advance
  information about when and how the PIP would be
  conducted
• b) Formation of PIP Team and Training the PIP
  team
• The team selected were keen to spend the desired
  time for the process (Find out whether any PIP
  team member backed out from the process)
• The team understood the steps for conducting PIP
  and facilitating meetings/PRA (Feedback from PIP
  team)
• Feedback
• The PIP team visited all the habitation for
  conducting the PIP process
• Representation of poor in PIP team
• Whether all steps in the PIP process was adhered
  to before finalising the target list such as
  social mapping, wealth ranking through three
  group triangulation, discussion on final list of
  the habitation
• Community acceptability on the final output
  (project target lists) of the process
• c) Convening Village assembly meeting
• At least one village assembly conducted to
  provide advance information about when and where
  PIP would be conducted (Panchayat
  records/minutes)
• At least 50 of the household (both men and
  women) attended the village assembly meeting in
  each habitation (Check with groups in different
  habitations/village whether members participated
  in village assembly meeting)

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PM Framework - Illustration from PVP

• All household in the habitation received PIP
  cards and were given hand holding support to fill
  the socio economic details. (Check with groups in
  different habitations/village whether complete
  cards were filled in discussion with the
  respective household)
• Feedback
• Whether PIP cards were filled for the migrating
  households and other missing households during
  the time of PIP cards collection? Whether the
  migrating household or household absent on the
  day cards also placed during the mapping exercise
• d) Transect walk
• Quality Indicators
• At least in habitations located in geographically
  remote locations adequate time have been spent by
  PIP team prior to conduct of the PIP process
  (Check with groups in different
  habitations/village whether transect walk been
  done by the PIP team)
• Right time, venue and day have been decided in
  habitations which are geographically remote
  locations to ensure more than 80 participation
  of households
• e) Social Mapping
• Quality Indicators
• In all such habitation identified by project
  norms social mapping process has been undertaken.
• All habitations located in distant geographic
  locations from main Panchayat have had compulsory
  social mapping exercise
• 100 of the household were represented in the map
  drawn during the exercise
• At least 50 women of the habitation participated
  in the exercise

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PM Framework - Illustration from PVP

• Social mapping process has adhered to procedure
  elaborated in COM based on process and material
  evidence
• Each habitation where social mapping exercise
  conducted have a separate chart
• 100 household mapped in the chart
• Symbols used to identify and highlight presence
  of orphans, widows, disabled, destitute, old age
  people with chronic illness, nomads in each
  mapped household
• Hard copy of charts and photographs present with
  VPRC
• Feedback
• Whether social mapping done in an appropriate
  time when women, PwD, youth from each household
  could provide extensive time till completion of
  the exercise
• All the details of household PIP cards were
  validated during the exercise by the group and
  placed in front of the entire group
• Check with groups in different habitations/village
  whether any eligible household (for project) was
  missed or not represented and PIP cards were not
  placed during the exercise
• f) Wealth Ranking
• Quality Indicators
• The household identified under each category was
  well documented and displayed in the notice board
  of each habitation for feedback.
• Habitation wise list prepared covering 100
  households under poor and very poor category.
• Habitation wise list prepared covering 100 of
  PwD by age, name and gender.

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PM Framework - Illustration from PVP

• 100 of PwD in each habitation went through
  disability assessment and those certified by
  medical doctors (for 40 above disability) and by
  BDFA (for 40 below disability) were targeted by
  the project (Review of disability assessment
  workshop minutes in the habitation and the target
  member list of the habitation)
• Habitation wise list prepared covering 100 of
  tribal households and poor and very poor
  household among them
• The individuals identified under vulnerable
  category were approved by the habitation members
  after being displayed
• Habitation wise list prepared covering 100 of
  vulnerable identified during the process.
• At least 90 of the habitation know which
  category of household are targeted for the
  project and why
• 100 of the households who could not attend the
  wealth ranking process but were identified under
  the poor and very poor category by the groups in
  habitation were included under a separate list
  for inclusion later
• Feedback
• Exclusion of eligible household from poor and
  very poor family from being included under
  project target list
• Absentee households and vulnerable included under
  the project target list
• PwD having no medical certificate or BDFA
  certification are included under the project
• Sufficient time given to reach consensus on the
  categorisation of poverty dimension of the
  household
• Sufficient time given to receive feedback on the
  list and finalise the targeted household list
• Majority household consensus matched about the
  socio economic categorisation done for poor/very
  poor/middle/rich in two groups during the
  exercise in each habitation. (Feedback to see
  what method was adopted to reach the consensus on
  the definition, whether voting or in writing in
  the two groups)

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PM Framework - Illustration from PVP

• g) Data validation for ensuring quality
• Quality Indicator
• At least 95 household were found to have valid
  information when sample checks done by PFT and
  zonal APM (Feedback from PFT members and sample
  check reports)
• Feedback
• Community at the habitation level agree to the
  validity of the project target list? If No,
  reasons of disagreement and reasons for not
  resolving the conflicts in gram sabha
• h) Documentation of the data
• 100 of the households identified in the
  habitation level PIP list are included in the
  draft PIP list of the Panchayat
• i) Displaying the target list
• Majority of the members in gram sabha approve the
  PIP draft list and the priority list prepared for
  members eligible to receive grants
• j) Resolving conflicts in PIP list
• Eligible members from list of left out members
  from each habitation are included in the revised
  list of PIP
• k) Approval of PIP list in Grama Sabha
• Quality Indicators
• 50 of the household of the total village attend
  Gram Sabha meeting,
• 2/3rd of the members attended grama sabha are
  from the PIP list
• Handing over the approved target list and
  documents to the Village Poverty Reduction
  Committee
• Feedback
• What are the reasons that the eligible members
  from list of left out household from each
  habitation during PIP process, not interested to
  participate in the project? 

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Illustration from BRLP
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Illustration from BRLP
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Illustration from TRIPTI
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• Thank you