Monitoring%20

1
Monitoring and Evaluation (ME)
If one goal of your project is to have real
impacts on farmers through high quality technical
research, then you will need to have some way of
finding out if you are achieving these
impacts! The trouble is that many things affect
farmers livelihoods, so you need some way to
calculate the contribution of your research to
their livelihoods.
2
How are impacts generated on your project?
Inputs (eg. planting material, money, labour,
ideas, information)
Activities (eg. working with farmers to evaluate
new sugar cane)
Outputs (e.g. selection of variety with high DM
and sugar yields)
Outcomes (e.g. large areas planted with this
variety)
Impacts (e.g. increased income)
3
Monitoring and Evaluation (ME)
You will also need a monitoring tool as the
situation in the field can quickly get beyond the
capacity of researchers to monitor individually.
4
1995
An example from Sepaku in East Kalimantan
5
1995
1996
16
6
1995
1996
1997
It is starting to become very complicated
10
16
Farmers starting to evaluate forages
6
Farmers expanding their forage area
Farmers not expanding their forage area
53
10
7
1995
1996
1997
1998
Impossible to handle without a monitoring tool
8
10
2
16
4
Farmers starting to evaluate forages
6
2
Farmers expanding their forage area
40
Farmers not expanding their forage area
53
13
10
8
Monitoring and Evaluation (ME)
You will also need a monitoring process because
data on impacts from farmer trials can be
misleading
2000
1999
1998
93
47
20
Number of farmers
9
Monitoring and Evaluation (ME)
You will also need a monitoring process because
data on impacts from farmer trials can be
misleading
2000
1999
1998
93
47
20
Number of farmers
20
20
20
Average Area (sq m / farmer)
Impact??
10
Monitoring and Evaluation (ME)
You will also need a monitoring process because
data on impacts from farmer trials can be
misleading
2000
1999
1998
93
47
20
Number of farmers
1205
450
20
Average Area (sq m / farmer)
Who? Many farmers? What impacts? How
significant?
11
Monitoring and Evaluation (ME)

• Before you start a process of measuring the
  impacts of your research, you need to know
• What impacts are happening?
• How many farmers are experiencing these impacts?
• Are the impacts significant in farmers lives?
• Only then should you start to quantify the
  impacts.

12
Monitoring and Evaluation (ME)
Getting answers to these three questions may not
be easy. Stories of impacts are often
misleading (exaggerated or based on stories from
just one farmer) Reports from the field are
often very uninformative about impactsonly
about outputs
One method we have used to capture impacts as
they start to happen in the field is the use of
digital photography as a basis for monitoring
13
Monitoring and Evaluation (ME)
One method we have found very useful to capture
impacts as they start to happen in the field is
the use of digital photography
14

A simple process for ME
15

Baseline
Survey

A simple process for ME
Laying a baseline for impact assessment

Village characterisation

From secondary information and results of
participatory diagnosis and initial planning
with communities

16

Baseline
Survey

A simple process for ME
Laying a baseline for impact assessment

Village characterisation

From secondary information and results of
participatory diagnosis and initial planning
with communities

Adoption Tree Surveys

Monitoring evaluation and adoption of
innovations being tested by farmers

17

Baseline
Survey

A simple process for ME
Laying a baseline for impact assessment

Village characterisation

From secondary information and results of
participatory diagnosis and initial planning
with communities

Adoption Tree Surveys

Monitoring evaluation and adoption of
innovations being tested by farmers

Farmer Focus Groups

Common interest groups of farmers in villages
working together
on a
particular issue (e.g. women worki
ng on
improving pig production)

18

Baseline
Survey

A simple process for ME
Laying a baseline for impact assessment

Village characterisation

From secondary information and results of
participatory diagnosis and initial planning
with communities

Adoption Tree Surveys

Info
rmal

Monitoring evaluation and adoption of
Observations

innovations being tested by farmers

I
nformally monitor
problems,
innovations and
Farmer Focus Groups

activities

Common interest groups of farmers in villages
working together
on a
particular issue (e.g. women worki
ng on
improving pig production)

19

Baseline
Survey

A simple process for ME
Laying a baseline for impact assessment

Village characterisation

From secondary information and results of
participatory diagnosis and initial planning
with communities

Adoption Tree Surveys

Info
rmal

Monitoring evaluation and adoption of
Observations

innovations being tested by farmers

I
nformally monitor
problems,
innovations and
Farmer Focus Groups

activities

Common interest groups of farmers in villages
working together
on a
particular issue (e.g. women worki
ng on
improving pig production)

Quantifying Impact

I
mpacts identified by Farmer F
ocus Groups

are followed up with measurements

20
Source Werner Stür, CIAT
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