Transport Management System (TMS)
9.2 developing an M&E Plan
Do not write strong objectives as interventions or activities, but write impact-oriented statements, with a clearly identifed impact on the system, program, or population, as a whole. Tey will support the overall goal.
An example of an objective is to reduce stockouts for all modern methods to less than 10 percent in fve years.
Te next step is to identify the interventions that will be done to achieve the objectives. A sample of an intervention to support the objective listed above is train all facility-level staf on how to report and order supplies by the end of year 2.
After you identify the objectives and interventions, you can use the criteria below to outline the priority areas, their feasibility, and the availability of resources. Score each objective and intervention on a scale of 1–3, with 1 being low priority, feasibility, or level of resources; and 3 being high (see table 9-1).
• For priority, consider how large and how broad the impact will be, whether this is an important pre-cursor/
frst step for, or synergy with, other objectives/initiatives.
• For feasibility, consider the extent of political support, relevant policies, country and logistics system infrastructure, and cultural support. Independently, score the objectives; then score the interventions within each objective to refect the feasibility of accomplishing the overall objective or intervention.
• For resources, consider if available resources (e.g., funds, materials, knowledge/skills) meet, exceed, or fail to meet the resource requirements. Assign a score that refects the level of resources available, compared to what is required to accomplish each intervention.
Table 9-1: Objectives and Interventions Worksheet
Priority Feasibility Available Resources
(vs. requirements) Objective 1:
interventions
•
•
Objective 2:
interventions
•
•
*Score: 1 = low 2 = medium 3 = high
After you prioritize the interventions, use the results to develop an M&E plan consistent with the program’s policies and procedures; focus on the objectives and interventions with the greatest need, greatest likelihood of success, and/or available resources. If the priority and feasibility are high, but resources are not available, you can develop a resource mobilization plan.
Finally, program managers and M&E advisors should identify relevant indicators that can highlight whether interventions; objectives; and, ultimately, goals have been achieved (see section 9.3 for more details). Table 9-2 can help you organize the components of the work plan by identifying the following:
• a description of the desired state that each intervention is expected to produce
• key assumptions underlying each intervention; what needs to be in place to carry out the intervention
• indicators for measuring progress toward completing the interventions and, therefore, toward achieving the objectives (see section 9.3 for details on developing indicators)
• data sources for each indicator
• person(s) responsible for carrying out the interventions and ensuring that objectives are met over the course of the workplan
• resource requirements for each intervention and their sources.
Table 9-2: M&E Workplan Worksheet Desired
State Key
Assumptions Indicators Data Sources Person(s)
Responsible Resource Requirements Objective 1:
interventions
•
•
Objective 2:
interventions
•
•
Again, link this M&E plan directly to the program’s overall workplan and priorities that address specifc weaknesses, based on solid information collected during a baseline or other assessment, and validated through a participatory process.
You can use the information from this worksheet to develop a comprehensive M&E plan, organized as suggested below. An M&E plan should include the following components—
Introduction: Provides any relevant background and country-specifc information, leading to the purpose of the M&E plan. Identify some of the key system problems in the introduction.
Description of program: Clearly states the overarching goal(s) and the objectives developed to achieve system improvements, and describes the desired state and key assumptions. Includes a general description of the interventions that will be implemented to meet the objectives. Tis is where you should establish a clear link to the overall program workplan.
Monitoring plan: Describes how progress on the interventions and processes will be routinely tracked to ensure smooth implementation, and to monitor advancement toward objectives.
Evaluation plan: Describes the methods that will be used to evaluate success in meeting objectives.
Indicators: Carefully select the indicators in the M&E plan to ensure they refect directly on the program interventions, which were designed to achieve the specifed objectives (see section 9.3 for details on developing indicators).
Data sources: Specifes where staf will get the data to report on the selected indicators.
Data collection and management tools: Outlines what data collection, or other management tools (e.g., LMIS), will be required for data collection.
Reporting requirements and frequency of data collection: Describes reporting requirements at all levels of the system, both internal and external to the program; including the frequency of data collection, and providing feedback and reporting results.
Person(s) responsible: Lists the person(s) or organization(s) responsible for implementing each intervention and monitoring its success.
Resource and capacity requirements: Defnes the human, fnancial, or capital resources and capacity required to carry out the M&E plan.
In summary, fgure 9-2 illustrates the relationship between goals, objectives, interventions, and indicators;
and ofers an example of each. Te examples are specifcally related to strengthening the supply chain.
Many other objectives could be developed to achieve the goal noted, and many interventions could be planned to achieve the objectives.
Figure 9-2: Relationship between Goals, Objectives, Interventions, and Indicators