What is Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning in Project Management?

Project monitoring is a mandatory phase for any project manager. Keeping stakeholders up to date on progress and team performance through reports and on-going documentation contributes to project success. Regularly assessing progress related to scope, benchmark goals, timeline, and budget helps to ensure that there are no unpleasant surprises as the project unfolds.

Project Evaluation:

Project evaluation is a process of collecting, recording and organizing information about project results and lessons learned for future projects which are captured during the Closure phase.

Importance of Project Monitoring and Evaluation:

• Provides the only consolidated source of information showcasing project progress;
• It allows actors to learn from each other’s experiences, building on expertise and knowledge;
• It often generates (written) reports that contribute to transparency and accountability, and allows for lessons to be shared more easily;
• It reveals mistakes and offers paths for learning and improvements;
• It provides a basis for questioning and testing assumptions;
• It provides a means for agencies seeking to learn from their experiences and to incorporate them into policy and practice;
• It provides a way to assess the crucial link between implementers and beneficiaries on the ground and decision-makers;
• It adds to the retention and development of institutional memory;
• It provides a more robust basis for raising funds and influencing policy.