Activity Monitoring
Monitoring visits
Monitoring involves different levels of contact between donors and partners. Day-to-day informal contact has a vital role in building partnerships between donor agency staff and local stakeholders. Informal visits to areas some way from the capital can also serve as useful reality checks on the progress of a national programme or Activity. These are a good way of checking on relevance, increasing NZAID understanding of the local context and gathering evidence of emerging outcomes and impacts. The main focus on monitoring should always be within our partners’ programmes, and not be driven by visits from ‘external’ donors.
Any formal monitoring visits involving NZAID staff or consultants should be as fully integrated as possible with our partners’ own Activity monitoring programme. These can help partners identify and deal with problems, issues and questions that have arisen from their more regular monitoring activities. They also provide opportunities for identifying strengths, providing reciprocal feedback, cross-checking information, and capacity-building.
Formal monitoring visits are time consuming and will increase the cost of local Activity monitoring systems. They can also impose significant demands on the time of intended beneficiaries. Planning should take account of the schedules of all the participants.
Good practice for formal monitoring visits can include significant resources, new data collection and analysis using methods such as participatory appraisal techniques. However, NZAID monitoring, particularly from posts, will often be less formal with the main aim being to provide some on-the-ground context to better understand the formal monitoring reports provided by the implementing partner. Sometimes informal visits are most useful when they are unscheduled, unobtrusive and do not have extensive planning and agreement with everyone in advance who will participate. However, in all situations great care must be taken to respect others’ privacy, cultural issues and autonomy. NZAID should not assume a “right of access” to all project sites unless it is clearly agreed beforehand (eg in a funding arrangement from the beginning of the Activity).
Good practice for formal monitoring visits
Before the visit
- Consider the partner’s needs and expectations to ensure that the visit is seen as constructive and useful as possible by all those involved
- Agree the purpose of the visit with the implementing partner and identify the key areas or dimensions that should receive attention
- Agree who will participate
- Agree on dates and ensure that the partner has sufficient time to plan for the visit.
During the visit
- Ensure local protocols and customs are respected
- Use participatory appraisal techniques to ensure that a diversity of viewpoints are heard
- Ensure sufficient time is allowed for thorough debriefing, discussion of issues and reflection before the conclusion of the visit
- Agree main conclusions and any follow-up, including how findings will be discussed with other key stakeholders unable to attend any final wrap up meetings.
After the visit
- Ensure feedback is provided using the most appropriate methods for the different stakeholders involved.
- Circulate any written reports swiftly, ensuring that they include agreed actions, timeframe and responsibility. Consider how these will be communicated to all key stakeholders, including whether key findings should be translated into local languages.