Now let us take a half step back. During our face-to-face training, we will start with asking the most basic questions:

What is (or what are?) “Monitoring & Evaluation”?

Monitoring is about tracking what is going with our activity or programme and capturing relevant information about what and how we are doing, so that we can evaluate our results using good data. Of course, to track information, we need to know what we want to track, that is, what we consider important to know about our research capacity building activities. Deciding what information we collect and use is key to monitoring our progress and evaluating outcomes.

Evaluation takes the information we have about our research capacity building activity: what we have put into it, what happened during the course or workshop, what came out of the course or workshop, and assesses how these results stack up against our original goals.

We will come back to these definitions later.

Now, we will get started by selecting your real-life research capacity building activity case.

Selecting the M&E Framework Project and initial data collection

Although it is important to have some basic definitions in hand before jumping in, we think that the best way to understand how to evaluate research capacity building activities is precisely to evaluate real research capacity building activities.

Objective of the M&E Framework Project

The core work of the course is built around an “M&E Framework Project” based on a research capacity building activity that you bring to the workshop (this means a real research capacity building activity that you are undertaking or plan to undertake in the near future). Throughout Block One and the face-to-face training you will develop the M&E Framework for this activity. During Block Three of the course you will complete the Framework, which will form the basis for evaluating your level of achievement in the workshop.

M&E Framework Project requirements

Keep in mind that your facilitator(s) will provide you with details of the assignment. This is a generic profile for the assignment that may change depending on the specific workshop in which you participate.

Your final M&E Framework Project should include the following elements:

1. The goal of the institution associated with the objectives. (Remember: Institutions may have more than one goal. Select the one that is relevant to your capacity building activities).

2. The objectives of the programme or activity.

3. The results chain of the programme or activity.

4. The indicators used to assess each component of the results chain.

5. The sources used to measure the indicators and a data quality plan for at least some of your indicators (your facilitator(s) will specify).

The M&E Framework Project rubric

Below you will find the scoring rubric that your workshop facilitator(s) will use to evaluate and offer feedback on your final M&E Framework Project. We encourage you to read through the rubric in some detail, even before you select the M&E activity that you will use as the basis for your final project and at several points along the way as you develop your project. Keeping an eye on the rubric will help you to refine your project as you go, and to know when it is prepared for submission.

What is a rubric?

A rubric is a descriptive scoring tool that consists of three basic elements: criteria, indicators, and a grading or scoring scale. Our scoring rubric defines four criteria for the final M&E Framework Project, it describes indicators for each of these criteria, and it explains the scoring connected to different levels of accomplishment in relation to these indicators. The rubric is a way of describing how your facilitator(s) will read and evaluate your framework, and it offers a pathway for improving your project along these four criteria, by providing detailed description of what a “Very Poor,” “Poor,” “Satisfactory,” “Very Good,” or “Excellent” project will look like. We encourage you to use the rubric to self-assess your project as it develops and to use the descriptions to make improvements in your project along the four criteria that it describes. Although we use the rubric in the context of a workshop here, this is a tool that you can use in the future as your self-assess the M&E frameworks that you develop in your professional context. The basic criteria and indicators will serve you equally well.

Our rubric includes, “Accuracy,” “Structure and consistency,” “Completeness,” and “Correctness and clarity” as its four criteria. It is not important that you understand everything about the rubric now -- throughout the workshop and, in particular, during the face-to-face training, you will become familiar with the concepts that will allow you to use the rubric to evaluate and improve your M&E Framework as you work on it. Please be sure to follow-up with your facilitator(s) if you have questions about the rubric as you go through the workshop.

1. Accuracy – All of the elements that you will use to form your M&E Framework should be formulated and expressed according to their proper definition and to requirements for data quality.

2. Structure and consistency – All of the elements in your M&E Framework should be properly organised and aligned so that they make sense and work together to create a useful and workable M&E approach.

3. Completeness – For this project we require that all the elements in the results chain (we will get to this soon!) and all indicators are described. In addition, you should include a data quality plan for at least two indicators.

4. Correctness and clarity – We all make mistakes, but the use of correct language, spelling, and grammar is important. The text of your M&E Framework should be informative, descriptive, and easy and pleasant to read. This is not just about style. It will make your work more effective because it will be easier to communicate, disseminate, and use.

Criteria for selecting your project

The basic requirements are simple:

1. This should be an activity of which you are/will be the organiser or co-organiser, so that you are in a position to implement your M&E Framework and have access to all necessary data sources.

2. The activity should be specifically related to research capacity building. Of course, the main principles of M&E will apply to other contexts, but since this workshop focuses on research capacity building, related examples will facilitate peer work, and the conversations you will have during the face-to-face training.