Monitoring & Evaluation

Keeping track of climate
adaptation progress

Specific purpose #2: Monitoring the implementation of adaptation programmes, projects or actions

This approach is purely concerned with monitoring the implementation, not results. For the latter, please see specific purpose #5.
ProspectBeing informed about implementation status.
Potential use of M&E findingsBecoming aware of any delays and responding as appropriate.
DescriptionActivities and outputs (e.g. publication of a report) and their timeline are defined and their achievement monitored at agreed points in time.
Benefits and limitationsDefining activities or outputs (e.g. as part of annual planning) provides orientation for project management. Comparing actual progress with intended timelines indicates the status of implementation, but it does not explain why deviations occurred. It merely indicates the need for action or further analysis. The main limitation of this approach is that it does not seek to measure the effects which the activities have had towards the objective of the project or measure.
Resources neededIn general, resource requirements are very low since the necessary information is readily available from project staff.
Example from practiceDue to the aid effectiveness agenda it should be relatively rare to only monitor implementation without any notion of assessing results. Nevertheless, due to the challenges of assessing adaptation outcomes (e.g. described by Bours et al., 2014) it has not been uncommon to date for adaptation projects to limit their M&E merely to outputs (e.g. number of people trained). Therefore, please also see specific purpose #5 “Assessing the results of adaptation projects or actions”.
LinksPlease see specific purpose #5.