L Mep Guide To Developing Usaid Project

Summary

L-MEP Guide to Developing USAID Project
Performance Management Plans (PMPs)
May 27, 2011
DEVELOPED BY THE LIBERIA MONITORING AND EVALUATION PROGRAM (L – MEP)
Disclaimer: Even though the content of this guide is based on requirements of USAID’s ADS
203, L-MEP – and not USAID – is solely responsible for its content

ABOUT L-MEP
The overall objective of the Liberia Monitoring and Evaluation Program (L-MEP) is to design
and Implement a comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) and Performance
Measurement System for USAID/Liberia so that the Mission can measure and report on the
achievement of their Development Objectives. The program is also intended to assist USAID’s
Implementing Partners to strengthen their M&E systems. In addition, L-MEP will work with the
Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs and key line ministries in coordinating M&E
activities for Liberia’s National Development Plan

L-MEP intends to meet its overall objective through the following five key components:
A. PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND RESULTS REPORTING
B. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PLAN DEVELOPMENT AND UPDATE
C. FIELD MONITORING
D. CAPACITY BUILDING
E. EVALUATION ASSISTANCE
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………………….4
1. FIRST STEPS……………………………………………………………………………………….4
2. ORGANIZING THE INITIAL PMP DEVELOPMENT SESSION………………………………..5
3. HOW TO MANAGE THE FIRST PMP PLANNING SESSION………………………………….5
4. DOCUMENTING THE INDICATORS……………………………………………………………7
5. COMPLETING OTHER ELEMENTS OF THE PMP……………………………………………..7
6. SETTING TARGETS AND BASELINES………………………………………………………....8
7. FINAL PACKAGING OF THE PMP……………………………………………………………...8
8. WHAT NEXT?..................................................................................................................................9
APPENDICES……………………………………………………………………………………………….10
APPENDIX 1: PMP TOOLKIT (WORKSHEETS)………………………………………………………...10
Worksheet 1: PMP Development Team Skills Matrix…………………………………………….10
Worksheet 2: PMP Development Work Plan……………………………………………………...11
Worksheet 3: Results Statement Assessment……………………………………………………..13
Worksheet 4: Performance Indicator Quality Assessment………………………………………..14
APPENDIX 2: TEMPLATE & INSTRUCTIONS ON
COMPLETING THE RESULT FRAMEWORK..........................................................................................16
APPENDIX 3: TEMPLATE & INSTRUCTIONS ON
COMPLETING THE PERFORMANCE INDICATOR REFERENCE SHEETS (PIRS).............................................17
APPENDIX 4: TEMPLATE & INSTRUCTIONS ON
COMPLETING THE PERFORMANCE INDICATOR DATA TABLE.....................................................22
APPENDIX 5: TEMPLATE & INSTRUCTIONS ON
COMPLETING CALENDAR OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT TASK…………………………………23
APPENDIX 6: BRAINSTORMING TECHNIQUES……………………………………………………...24
APPENDIX 7: NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE……………………………………………………….26
APPENDIX 8: QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INDICATOR DEVELOPMENT……………………………...28
APPENDIX 9: DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS…………………………………………………………..29
APPENDIX 10: PMP SELF-ASSESSMENT TOOL……………………………………………………...31
3
GUIDE TO DEVELOPING A PROJECT’S PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PLAN
INTRODUCTION
This brief guide is intended to help M&E Officers of USAID Liberia implementing partners lead
the Performance Management Plan (PMP) development process for their organization. It
assumes that the M&E Officer or another relevant staff has either attended the USAID’s
Managing for Results Training conducted by L-MEP, or met with the L-MEP M&E Specialist
assigned to assist with PMP development in an initial orientation

The key requirements for a PMP are:
• Narrative describing the project’s Development Hypothesis
• A Results Framework graphic
• A Performance Indicator Data Table in matrix format documenting, among other
things, baseline value, annual and life-of-project targets and disaggregation type
• Performance Indicator Reference Sheets (PIRS) detailing all indicators
• Calendar of Performance Management Task, a M&E Task Schedule
The PMP should also include a narrative description of how the project’s M&E system will
function

Developing a PMP will take a number of sessions and/or meetings and require the inputs of
many of the project’s staff over a period of time. Strong leadership is required to ensure that the
PMP development process is successful and that project staff buy into the final product

L-MEP developed this short guide to help M&E Officers of Implementing Partner organizations
lead the process of developing a PMP that both meets Agency requirements and that is useful to
their organization

1. FIRST STEPS
Familiarize yourself thoroughly with your Project Description by reading your project’s
proposal and the agreed Project Description in your project’s agreement with USAID

Obtain the most current version of your USAID Sector Team’s PMP and Results Framework
so that you understand where your project fits into the bigger picture. Review your own
Results Framework

4
Obtain and review the list of indicators that are on the Team PMP against which your
project is required to report from your project’s COTR/AOTR or L-MEP – these must be
included in your PMP

Complete Worksheet 1: PMP Development Team Skills Matrix in order to identify project
staff with all or some of the skills listed in the top row. This will ensure that your meetings
have the right skill mix in order to make progress. (See Appendix 1)
Complete Worksheet 2: PMP Development Work Plan (see Appendix 1) in order to plan
your own work as the M&E Officer in charge of this process. Phase1 would be the set of
meetings needed to develop the indicators and Phase 2 could be the PMP finalization stage

2. ORGANIZING THE INITIAL PMP DEVELOPMENT SESSION
• Invite the project staff to an initial PMP Development meeting. Consider inviting
your USAID COTR and L-MEP M&E Specialist

• Prepare a short introductory briefing on what a PMP is and why it is required
• Make copies of Worksheet 3 (Results Framework Assessment) and Worksheet 4
(Performance Indicator Quality Assessment) on flip-chart sized paper
• Prepare questions for brainstorming on flip chart sheets for each working group (See
Annex 8)
• Obtain flip charts, pens, paper etc

• Assign a note-taker
3. HOW TO MANAGE THE FIRST PMP PLANNING SESSION
One possible way of managing the PMP development process is outlined below

3.1 Overview
Provide a short presentation on what a PMP is, why it is important and the elements that
comprise a complete PMP (result framework indicators, precise definitions, baselines, targets,
narrative, and M&E task schedule) so that everyone is on the same page

Outline your plan to develop and submit the PMP. Project staff needs to know up-front that they
will be engaged with the process after this initial meeting

5
3.2 Results Framework Review
Review the project’s Results Framework and its link to the USAID Team’s Results Framework
with a view to ensuring that everyone understands the bigger picture. Then use Worksheet 3:
Results Statement Assessment (see Appendix 1) if you think that there are problems with the
project’s Results Framework. The assessment tool is used to assess each result at each level of
your Results Framework (Project Objective, Intermediate Result and Sub-Intermediate result)

Agree any changes and assign the Chief of Party to communicate these to the project’s
COTR/AOTR. You may decide to wait until approval has been given before proceeding with
Indicator Development

The key elements of the result framework (see Appendix 2) are as followed:
• The Development Objective => this refers to the overall or final result that is hoped to
be achieved with the assistance provided at the completion of projects/programs. This is
placed at the highest level of the graphical structure of the framework

• Intermediate Result (IR) => this refers to middle level results/outcomes when achieve
could lead to the highest level result being achieved. This is placed at the next level of the
structure below the Assistance Objective

• Sub-Intermediate Results => this refers to lower level results that lead to intermediate
results being achieved. Based on the structure of a program/project, it is very possible to
have another level of sub intermediate results

• Critical Assumptions => these are conditions that missions and programs may not have
control over but must hold for the development hypothesis to lead to the relevant
outcome. They are always placed in a separate block of the framework

3.3 Performance Indicator Development & Selection
Divide the participants into groups according to each Intermediate Result in your project’s
Results Framework. Have senior staff float between the groups. Put up the list of questions that
has been pre-documented on flip chart paper (see Appendix 8)

Invite the senior project staff members in charge of results for each Intermediate Result to clarify
the results sought for his/her Intermediate Result and associated Sub-Intermediate Results
(Question 1) for his/her group and to explain what activities will be undertaken in pursuit of
these results (Question 2). Have these documented on flip charts. Ensure that there is clarity and
consensus in the groups on these two items before moving on. Then, move the groups onto the
3rd question which is about indicators

6
Have each group document all ideas for indicators for their assigned result on flip chart paper

Ideas for managing a brainstorming exercise are in Appendix 7

Have each group systematically work through Worksheet 4: Performance Indicator Quality
Assessment (see Appendix 1) for each proposed indicator. They can do this as a group or they
can divide up the proposed indicators amongst a small number of sub-groups or pairs

Have each group rank the indicators from best to worst in terms of the criteria on Worksheet 5
and give them some time to prepare a presentation to the Plenary

Conduct a Plenary Session at which each group reports on their best indicators. Elicit feedback
from the other members. Identify any gaps. Identify some indicators for the highest level of your
project’s Results Framework

This is probably a good point at which to end the initial session. Communicate to staff that more
work will be required to precisely define the indicators, set targets and baselines, document data
collection methodologies etc

4. DOCUMENTING INDICATORS
After the initial meeting with staff, you can start to draft Performance Indicator Reference
Sheets (see Appendix 3), working more or less closely with relevant project staff depending on
your level of knowledge of the sector. You will find that some indicators previously selected fall
away as it becomes apparent that they are not feasible to collect. The PIRS is a comprehensive
tool covering definition, data collection methodologies, data analysis techniques, roles and
responsibilities. They usually take several iterations to develop. Also draft the PIRS for the
mandatory indicators

Once PIRS are complete and have been reviewed internally, you can send to your L-MEP M&E
Specialist for an independent review. L-MEP staff can also provide you with guidance on data
collection methodologies

5. COMPLETING OTHER ELEMENTS OF THE PMP
Complete the Performance Indicator Table (see Appendix 4) with title, description, unit of
measure, frequency of data collection etc. Your Administrative Assistant can help here with
cutting and pasting the indicator definitions from the PIRS into the Table

Working from the project’s annual work plan and the frequency column of the Performance
Indicator Table, complete the Calendar of Performance Management Task (see Appendix 5)

7
Remember to schedule a mid-term and end-of project evaluation. This is helpful also to the
M&E Officer as it constitutes an outline of your own personal annual work plan

6. SETTING TARGETS AND BASELINES
Ask project staff to complete the baseline and targets on the Performance Indicator Table. It is
advisable to do this in a meeting setting with senior project managers and financial staff present
as the magnitude of your project’s achievements is closely related to its resources. Targets may
have already been set in your project’s annual work plan – in which case, review with program
and senior staff to see if they are still valid. Your L-MEP M&E Specialist can provide you tip on
targets and baselines setting. Be sure to document the rationale or reason why a target was set on
the PIRS in the section on Notes on Baselines & Targets. This provides everyone with a record
of your project’s thinking at the time the target was set

If baselines are not yet known, devise and document a plan to collect them. Many baselines will
be zero e.g. number of people trained whereas others will require more complex data collection
methods e.g. a survey to determine pre-project household income levels

7. FINAL PACKAGING OF THE PMP
Draft the narrative section of the PMP which outlines your project’s development
hypothesis, your reasons for selecting the indicators, plans for monitoring, data collection
and evaluation

When finalizing the narrative describing the development hypothesis you should:
1. Articulate causality or a Causal Logic – a way to demonstrate your theory of how the
activities delivered by your project lead to the objective (“change in the condition of
the customer”). Clearly explain the linkages between your result framework and the
USAID result to which your project is linked, detailing how achieving your results
help accomplish the USAID result

2. Apply the “Necessary and Sufficient Rule” – Results within the results framework
should be necessary to achieving the objective; an indicator should also be necessary
to tracking the results it is intended to measure. Additionally, the set of intermediate
results or sub-intermediate results should be sufficient for achieving the result to
which they are linked. Similarly, the set of indicators selected for a given result
should be adequate to ensure that progress toward the result is sufficiently captured

This does not mean that one intermediate result or one indicator is not sufficient for a
given result, but such intermediate result or indicator should be capable of performing
its functions

8
3. Define Critical Assumptions – a general condition under which the development
hypothesis or strategy for achieving the objective will hold true. Critical assumptions
are not results; they are outside the control or influence of USAID and its partners,
but they reflect conditions likely to affect the achievement of results in the result
framework

Assemble the whole package – Narrative, Results Framework, Performance Indicator Table,
PIRS, and M&E Task Schedule - and ask L-MEP to review once any internal reviews have
been performed

Have your Chief of Party submit to the project’s COTR/AOTR for approval

8. WHAT NEXT?
Once you have submitted the PMP for approval, you can start working on data collection
tools for each indicator. These will vary according to the indicator. For example, it is a
good idea to have a standardized training participation sheet that collects the sex of the
training participant as USAID usually requires people-level data to be disaggregated by sex

One standardized form used across your project by whoever conducts training will make
your work aggregating the data easier

Consider providing sub-grantees and other partners with data collection tools to ensure that
data are captured exactly as you want them to be. Also work with your project staff to devise
suitable data collection tools that they are comfortable using

Ensure baseline data are collected as soon as possible. L-MEP staff can review Scopes of
Work for consultants if you decide to contract out this task

Plan for data aggregation by developing a series of Excel spreadsheets to capture simple
indicator data such as people trained, project beneficiaries, commodities sold etc. It is
advisable to roll up data as soon as it is available in time for your project’s quarterly reports

Consider preparing periodic internal performance data reviews for project management
and project staff in which you calculate % performance achieved to-date against the annual
target. This alerts everyone to areas of under-performance vis-à-vis the target and areas of
over-performance which is sometimes indicative of poor planning, a more favorable
operating environment than anticipated, more funds etc

Consider reviewing the templates for Success Stories on the USAID website and
encouraging project staff to collect qualitative data in one of these recommended formats

9
Consider developing a collection of captioned photos for use in your project’s reports or its
website. Captions should include: Photographer’s Name, date, location, event

APPENDICES:
APPENDIX 1: PMP Toolkit (worksheets)
Worksheet 1: PMP Development Team Skills Matrix
List all of the proposed team members of the PMP development team and their proposed roles

Check-mark each skill that the team members have. Use this worksheet to ensure that you have
a good cross-section of skills represented on the team

processes, culture
methods and best
Has facilitation,
MFR approach
Knows USAID
Knows USAID
report writing
analytical and
conditions in-
Knows local
Knows PM
Name Role
training or
experience
Has sector
Has sector
structure,
education
practices
depth
skills
1

10
5
Worksheet 2: PMP Development Work plan
Use this worksheet to list all of the major tasks and sub-tasks needed to prepare the PMP

Expand the worksheet by including additional rows in the table as needed. Another approach
would be to use Microsoft Project to develop the work plan if someone on the team is familiar
with it

START LEVEL OF
DESRIPTION END DATE STAFF
DATE EFFORT
Phase 1:
Task 1:
Sub-task 1:
Sub-task 2:
Task 2:
Sub-task 1:
Sub-task 2:
Phase 2:
Task 1:
Sub-task 1:
11
Sub-task 2:
Task 2:
Sub-task 1:
Sub-task 2:
12

5 Obtain and review the list of indicators that are on the Team PMP against which your project is required to report from your project’s COTR/AOTR or L-MEP – these must be included in your …

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the focus of a usaid project?

Less frequently, a project's focus could be a DO, for a small program, or, for a large program, a project's focus might be on a sub-IR. Project design, implementation planning and oversight and project monitoring and evaluation are USAID staff responsibilities.

What is a project mel plan?

The MEL Plans contribute to the effectiveness of the CDCS-level Performance Management Plan (PMP), as well as the project itself, by assuring that comparable data will be collected on a regular and timely basis. A Project MEL Plan is technically an annex to a Project Appraisal Document (PAD).

Is this mel handbook useful for trade project mel design?

Two sections of this MEL Handbook will likely be as useful for teams designing trade project MEL plans as they will be for project designers focusing on the status of a country's business enabling environment.