Description
The course examines the role of the “project” relative to other aid delivery methods such as sector support and budget support used by the Donors/Development partners in pursuit of development cooperation objectives. An analysis of all the different phases of the project/programme cycle will be carried out to emphasis the methodology for preparing, implementing and evaluating projects and programmes. Particular effort will be made to bring clarity to the terminology used by the donors/development partners for the different stages for the project/programme cycle.
The 6 phases of the Project/Programme Cycle
Programming, which is the first phase of the project/programme cycle will involve an analysis of the process of setting broad national/regional/ sector policy objectives at the global/overall level. The links between these overall objectives and those of the Millennium Development Goals will be demonstrated. The Principles of the Paris Declaration, Accra Agenda for Action as well as the most recent update on Aid Effectiveness will be considered.
Following on from programming, the various techniques used in the Identification of projects/programmes from the prioritised list of overall objectives will be explored in the second phase of the project cycle i.e. Identification.
The third phase of the project cycle, Formulation will focus on designing and developing the concept of the project/programme and testing its logic and feasibility i.e. technically, socially and environmentally.
In the fourth phase of Financing, the contractual obligations between the funding agency i.e. the Contracting Authority and the Implementing Agency/party will be examined.
The Implementation Phase will involve outlining the stages of implementation with emphasis on what needs to happen in the three important stages of (i) Inception (2) Operational and (3) Phase out. The Principles of Monitoring will be discussed as well as how to design a monitoring system.
The Evaluation Phase will analyse the 5 main Evaluation criteria used by the major Donor/Development Partners (Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact and sustainability). The rationale as to why different Donors/Development partners use more or less than 6 phases in their project/programme cycle will be explained.
Learning methods
The learning method will be based on the principle of adult learning in a participatory manner. Case studies used will be existing projects which participants are involved in or their new projects in the design and preparatory stage. The aim of this approach is to ensure relevance and direct application of the tools acquired.
Approach
- The definition of the project relative to other forms of aid delivery will be defined in a policy context.
- The Project Cycle Management which is a methodology for preparing, implementing and evaluating projects and programmes within a coherent operations Cycle will be explained by focusing on the core principles of (Relevance, Feasibility, Effective and Well Managed. Relevance should demonstrate that the project /programme firstly meets the needs of those whose problems ought to be addressed and secondly those of the policy makers who set policy objectives and provide funding.
- The Logical Framework Approach which is a tool as well as a methodology for planning, managing and evaluating projects and programmes in all the different phases of the project cycle will used as the main tool throughout the training. The Logical Framework Approach is also a process divided into 4 distinct Phases ( Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Evaluation)
Analysis phase
- In Stakeholders Analysis all those with an interest in the project (both positive and negative) will be examined. Particular emphasis will be put on categorising the different beneficiaries and their respective roles to ensure a shared common objective and success of the project/programme. The various techniques of stakeholder analysis such, SWOT, Stakeholder Matrix, Venn Diagrams, Spider web etc. will be examined to choose the most appropriate for the project/programme in question.
- Problem Analysis will begin with the identification of the core problem affecting the community which ought to be addressed. This problem will be analysed in great detail during a brain storming session to establish route cause of the problem hence establishing a problem tree, showing cause and effect.
- The Objective of the project /programme will be set based on the problems already identified.
- Having set the objectives a Strategy Analysis will be made to choose the best options which can contribute most to the overall based on range of criteria.
- Planning Phase
- The entire project/programme concept will be summarised in the Logical Framework Matrix. The sequencing will begin with completing the various levels of objectives and related activities the in the first column. The Assumptions which are conditions necessary for the success of the various levels of objectives will be tested and completed in the fourth column. The indicators which measure the success of the project at various objective levels will be completed in the second column. The third column will be completed by identifying the sources of verification for the chosen indicators.
- Having completed the logical matrix an Activity Schedule and Resource Schedule will be extracted from the matrix. Activity schedule will determine the sequence and dependency of activities; estimating their duration, and assigning responsibility.
- The Resource schedule which is basically the budget for the activity schedule will develop input schedules corresponding to each activity.
Implementation Phase
Indicators which provide management information will be used to monitor and regularly review the progress of the projects particularly in relation to the set objectives .The assumptions in particular will be monitored to mitigate any risk factors.
The activity and resource schedules will be updated as implementation progresses.
Evaluation Phase
A clear situation/problem analysis will help evaluate relevance. The objective structure and indicators against which to evaluate effectiveness and impact. The Activity and resource schedules to assist in evaluating efficiency. Sustainability
The Quality Frame will be used in a peer review session to assess the quality of projects developed by participants. The Quality Frame is a framework that supports structured and consistent assessment of project quality during the project cycle, and focuses attention on whether the project is Relevant ,Feasible Effective and Well Managed. Relevant meaning it meets demonstrated and high priority needs. Relevance should be tested throughout the project Cycle but with emphasis at the programming and Identification phase. Feasible checks if the project is well designed and will deliver sustainable benefits to target groups and should be done at the formulation phase. Effective and well managed checks if the project is delivering anticipated benefits and being well managed during implementation