The Project Cycle Management Course presented by Simon Pluess World Alliance of YMCAs.

The

Project Cycle Management

Course presented by Simon Pluess

World Alliance of YMCAs

What is Project Cycle Management (PCM)

INTRODUCTION

The process of planning and managing projects, programs and organisations.

PCM is based around a project cycle, which ensures that all aspects of projects are considered.

A central value of the PCM method is that aspects of the project are reconsidered throughout the project cycle to ensure that any changes, which have occurred, are included in the project design.

PCM tries to ensure that

INTRODUCTION

.- That projects contribute to the overarching YMCA strategic plan

-Projects are relevant to an agreed strategy and to the real problems of target groups/beneficiaries

- projects are feasible, meaning that the objectives can be realistically achieved within the constraints of the operating environment and the capabilities of the implementing YMCA

- benefits generated by project are sustainable

For that purpose, PCM

INTRODUCTION

.- Uses the Logical Framework to analyze problems, work out suitable solutions, design and successfully implement projects

-requires production of good quality key documents in each phase to ensure structured and well-informed decision-making

- requires consulting and involving key stakeholders as much as possible.

- puts emphasis on clear formulation and focus on ones Project Purpose in terms of sustainable benefits for the intended target groups.

Merging PCM and Logframe Approach

Project Cycle Management

Defines different phases in the project life and well defined

management activities and decision making

procedures

Logframe Approach

A methodology for planing and evaluating programme and projects, improve orientation towards objectives

INTRODUCTION

Open Discussion

What is your understanding of partner/donor relationships?

Why do projects fail?

What makes a successful project?

LESSON LEARNING

LESSON LEARNING DESIGNEVALUATION

IMPLEMENTATION

IDENTIFICATION

The Project Life Cycle

The World Alliance

To identify what a project will focus on, we need to find out who should benefit and what their needs are.

A ‘needs assessment’ will give an overview of community problems.

A ‘capacity assessment’ will help identify which problem the project should address.

IDENTIFICATION

Once it is decided to go ahead with the project, we can start to think about the details.

This involves carrying out further research into the people affected by a problem and how they are affected by it.

We also need to consider the risks to the project and how we will measure the project’s performance.

DESIGN

During the implementation of the project it is important to monitor the progress of the project and any outside changes that affect it.

The project plans should be adjusted where necessary.

IMPLEMENTATION

Urban Challenges Today

Evaluation should be carried out at or after project completion.

Evaluation could be carried out a few months or years after the project has finished in order to assess its long-term impact and sustainability.

EVALUATION

• Many of the planning tools can be used at any stage of the project.

• They should be repeated throughout the project’s life to ensure that any changes that might affect project success are accounted for.

• Findings should also be used for organizational learning and to improve other projects

LESSON LEARNING

IDENTIFICATION

The Needs Assessment

To identify an issue that a project could address.

This usually involves a ‘needs assessment’ which finds out what community needs are and whom they affect.

Only when we know what people really want can we develop an effective project.

Why a Needs Assessment?

Presenting a strong case to external funders

Giving voice to beneficiaries

Make sure that the planned response is the right one

Types of Needs Assessment Research Methods

•Secondary Research (how does it fit with the global situation)

•Reports from UN agencies, organizations related to the issues , government statistics, media articles

•Primary Research

•Quantitative

Research that is involved in the measurement of quantity or amount. Data which can be analysed in terms of numbers

•Qualitative

The gathering and analysing of information based on interviewees' own perceptions or experiences in order to provide insight into their beliefs about their circumstances rather than measurable data.

Qualitative Research Tools•Focus Group Discussions.

Focus group discussions are a research tool conducted for the purpose of exploring people’s thoughts and feelings and obtaining detailed and in-depth information about a particular topic or issue. (1-1.5h)

Quantitative Research Tools•Building a Questionnaire

The aim of this approach is to ensure that each interviewee is presented with exactly the same questions in the same order. This ensures that answers can be reliably analysed

•Conducting Interviews

Semi-structured interviews are conducted with a fairly open framework which allow for focused, conversational communication.

The Capacity Assessment

It is important to analyse the capacity of communities to deal with the problem and to explore how any intervention can strengthen local capacity. Use participatory techniques to identify which capacities need to be strengthened.

LEVELS OF CAPACITY

HUMAN These enable people to make use of their other resources. They include skills, knowledge, ability to work and good health.

SOCIAL These are based on relationships and include organisations and groups within the community, political structures and informal networks.

NATURAL These form the local environment and include land, trees, water, air, climate and minerals.

PHYSICAL These are man-made, such as building, transport, water supply and sanitation services, energy sources and telecommunications.

ECONOMIC These are things that people can use to sustain their livelihoods, such as money and savings, grain stores, livestock, tools and equipment.

The Concept Note

Concept notes should outline: _ background information_ why the project is necessary_ who will benefit from the project_ how they will benefit_ an estimate of both the total budget and the resources needed for design._how it fits with the vision and strategic plan of the YMCA

A concept note outlines the project idea. It does not have to contain a lot of details and may only be about two pages in length. The reason for writing a concept note before a full proposal is to give an idea of what we hope to do.

DESIGN

Stakeholder Analysis

Stakeholders are people, groups or institutions who have a legitimate interest in the activities of an organisation.

Internal:

Staff

Volunteers

Board Members

External:

Project beneficiaries

Community representatives

Government Representatives

NGOs, media and donors

Stakeholder Analysis is a useful tool for identifying stakeholders and describing the nature of their stake, roles and interests. Stakeholder analysis helps to :

Ø improve the project's understanding of the needs of those affected by a problem

Ø reveal how little we know as outsiders, which encourages those who do know to participate

Ø identify potential winners and losers as a result of the project

Ø reduce, or hopefully remove, potential negative project impacts

Ø identify those who have the rights, interests, resources, skills and abilities to take part in, or influence the course of the project

Ø identify who should be encouraged to take part in the project planning and implementation

Ø identify useful alliances which can be built upon

Ø identify and reduce risks which might involve identifying possible conflicts of interest and expectation among stakeholders so that conflict is avoided.

Problem Analysis

Problem analysis helps primary stakeholders to identify the causes and effects of the problems they face. It involves drawing a problem tree, from which project objectives can be identified.

METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING A PROBLEM TREE

STEP 1 Agree on the main problem, usually the one identified during project identification.

STEP 2 Identify the causes of the main problem by asking ‘But why?’ until we can go no further.

STEP 3 Identify the effects of the main problem by asking ‘So what?’ until we can go no further.

Logical Framework

The log frame is a tool used to help strengthen project design, implementation and evaluation. Although it is constructed during the planning stage of a project, the log frame is a living document, which should be consulted and altered throughout the project’s life cycle.

Logical Framework Analysis

Goal – the ultimate result to which your project is contributing

Purpose (Outcome)– the change that occurs if the project outputs are achieved (i.e. the effect of the project)

Outputs (Results) – the specifically intended results of the project activities

Activities – the actual tasks required producing the desired outputs/results

Indicators – quantitative and qualitative ways of measuring progress and whether project outputs, purpose and goal have been achieved

Means of verification – the information/data required to asses progress against indicators and their sources

Assumptions – external factors which are likely to influence the work of the project, over which implementing project staff have little control

Log FrameSUMMARY INDICATORS MEANS OF

VERIFICATIONASSUMPTIONS

GOAL

PURPOSE

OUTPUTS

ACTIVITIES

Why use a log frame?Log frames are useful because they:help people to organize their thinkinghelp people to think logicallyhelp identify weaknesses in project designensure key indicators are identified from the start of the project so that monitoring and evaluation are easierensure that people involved in the project use the same terminologyhelp people to summarize a project plan on a few sides of paper. This helps them to communicate their plan simply with others, although a log frame is no substitute for writing a full plan.

Steps: 1. Working down the Summary column

2. Work upwards through assumption column

3. Work across each row to identify Indicators and Evidence

Risk Assessment

Risk is the potential for unwanted happenings. Every activity involves risks. If they happen, some risks will affect the activity more than others. Risks can be managed if we try to minimize them:

Possible risks include:climatic – rainfallhuman – labor strikes, beneficiaries unwilling to try new techniques, project staff leaving the organisationeconomic – crop prices being unstablepolitical – government policiesprojects by other agencies not remaining on schedule.

Risks & AssumptionsOnce we have considered the risks, we can turn them into assumptions. Risks are negative statements about what might go wrong. Assumptions turn risks into positive statements.

The If and Then Test

For each objective in the log frame, consider what assumptions need to be made in order for that objective to lead to the objective at the next level. Test the logic using the ‘If-And-Then’ test:

SUMMARY INDICATORS MEANS OFVERIFICATION

ASSUMPTIONS

GOAL

PURPOSE

OUTPUTS THENACTIVITIES IF AND

As external conditions may change, it is vital that we carry out further risk assessments throughout the course of the project to ensure that we take account of all threats to its success.

Strengthening YMCAs for Relevant Response: A Global ApproachIndicators

Indicators are targets that show progress towards achieving objectives. They answer the question ‘How do we know whether or not what we planned is happening, or has happened?’

TYPES OF INDICATORS

DIRECT indicators measure the objective directly, such as the number of children attending school.

•INDIRECT indicators (also called Proxy indicators) are used if direct indicators are not appropriate or possible if, for example:

results cannot be measured directly, such as quality of life direct indicators are too expensive to measure

direct indicators can only be measured after the project has ended.FORMATIVE indicators, also called milestones show whether the project is on track SUMMATIVE indicators are useful at the end of the project for Evaluation

Strengthening YMCAs for Relevant Response: A Global Approach

QUANTITATIVE _ how often things happen_ number of people involved or affected_ growth rates_ uptake, for example, school enrolment, visits to clinic, adoption of new seed varieties.

QUALITATIVE _ satisfaction, opinions_ decision-making ability_ changes in attitude.

Indicators should be:

RELEVANT Is the indicator relevant to the objective it is measuring?

SUFFICIENT Is more than one indicator needed?

SPECIFIC Quality, quantity, time

MEASURABLE Can the indicator realistically be measured?

SENSITIVE TO THE CHANGES that will be happening as a result of the project or program.

COST-EFFECTIVE Can the indicators be measured with reasonable cost and effort?

AVAILABLE Can the indicator be measured at the planned time?

Means of Verification

Evidence is called ‘Means of Verification’ in some log frames. It describes the sources of information we will use to measure the indicator. For example, body temperature is an indicator of health. A thermometer provides the evidence.

Examples of Evidence_ reports_ newspaper articles_ minutes of meetings_ user survey_ participatory evaluation_ certificate_ maintenance log_ accounts_ official statistics

Evidence should be:

- available

- low-cost

- timely

•who will do whatwhen this will happenwhat types of inputs, besides people, will be needed.

Implementation Schedule enables us to consider when our activities will happen and for how long. Timing will depend on things such as:

seasonal weather patternsavailability of trainersavailability of materials.

Use the implementation schedule during the project to monitor progress. Ask questions like:

Why are these activities not happening to schedule?What will be the effect of this on other project activities?How can we catch up?

Action Planning

Budget

Budget is useful for:

GOOD FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY It shows that we are not spending money unnecessarily.

MONITORING OUR ACTIVITIES We will know if we have completed each activity if the money has been spent.

LEARNING By keeping a record of our budget (and later, what we actually spend), we will know what is realistic for future projects.

Proposal Writing

A proposal is a written explanation of the project plans. It enables us to put all the information about the project into one document, including:

the needs assessmentthe stakeholder analysisthe research – social, technical, environmental, economic and politicalrisk analysismore detail about the contents of the log frame.

IMPLEMENTATION

Baseline Survey

a baseline survey is a survey conducted at the beginning of a new project to establish clear benchmarks against which the progress of the project can be measured,

while a needs assessment is conducted at a much earlier stage of the project cycle in order to confirm/validate the needs/problems, help justify the chosen intervention, and feed into the overall project development and project application process.

How you choose to implement your project will depend on a number of variables, including:• the geographical scope,• thematic focus • management arrangements and capacity,• level of civil society and beneficiary capacity.

Project Delivery

However some aspect of project implementation are common to most – if not all – projects. For example,

‘it is important that young people/beneficiaries are involved not only in project activities but also in the management of the project, through steering or co-ordination groups.’

Monitoring

There are two main reasons for measuring our performance:

ACCOUNTABILITY We need to show those who give us resources and those who benefit from our work that we are using the resources wisely.

To measure performance, we need to address:RELEVANCE Does the project address needs?EFFICIENCY Are we using the available resources wisely?EFFECTIVENESS Are the desired outputs being achieved?IMPACT Has the wider goal been achieved? What changes have occurred that help beneficiaries?SUSTAINABILITY Will the impact be sustainable?

LESSON LEARNING By measuring, analyzing and reflecting on our performance, we can learn lessons that will enable us to either change our project plans or change our approach to other projects.

EVALUATION

The purpose of an evaluation is to assess the extent to which the project is meeting is stated aims, objectives, outputs and outcomes.

It can be carried out internally or externally, depending on the budget, and usually takes place half way through the project and at the end of the project.

An evaluation will typically focus

50% on analysing existing field monitoring information and

50% on interacting with project beneficiaries,

staff and

other stakeholders

to gauge first hand how the project has met its targets.

LESSON LEARNING

Why is LEARNING important?

Systematic learning can strengthen knowledge base and enable the organisation to respond to emergencies, plan and implement programmes in a timely, targeted and cost-efficient manner – equipped with the right know-how and expertise.

Definitions

Knowledge Asset is validated knowledge, captured and stored for re-use. •context behind the activity,•recommendations for how to do the activity,•a list of people with relevant experience,•stories from the past and valuable documents.

Learning Before – the knowledge is accessed at the start of a project or a piece of work, to ensure that the work is started with a full knowledge base.

Peer Assist is a mechanism forknowledge exchange. •structured, facilitated meetings or workshops •people are invited from other depts/orgs•provide experience, insights and knowledge

Definitions

During or After Action Review (AAR) is a means of collecting knowledge during activity.

It is a short focused meeting, for the team, by the team, lasting half an hour or less.

This sort of routine team learning allows you to make course corrections in your project, based on what you learn.

Learning During – new knowledge is identified and collected during implementation, while work is in progress, so that, as and where needed, operational plans can be changed immediately as new knowledge becomes available.

Definitions

Retrospect is another knowledge collection event, which takes place at the end of a project, involving as many of the project team members as possible.

It is a quick and effective way of capturing the knowledge before the team disbands or moves on to another project.

It is a structured and facilitated meeting, which lasts from a couple of hours to a couple of days.

Learning After – upon completion of a task, or at the end of a project cycle, the knowledge is collected from all those who took part, and collated for future use.

Documenting and Storing the Learning •research findings and recommendations,• survey results,• case studies,•discussion papers,•workshop proceedings,• statements, minutes and conclusions from the learning meetings (peer assist, after action review, retrospect, etc).

Sharing the LearningIt is important that the captured and documented learning is appropriately shared both within the organisation as well as externally. •project partners,•funders,•beneficiaries•wider networks and public groups

Lesson Learning

The learning can be shared throughworkshops, conferences, trainings and other participatory events reports, publications, tool kits, handbooks Web platforms

Step 1: Partner contacts a YIP with an idea for new project

Step 2: YIP discusses idea

Does it fit with YIPs priorities / Regional Strategy Plan?

Is it interesting / innovative?

Is it in line with partner’s strategic plan?

Would it be attractive to respective funders?

Step 5: YIP requests full proposal

Step 4: YIP reviews concept note

Step 3: YIP asks partner to submit concept note

Step 6: YIP reviews full proposal

Has partner completed YIP’s concept note template?Is there a clearly identified problem?Are there clearly identified target groups and target areas?Are the objectives and activities SMART?Are there clearly defined outcomes?Is the timeframe for the project realistic?Is the budget reasonable / cost-effective?

Step 7: Proposal ready for submission to funder/s.

Proposal Successful: YIP and YMCA partner sign Project Funding Agreeement (PFA) + Partnership agreement

Proposal Unsuccessful: YIP and YMCA partner discuss other funding options and/or revisions to original proposal

Has partner completed YIP full proposal template?Is there a strong needs assessment? Does this include field research?Are the objectives and activities SMART?Are there clear quantitative and qualitative objective verifiable indicators?Are there clearly defined outcomes?Is there a detailed budget?Is there a clear M&E plan?Has learning been incorporated from other partners/approaches and/or previous work?