A Profile of the
Communtity-Based Monitoring Systems
of Three Rural Development Projects in ZambiaNational Parks and Wildlife Services ADMADE Program
CARE Livingstone Food Security Project
CLUSA Rural Group Business Programby Andy Lyons
USAID/Zambia
November 1998
Executive Summary
Monitoring is an essential element of virtually all rural development projects. Information from monitoring activities is needed for planning purposes, daily management, assessing impact, education, and evaluating the conceptual framework, among others. Projects which function through community based organizations have an additional need to integrate community participation in the monitoring system.
This paper presents a case study of the monitoring systems of three community based rural development projects funded by USAID/Zambia. The CARE Livingstone Food Security Project, CLUSA Rural Group Business Program, and the National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS) Administrative Management Design (ADMADE) program each strive to meet project information needs through training and development of community based monitoring. For each project reviewed, the rationale behind the monitoring system is explored and data flow is mapped out. Differences and similarities are explored, and new techniques are proposed for assessing the value and performance of monitoring. Developing case studies such as these will add to the body of knowledge on monitoring and help develop systems which maximize the benefits of community participation in monitoring.
Table of Contents
Acronyms ii Acknowledgements ii Project Locations iii Executive Summary 1 Introduction 1 Working Definition of 'Monitoring' 2 ADMADE 3 Project Overview 3 Monitoring Goals 3 Monitoring Strategies 4 Information Flow 4 Bibliography 5 CARE Livingstone Food Security Project 14 Project Overview 14 Monitoring Goals 15 Information Flow 15 Monitoring Strategies 16 Bibliography 17 CLUSA Rural Group Business Program 23 Project Overview 23 Monitoring Goals 23 Monitoring Strategies 23 Information Flow 24 Bibliography 25 Discussion 37 Lessons Learned 37 Innovation and Evolution 37 Documentation and Monitoring-the-Monitoring 38 Strategies for Integrating Community Participation 38 Upwards Data Flow 39 Standardization 39 Monitoring and USAID/Zambia's Strategic Objective One 40 Evaluating an investment in monitoring 42 Synergies 43 Recommendations for Additional Work 44 Appendix I - Monitoring Bibliography 46 Appendix II - Cross-Pollination Matrix 47 Appendix III - The "Spider Model" Self-Assessment Tool for CBOs 48 Appendix IV - A Self-Evaluation Tool for Monitoring 54 Appendix V - Impact Monitoring Data for USAID/Zambia Strategic Objective One 60
Table of Figures
Figure 1 - ADMADE Organization 6 Figure 2 - ADMADE Information Flow 7 Figure 3 - ADMADE Anti-Poaching Field Patrol Data Form 8 Figure 4 - ADMADE Safari Hunting Data Sheet 10 Figure 5 - ADMADE Sustainability Evaluation Form 12 Figure 6 - LFSP Organization 18 Figure 7 - LFSP Seed Scheme - Distribution 19 Figure 8 - LFSP Seed Scheme - Repayment 20 Figure 9 - Information flow in LFSP 21 Figure 10 - Sample Page from LFSP Community Self Monitoring Ledger 22 Figure 11 - CLUSA Outgrower Program 26 Figure 12 - Information Flow in CLUSA RGBP 27 Figure 13 - Sample Profit and Loss Statement 28 Figure 14 - Business Review Report 29 Figure 15 - Sample Page from Lessons Learnt Section of CLUSA Facilitator Handbook 33 Figure 16 - Sample CLUSA Facilitator Monthly Program Report 34 Figure 17 - Depot Committee Checklist and Quality Assessment Form 36 Figure 18 - Graphic Presentation of Spider Model CBO Assessment 52 Figure 19 - USAID/Zambia Agriculture Development Office Results Framework: Strategic Objective, Intermediate Results, and Sub-Intermediate Results 60
Download Full Report
The full report, complete with figures and sample monitoring materials, can be downloaded below as a PDF file. Please note this PDF file is only compatible with Acrobat Reader 3.x or later, it won't open under Reader 2.x. If you have no clue what PDF or Acrobat Reader is, read for more details.
montr_zm.pdf (700 Kb)
Back to Andy's web page