Monitoring and Evaluating

Jantela's Monitoring & Evaluation Officer has been in post since November 2009 and is responsible for collating and monitoring data on the Jantela project.  Other duties include providing advice and support on admin and office systems, monitoring and data capture and sharing best practice across the partnership.

As part of receiving funding all organisations are usually required to undertake some level of monitoring and evaluation.  The benefits are not just for the funder who will need to now the impact funding has had on a project or organisation eg what difference has the funding made to a target group or service area, but also the organisation will find it useful in planning future service delivery and measuring the success of their service(s).

From an organisations perspective monitoring and evaluation is essential to know how well they are delivering services to their clients; highlighting any weaknesses or gaps in service provision so improvements can be implemented.  It will also provide invaluable information when seeking future funding.
 

What is Monitoring?

In a nutshell monitoring is about the regular collection and recording of data about a project or service.  The aim being to keep track of progress and alter decisions if required.
 

What is Evaluation?

Reviewing activities of a project by assessing monitoring information collected. Evaluation helps an organisation examine what it is trying to achieve, how things are progressing towards target aims and identify any changes needed.  There are various methods of evaluation eg questionnaires, feedback forms from service users/clients being the most common. 
 
 

 

Self Help Toolkits

There are many websites offering helpful downloadable toolkits and information (some free or for a small cost) on monitoring and evaluation for voluntary and community organisations.  Here is just a small selection:

The Evaluation Trust - http://www.evaluationtrust.org/tools
 

Charities Evaluation Services (has monitoring guide specifically
for refugee organisations) - http://www.ces-vol.org.uk/index.cfm?pg=415
 

Voluntary Action Sheffield - http://www.vas.org.uk/documents/vas-policies-resources/information-sheets/monitoring__evaluation

South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau http://www.syfab.org.uk