The term “monitoring” has been adopted for use in many aspects of development project management where on-going assessment is implied.

A good definition which includes the use of monitoring data for management decision making or “steering” is provided in the AusGUIDE series:

Monitoring is concerned with assessing the implementation progress of a project or activity and identifying action to correct problems when they occur. It includes the processes of collecting, analysing, recording, reporting and using management information about the physical and financial progress of a project. The focus is on the activity and output levels of the Logical Framework hierarchy of objectives

Frequently it is difficult to judge the quality of outputs (e.g. capacity building or training) without also obtaining some feedback on the effects of those outputs (e.g. target group institutional or personal performance). For this reason it may also be desirable for management to monitor at purpose level. Likewise the context in which the project operates or risks to the project (Important Assumptions) will change over time and require on-going assessment.

Taking into account these issues, CARE International includes them in its overview of monitoring, identifying four main types of monitoring activities:

Institutional monitoring
This category refers to internal monitoring of financial, physical and organisational issues affecting the project. Financial monitoring tracks project inputs and costs by activity within predefined categories of expenditure. Physical monitoring tracks the distribution and delivery of project activities and outputs/interventions. Organisational monitoring tracks sustainability, institutional development and capacity building in the project and direct partners. Organisational monitoring is often the weakest element.

Context monitoring
The process of tracking the context in which a project is operating, as it affects critical assumptions and risks to the project. This includes monitoring institutional and policy issues that may affect the capacity of the project to act or the capability of the target population to respond to the project. These concerns are handled to some extent during monitoring, but principally during evaluations.

Results monitoring
The process of tracking project effects (target population responses to project outputs/interventions) and project impacts (the contribution that the project makes to fundamental and sustainable change for the target population). Concerns about effects are handled to some extent during monitoring, but mostly by evaluation. Assessment of impacts is rarely dealt with by monitoring, and is principally in the domain of evaluation.

Objectives monitoring
The process of tracking project objectives and strategies for continuing relevance to the target population and its changing needs.