Funders and other 'stakeholders' want to know whether a project has spent its money appropriately. There is pressure from funders to provide them with evidence of success. Many projects have to respond to this demand in order to survive.
There may be some difficulties in co-ordinating both of these approaches but it is important for many voluntary organisations to find ways in which both the need for accountability and the need for learning can be met. Many funders are also becoming more interested not only in whether a project has worked, but why it worked.
The purpose of evaluation will change the type of questions asked. For accountability, the questions might be:
- has the project worked?
- how has money been spent?
- should the project continue?
For learning, you might ask:
- what are the project's strengths and weaknesses?
- what are the implementation problems?
- why have things worked, or not?
- what are the good practice issues?
Evaluation should not only answer questions; it should also prompt fresh thinking within your organisation and in your contacts with external agencies. If you have asked the right questions, an evaluation will tell you not only what you have achieved, but also how you did it and what was most effective. It will help you find the areas where improvement or change is needed, and help you to provide the best service to users.
Monitoring and evaluation are essential to learning about how activities and services are performing and to understand how to make improvements. The knowledge developed through carrying out monitoring and evaluation work is a valuable resource for every organisation and for future development. Without it organisations risk constantly ‘re-inventing the wheel’ and repeating mistakes. It is also a necessary part of being accountable — to members, users and funders.
