Program Monitoring and Evaluation of Sustainable Development Goals for Non-Profits and NGOs: Benefits, Functions, Stages, and Stakeholders

Program Monitoring And Evaluation

According to Markiewicz and Patrick (2016), program monitoring and evaluation, referred to as monitoring and evaluation (M&E) throughout this study is a process that provides “… routine monitoring and periodic evaluation that will take place over the life of a program or initiative. Typically, these parameters include a focus on evaluation domains, particularly those of appropriateness, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability.” (p.1). The goal of M&E is to establish connections between the past, present and future results, in order to derive information that can be leveraged to re-align new and existing programs.

Program managers spend a lot of their time having to communicate the status of the program to stakeholders and consistent communication is essential to ensure cross-program and program collaboration (Zulch, 2014). Any significant changes to the programs need to be shared across the organization so that quick and relevant decisions are made to correct any deviations in order to prevent any rework, delays or additional scope and cost to programs. To accomplish this, program managers collect consistently data related to the status of the program. This includes the use of specific indicators of metrics (Curlee & Gordon, 2013).

According to UNDP (2009), program monitoring is an ongoing process that serves various stakeholders to get feedback on the progress made by a program towards accomplishing its SDGs. The key here is that monitoring involves progress reviews against specific SDGs to determine whether these SDGs are achieved. Monitoring involves the tracking of projects, programs, strategies and actions taken by an NGOs or non-profits’ stakeholders in order to determine next steps toward improved results (Paul, 2021). Furthermore, monitoring involves real-time information required by management and often creates questions that need to be addressed by the evaluation process. The lessons learned from the monitoring process are examined periodically for the purposes of making decisions and taking actions.