Back to Basics: Everything You Wanted to Know About Managing for Development Results

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by George Osei-Bimpeh on July 17, 2009 at 11:28am

Dear Hannah,

Certainly a clearly difined distinction between output, outcome and input will be of great help to me. In other word I would want to obtain tips on how to develop professional logframs. Thank you

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Permalink Reply by Hannah J Cooper on July 17, 2009 at 11:36am

Dear George,

Thank you so much for your question and comment!

I'll definitely be touching on the distinction between input, output, outcome and how to develop logframes!

My next post will give a bit of MfDR history and background and then the following post will touch on definitions (so expect to see information on input,outputs, and outcomes by the middle of next week).

Really looking forward to your comments and questions throughout this discussion!

Many thanks,

Hannah

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Permalink Reply by Dr. Sohail Amjad on July 17, 2009 at 12:15pm

Dear Hannah and George,

If you give me a chance to explain how practically we can distinguish or differntiate between an OUTPUT and OUTCOME? .......I will give you a very practical tip:

Anything which you can buy with money or resources is an OUTPUT and can never ba a OUTCOME........Anything which you cannot buy with money or other resources is an OUTCOME........Examples:

1-Hundreds of staff trained........or 30 training workshops completed.....all the equipment procured and installed.......Mothers trained to prepare oral rehydration solution etc etc.........these are all examples of outputs........If you got the money, you can train millions of mothers.....

2-Mothers started practicing oral rehydration solution for diarrhea treatment, Community behavior changed towards HIV/AIDS or contraceptives..........You can never force the people to change their behavior or attitudes, even by spending millions of dollors in a community project........

So I hope, I may be successful in explaining the differences. Now recall all those output and outcomes which you may have define during project LF design, and think, how many of those were correctly and technically accurately defined.

Let the discussion on Result Chain Design of design Monitoring Framework.........I will share a few other ideas.....

Regards

Sohail Amjad

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Permalink Reply by Ikubaje John Gbodi on July 17, 2009 at 2:23pm

Sohail Amjad, this is another excellent dimention to understanding the two cocepts. Throw more light on imput please.

Dr. Sohail Amjad said:

Dear Hannah and George,

If you give me a chance to explain how practically we can distinguish or differntiate between an OUTPUT and OUTCOME? .......I will give you a very practical tip:

Anything which you can buy with money or resources is an OUTPUT and can never ba a OUTCOME........Anything which you cannot buy with money or other resources is an OUTCOME........Examples:

1-Hundreds of staff trained........or 30 training workshops completed.....all the equipment procured and installed.......Mothers trained to prepare oral rehydration solution etc etc.........these are all examples of outputs........If you got the money, you can train millions of mothers.....

2-Mothers started practicing oral rehydration solution for diarrhea treatment, Community behavior changed towards HIV/AIDS or contraceptives..........You can never force the people to change their behavior or attitudes, even by spending millions of dollors in a community project........

So I hope, I may be successful in explaining the differences. Now recall all those output and outcomes which you may have define during project LF design, and think, how many of those were correctly and technically accurately defined.

Let the discussion on Result Chain Design of design Monitoring Framework.........I will share a few other ideas.....

Regards

Sohail Amjad

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Dr. Sohail Amjad on July 17, 2009 at 3:00pm

My Dear Friend,

Inputs are the Region of Interests (ROI) of any program, project and policy.........Inputs are all those 'nuts and bolts' which are organized to make a machine (your outputs), irrespective of the facts whether this machine produces useful units or products (OUTCOMES)................so all the project designers, and planners are very skilled to organize inputs (nuts & bolts) to complete the machine (deliverables/Outputs), without linking and even thinking how this machine will be beneficial to produce the actual products (Outcomes, Impact, Change)...........

All projects and their managers are very keen to carry out trainings.........(trainings have got tremondous capacity to absorb inputs and therefore the most easy way to burn inputs/funds).........without thinking ahead that how this Input-Processes-Output chain should be connected to Outcomes (the usual missing link).......... and finally third party evaluation clearly write in the evaluation report that............................you all know the contents !

Thanks

Dr. Sohail

Ikubaje John Gbodi said:

Sohail Amjad, this is another excellent dimention to understanding the two cocepts. Throw more light on imput please.

Dr. Sohail Amjad said:

Dear Hannah and George,

If you give me a chance to explain how practically we can distinguish or differntiate between an OUTPUT and OUTCOME? .......I will give you a very practical tip:

Anything which you can buy with money or resources is an OUTPUT and can never ba a OUTCOME........Anything which you cannot buy with money or other resources is an OUTCOME........Examples:

1-Hundreds of staff trained........or 30 training workshops completed.....all the equipment procured and installed.......Mothers trained to prepare oral rehydration solution etc etc.........these are all examples of outputs........If you got the money, you can train millions of mothers.....

2-Mothers started practicing oral rehydration solution for diarrhea treatment, Community behavior changed towards HIV/AIDS or contraceptives..........You can never force the people to change their behavior or attitudes, even by spending millions of dollors in a community project........

So I hope, I may be successful in explaining the differences. Now recall all those output and outcomes which you may have define during project LF design, and think, how many of those were correctly and technically accurately defined.

Let the discussion on Result Chain Design of design Monitoring Framework.........I will share a few other ideas.....

Regards

Sohail Amjad

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Dr. Sohail Amjad on July 17, 2009 at 4:21pm

Dear Colleagues,

Understanding "RESULT CHAIN' which is backbone of MfDR concepts, processes and Achievements........Key pillars of MfDR are Result-based Management supported by Result-based Monitoring and Evaluation.........

Please see uploaded PPT.....which may be helpful to understand core of both pillars (concepts).

Enjoy

regards

Sohail Amjad

Dr. Sohail Amjad said:

My Dear Friend,

Inputs are the Region of Interests (ROI) of any program, project and policy.........Inputs are all those 'nuts and bolts' which are organized to make a machine (your outputs), irrespective of the facts whether this machine produces useful units or products (OUTCOMES)................so all the project designers, and planners are very skilled to organize inputs (nuts & bolts) to complete the machine (deliverables/Outputs), without linking and even thinking how this machine will be beneficial to produce the actual products (Outcomes, Impact, Change)...........

All projects and their managers are very keen to carry out trainings.........(trainings have got tremondous capacity to absorb inputs and therefore the most easy way to burn inputs/funds).........without thinking ahead that how this Input-Processes-Output chain should be connected to Outcomes (the usual missing link).......... and finally third party evaluation clearly write in the evaluation report that............................you all know the contents !

Thanks

Dr. Sohail

Ikubaje John Gbodi said:

Sohail Amjad, this is another excellent dimention to understanding the two cocepts. Throw more light on imput please.

Dr. Sohail Amjad said:

Dear Hannah and George,

If you give me a chance to explain how practically we can distinguish or differntiate between an OUTPUT and OUTCOME? .......I will give you a very practical tip:

Anything which you can buy with money or resources is an OUTPUT and can never ba a OUTCOME........Anything which you cannot buy with money or other resources is an OUTCOME........Examples:

1-Hundreds of staff trained........or 30 training workshops completed.....all the equipment procured and installed.......Mothers trained to prepare oral rehydration solution etc etc.........these are all examples of outputs........If you got the money, you can train millions of mothers.....

2-Mothers started practicing oral rehydration solution for diarrhea treatment, Community behavior changed towards HIV/AIDS or contraceptives..........You can never force the people to change their behavior or attitudes, even by spending millions of dollors in a community project........

So I hope, I may be successful in explaining the differences. Now recall all those output and outcomes which you may have define during project LF design, and think, how many of those were correctly and technically accurately defined.

Let the discussion on Result Chain Design of design Monitoring Framework.........I will share a few other ideas.....

Regards

Sohail Amjad

Attachments:

• RbM&E.ppt, 259 KB

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Permalink Reply by Hannah J Cooper on July 17, 2009 at 5:23pm

Dear Dr. Amjad,

Thank you so much for sharing your powerpoint with us as well as your definitions. I will be getting into this type of information later on in this discussion. At that time it will be very interesting to compare notes and discuss definitions and result chains in further detail.

More soon on this.

Many thanks,

Hannah

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Permalink Reply by Jean-Claude Adzalla on July 18, 2009 at 2:06am

Hi,

Thnaks for the initiative of this refresher.
I will be particularly interested in the Development of an M&E framework within MfDR or RBM and how to apply it to organizations with very limited resources and data collection / analysis capacity.
This is a problem faced by many organizations I know and a discussion on that will be very helpful.
It usually results in eveluating individual projects at the expense of the whole programme.
Jean-Claude

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Permalink Reply by Jean-Claude Adzalla on July 18, 2009 at 2:08am

Jean-Claude Adzalla said:

Hi,

Thnaks for the initiative of this refresher.
I will be particularly interested in the Development of an M&E framework within MfDR or RBM and how to apply it to organizations with very limited resources and data collection / analysis capacity.
This is a problem faced by many organizations I know and a discussion on that will be very helpful.
It usually results in eveluating individual projects at the expense of the whole programme.
Jean-Claude

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Dr. Sohail Amjad on July 18, 2009 at 6:14am

Dear Adzalla,

This is the delimma faced by MfDR promoters.........Current situation in many developing countries is same in terms of MISs and availability of some kind and amount of data. The question arises, what to do with this meager amount of data available, which is of course not sufficient to measure various dimensions of performance?.........At this point, MfDR experts say ......."design a data system to provide information" which is impossible for most of the countries under resource constraint situtaion.........

Then what is the solution???......Here comes your point, try to work with available data systems and gradually build upon according to changings needs.........therefore do not discard the existing system altogether.

My friend Aru has already thrown a lot of light on this aspect during previous discussions........so I will also stress to work within the limits of available MISs and simply build upon it.

Thanks

Best regards

Sohail Amjad

Jean-Claude Adzalla said:

Hi,

Thnaks for the initiative of this refresher.
I will be particularly interested in the Development of an M&E framework within MfDR or RBM and how to apply it to organizations with very limited resources and data collection / analysis capacity.
This is a problem faced by many organizations I know and a discussion on that will be very helpful.
It usually results in eveluating individual projects at the expense of the whole programme.
Jean-Claude

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Permalink Reply by Dr. Sohail Amjad on July 18, 2009 at 10:08am

Dear All,

I have reorganized a couple of sections from my paper published in 2008. This manuscript will assist in understading of result chain, selection of performance indicators based on various criteria and their linking with result chain. This is especially for those colleagues, who are interested in learning basic concepts and definitions in the context of MfDR.

Regards

Sohail Amjad

Attachments:

• PM&E-Intrduction to terminology and processes.doc, 362 KB

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Permalink Reply by Samer Hachem on July 20, 2009 at 10:13am

Hi Hannah and All,

Going back to basics is certainly useful and thanks to all contributors for sharing information and tips. In the course of this discussion, I would like to submit the following question: many actors are now involved in promoting and implementing MfDR, especially multilateral aid organizations. From the experience I had on the topic it seems to me not all actors are harmonized around common definitions of concepts -not mentioning issues arising from translation to other languages than English. Are there "reference" documents accepted by all than can help overcome this harmonization issue when talking about MfDR?

Thanks.

Samer

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