Monitoring and evaluation

Monitoring and evaluation shows good business practice and is often a condition of the grant. There are no hard and fast rules about what is required for evaluation. It will be very specific to the criteria laid down by the funder.

• Some individuals and charitable trusts ask nothing from an organisation once a grant has been given.
• Other major foundations or trusts ask for a narrative report – a detailed analysis of the project and evidence of the difference it has made.
• Government and lottery grants will require routine monitoring of the project – progress checking against the delivery plan.

At a minimum, an evaluation should be carried out once a project has been completed. In the case of projects lasting up to three years, an interim evaluation should be carried out at mid point to assess impact and make any necessary adjustments. For impartiality, an independent third party is often used for larger projects and payment can be built into the business case or proposal.

Scope of evaluation

The scope of the evaluation should include at a minimum, the following:

Financial forecasts and budgets

Your financial forecasts should show how and when you receive income and incur expenditure year by year. You may produce a budget just for the grant, but it is better to show how the grant fits into your whole organisation or a distinct part of it, provided you indicate clearly what is grant expenditure and what is not.

The timetable

Break the project down into different stages (e.g. recruitment - start up - development – first milestone - second milestone - completion) and perhaps again into component tasks (e.g. manager in post, accommodation ready, other staff in post, induction training completed, admin systems in place etc).

Measurable targets

Try to come up with more telling targets, which you can keep track of e.g. the numbers of new volunteers or trainees recruited, additional people receiving your services and events held.