Handbook on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluating
for Development Results

Chapter 1. Planning, monitoring and evaluation for development results

Good planning, monitoring and evaluation enhance the contribution of UNDP by establishing clear links between past, present and future initiatives and development results. Monitoring and evaluation can help an organization extract relevant information from past and ongoing activities that can be used as the basis for programmatic fine-tuning, reorientation and future planning. Without effective planning, monitoring and evaluation, it would be impossible to judge if work is going in the right direction, whether progress and success can be claimed, and how future efforts might be improved.

This chapter describes the purposes of planning, monitoring and evaluation in the context of results-based management (RBM) and managing for development results (MfDR) and explains how these functions are important to an organization such as UNDP. It also provides key definitions and principles that are integral to planning, monitoring and evaluation. This chapter is intended for UNDP managers, staff, key partners and stakeholders who are involved in the design and implementation of development initiatives and decision-making. The culture of results orientation and the principles of RBM and MfDR must be embraced by all in order for UNDP to effectively contribute to human development.