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CASE STUDIES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Lecture 6

Development Project Planning

SUMMARY

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Overview

• Discipline: Development Planning

• Project Cycle Management

• Planning & Implementation Approaches & Tools– LOGICAL FRAMEWORK ANALYSIS– STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS– MONITORING & EVALUATION

• Critique of Project Planning and Cycle Management

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References

Rondinelli, Dennis (1983). “ Designing Development Projects: the limits of comprehensive planning and management”, in Development Projects as Policy Experiments, Methuen, London, pp.65-88(Chapter 3)

Sagasti, F (1988). “National Development Planning in Turbulent Times: New Approaches and criteria for institutional design”, World Development, Vol. 16, No.4, pp.431-448

Dale, Reidar (1998) “Perspectives and Variables of Evaluation” in Evaluation Framework for Development Programmes and Projects, Sage Publications, London, pp.39-84 (Chapter 2)

Roche, C. (1999) “ Designing an Impact Assessment Process” in Impact Assessment for Development Agencies: Learning to Value Change, Oxfam, Oxford, pp.37-61 (Chapter 3)

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References

Cracknell, B.E. (2000) “Project Cycle Management: A Basis for Effective Monitoring and Evaluation” in Evaluating Development Aid. Issues, Problems and Solutions, Sage Publications, London, pp.93-125 (Chapter 5)

Taylor, L. (2001) “ Good monitoring and evaluation practice. Guidance Notes”, unpublished notes, Performance Assessment Resource Centre (PARC), Birmingham, UK (http://www.parcinfo.org)

Thomas, Alan and Tim Allen (2000) “ Agencies of Development” in Allen and Thomas (eds.) Poverty and Development into the 21st Century, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp.189-216 (Chapter 9)

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“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there”

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Development Planning

Immanent vs. Intentional Development as Vision Positive or Negative Development Administration/Management

Structure Agency and Agencies Institutions

Trusteeship Reductionism: power and capacity

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Plans, Programmes, Projects

Plan: a statement of anticipatory decisions, their interrelations and the criteria employed in making them (Sagasti)

Programme: usually a long-term series of interventions, sometimes with no defined end point

Project: a discrete activity aimed at specific objective with a defined budget and limited timeframe

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Project Cycle Management

Credibility “Ownership” Efficiency Monitoring and control Formalised contingency planning Despite rhetoric…the approach requires

some form of “blueprint” to ensure adherence to budgets and timeframes

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Revisiting Reductionism: Project Approach Scientific Management

Simplifies and reduces management to a series of inter-related and quantifiable components

Inputs Outputs Outcomes Defined processes and relationships

In spite of serious flaws, the approach is inherent in all development practice

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Generic Project Cycle

Identification

Appraisal

Negotiation and Approval

Implementation &Monitoring

Evaluation

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Project Cycle Stages: Identification Problem Analysis

Stakeholder consultations

Preliminary feasibility study Identification of funding agencies Consideration of possible approaches Site consultation

Possible Outputs Concept note/paper Proposal Preliminary feasibility report

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Project Cycle Stages: Appraisal Appraisal (ex-ante)

Full feasibility study Baseline study, needs assessment

Possible outputs Needs assessment report Baseline data Detailed set of indicators Amended proposal Logframe Project plan, GANTT chart etc.

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Project Cycle Stages: Negotiation and Approval

Negotiation with finance provider Possible outputs

Project memorandum Signed contract

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Project Cycle Stages: Implementation and Monitoring Team selection and activation

Person specification/job allocation Interviews and selection Terms of engagement Lines of responsibility Briefing

Monitoring: systematic documentation of performance indicating whether project is performing as intended Implementation of project management regime Regular reports, meetings, workshops

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Project Cycle Stages: Evaluation and Closure

Obtain “ sign off” from project participants Ex-post project evaluation

When possible to assess full effects External evaluator may be

necessary/appropriate Document lessons learned Formulate recommendations for next phase

Submission of completion report and evaluation Donors may reserve right to demand

concluding activities

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Logical Framework Approach (ZOPP) Zielorientierte Projektplanung “ a quality-based understanding of

planning… founded on a participatory and transparent approach to the planning process, oriented towards the needs of partners and target groups, in which the key elements of a project are agreed on step by step, in teams, with those concerned, and recorded transparently” (GTZ, 2005)

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Logical Levels of ZOPP and the Project Cycle 1. Pre-project planning2. Ex-Ante Appraisal3. Partner Negotiation4. Plan Finalization5. Implementation6. Evaluation Situation Analysis

Stakeholder Analysis Problem Identification: Problem Tree Objectives Analysis Alternatives Analysis

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Stakeholder Analysis

1. Consider appropriate level for analysis

2. Identify key stakeholders

3. Analyse interests characteristics, circumstances

4. Identify patterns of interaction between stakeholders

5. Assess power (influence) and potential (importance)

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Stakeholder Analysis Stakeholders Key

InterestsImportance to

ProjectInfluence on project

Participation

Primary

Secondary

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Stakeholder Analysis

May need special project initiatives if interests are to be projected. The Target Group should be in this category

Project Managers will need to develop good working relationships with these stakeholders to ensure effective mobilization of support for project activities

The interests of these stakeholders should be monitored to ensure that they

are not adversely affected

Influential stakeholders but with less importance for achieving project purpose and outputs. They affect outcome of activities

and need careful management

Low

Inf

luen

ceH

igh Influence

High Potential/Significance/Importance

Low Potential/Significance/Importance

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Project Planning Matrix (PPM)

Logframe, Logical Framework (Analysis), LFA

4x4 matrix Ensures clear statement of objectives

(distinction between purpose and objectives)

Introduces indicators of progress Focuses attention on the assumptions and

risks involved

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Logframe

Goal OVIs MOVs AssumptionsRisks

Purpose

Outputs

Activities

(Inputs)

Milestones

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Results-Oriented Logical Framework

Narrative Summary

Expected Results

Performance Measurement

Assumptions/ Risk

Goal Impact Indicators Indicators

Purpose Outcome

Resources Outputs

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Logic Behind the Framework

IF, THEN TEST

INPUTS

ACTIVITIES

OUTPUTS

PURPOSE

GOAL

Activities lead to outputs IF…

Outputs lead to Purpose IF…

Purpose leads to Goal IF…

AS

SU

MP

TIO

NS

AR

E IM

PO

RT

AN

T

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Logframe

Goal Development Objective/ purpose/effective objective A lofty ideal, resulting from development vision Specific to wider context of the project structure Beyond control of project but project contributes explicitly to its

achievement Purpose (Objective)

Statement of specific achievement for the project Within project scope Should be realistic given available resources Should be measurable: who will be reached, what change will

be achieved, the period in which it will be achieved and where it will occur

Verbs. Adjectives denoting measurable change (decrease, increase, improve, enhance, strengthen

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Logframe

Outputs and Outcomes Activities Inputs (Objectively Verifiable) Indicators Means of Verification (substantiation) Assumptions and Risks

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CATWOE TEST

Customer for the project (Who pays?) Agents for the project (who does what?) Transformation the project intends to achieve Worldview or major assumption of the

transformation (development hypothesis) Owner of the project (who are the beneficiaries) Environmental Constraints (natural, social,

political, economic) facing the project

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Performance Measurement (Monitoring) Monitoring

Input Output Outcomes (RBM) Logical framework approach

Levels of Indicators Strategic Sustainability Attainment Performance

Quality, Quantity, Time

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Monitoring Tools:

Progress reports Team meetings, team briefing reports

Criteria Relevance to goal/purpose and in-country needs Efficiency in providing inputs and converting to

outputs Effectiveness – has production of outputs achieved

outputs? Impact – is purpose making anticipated level of

contribution to high-level goals Sustainability – meets present needs without

prejudice to future generations’ ability to meet own needs

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Evaluation: Impact Assessment Cracknell and Roche

Impact from beneficiaries’ point of view What do they think is significant? To whom is it important Ex-ante and Ex-post

CriteriaEfficiency – relate inputs to outputsEffectiveness- extent to which achieved objectivesConsistency- methods/approaches with objectivesImpact – change to lives/environment

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Evaluation: Feedback

Lessons Learned Most useful in development of LFA

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Trade Offs: Too much project planning?

Performance

CostTime Amount of planning

Cost

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Limits to Rational Planning and Systematic Management Costly and ineffective analysis Comprehensive planning vs. dynamism of

political interaction Inflexibility and unnecessary constraints on

managers Delegation to experts and inappropriate intervention

No involvement of intended beneficiaries in planning and management

Reluctance to engage in evaluation and error detection

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Constraints

Difficulty in precise definition of objectives and goals

Lack of appropriate or adequate data Inadequate understanding of social and cultural

activities Weak incentives or controls to guide behaviour Dynamics of political interaction and

intervention Low administrative capacities