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“I’ve worked in Syria and war zones since 2007, and seen how local people are buried by paperwork when they should be working on saving people’s lives. I want to transform the aid system.”
Tarek Alsaleh, Founder, FrontlineAid
The traditional system of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is paperwork heavy, repetitive and complicated for both beneficiaries of aid and for donors. That is why FrontlineAid has designed a friendly system for every user - it takes the pain out of paperwork.
FrontlineAid is transforming humanitarian aid to be more efficient and equitable, that’s why our tool is based on the values of Trust, Transparency and Visibility.
Overview of FrontlineAid Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting system
The Monitoring, evaluation, reporting tool is an integrated system which works with an initial participatory onboarding process, as well as donor requirements, and is based on the 8+3 template to ensure simplicity of reporting for local initiatives.
The online system means that Project information regarding outcomes/objectives/changes are clearly visible, transparent and trackable. Both Local Initiatives and Donors can easily see where the Project stands in terms of its activities and current outputs. It allows for agile decision-making.
The tool is designed for use in high-risk and remote locations so that Users are able to easily provide data through a tablet or phone. The tool accounts for local language and user needs.
The design of the tool is currently being iterated in Al Raqqa, Syria, which is an area of conflict.
HOW DOES THE FRONTLINEAID MONITORING, EVALUATION REPORTING SYSTEM WORK IN PRACTICE?
Process flow
Onboarding The initial onboarding process collects information about the aims and aspirations of the Local Initiatives. This system has been designed for ease of use including video, interviews, online data collection.
Mentor A mentor works with the applicants who pass the initial onboarding (which includes a due diligence process) to create a monitoring and evaluation plan. An monitoring and evaluation specialist is also involved dependent on donor requirements.
The monitoring and evaluation Plan The monitoring and evaluation tool combines the following processes:
Finance Legal/Audit This tool ensures relevant processes or documents are in place such as a finance manual or procurement process.
Compliance This tool ensures accountability in terms of due diligence, and provides evidence that due process was followed such as the signing of HR contracts
Activity: Project Management This tool measures if activities have happened such as if a school sports hall was renovated or a particular training session such Finance and Budgeting for Women took place.
Donor reporting: Key Performance Indicators This tool shows what changes happened throughout the Project and tracks what the main achievements of the Project were. To what degree was there positive psychosocial impact on children who participated in a sports project?
These processes are combined into one monitoring and evaluation form.
Data Collection Forms The following data collection forms are available as templates.
External Project validation form for Project staff:
External Project validation form for Women’s Lab: This form allows for audio data to be collected and is part of FrontlineAid’s focus on having community members actively involved in decision making for Projects including accountability.
Data entry form: This form is created based on the requirements of the monitoring and evaluation plan.
Beneficiary attendance form: This form collects data on beneficiaries
Other forms of data collection are also used to understand outcomes of a Project, and to learn from the Projects too. These include tools such as
Local Initiatives Collect Data on their tablet/phone Local Initiatives collect data on their mobile phone or tablet via an interface to the relevant data collection form. The collected data has different views, apart from the raw or original data. Data highlights are visible on the Project Page which gives an overview of what the Project is about, its financial status, social media, and a pared down version of the monitoring and evaluation plan dependent on what data is required to be visible.
We have so far developed an M&E tool which integrates the needs of the traditional grant giving sector as well as for unrestricted funds /or philanthropic projects and meets the requirements of the 8+3 template which is a flexible tool for the humanitarian context.
