Feedback is of essence to steer program and policy implementation. Reporting and monitoring are the two most common feedback mechanisms, but there are others. Ideally these systems should be timely and confronting. Relevance comes from focussing on program content and program context. The latter allows one to spot new opportunities and risks in achieving program objectives.
Some points:
- There are often many unexplored possibilities for feedback
- Not all detail is required upfront - it is often better to work in two steps. Issues are flagged in the first step and investigated in the second
- Involving implementers and stakeholders in monitoring creates spirit of change
- To avoid predictability it is useful to consider variation in monitoring and feedback systems
- We often learn more from understanding implementation than from planning
Tools and instruments:
- Implementation research
- Best case benchmarking
- Participatory monitoring techniques
- Unorthodox feedback mechanisms
- Perception systems
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