Monitoring and Evaluation for Youth Workforce Development Projects
This note presents principles and sample indicators of performance management to help practitioners in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) for market-driven youth-workforce development projects. It highlights experiences from three Practitioner Learning Program (PLP) partners in measuring causal-model indicators. The note describes the causal-chain model, and different types of causal models used in youth enterprise development projects. It also discusses challenges that the PLP partners encountered in measuring causal-model indicators. The note recommends that M&E systems should:
- Select only a few key outcome indicators and ensure that all partners measure them well;
- Include outcomes measured by indicators that capture macro data from the labor markets that youth clients enter;
- Disaggregate and analyze all program data and monitor information by sex, age and relevant socio-economic factors;
- Regularly relay findings to managers and program implementers, and adjust the project accordingly;
- Integrate monitoring into daily program activities by program staff.
Finally, quantitative indicators are not sufficient to evaluate and assess project performance. PLP partners recommend supplementing quantitative information with qualitative analysis to understand the reasons behind the trends and results shown by key performance indicators.
