Results-Based Project Management: Monitoring and Evaluation

University of the Witwatersrand via edX

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Details

This course may be unavailable.

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Provider

edX
Pricing

Free Online Course (Audit)
Languages

English
Duration & workload

8 weeks, 3-4 hours a week
Sessions

Finished
Level

Intermediate
Subtitles

English

Found in

Overview

In this course, you will learn the basics of results-based project management. After an introduction to the results framework and its associated performance indicators, you will learn how monitoring systems and evaluations provide a crucial source of evidence for management decision-making.

This project management course is designed to address the growing demand for managers in Africa and around the world, who can use results-based approaches to design, implement and manage an ever growing range of programs and projects. Monitoring and evaluation (key results based management tools) are increasingly called upon within public service, non-governmental sectors and multi-lateral development agencies to help ensure that resources are put to optimum use and that citizens and beneficiaries are assured of receiving the benefits that are committed to them.

The course has been developed in partnership with CLEAR Anglophone Africa and draws upon the centers experience in promoting the use of evidence-based systems across Africa to enhance development practice.

Syllabus

Week 1: What are results and why are they important?
Week 2: Introduction to the Results Chain.
Week 3: Results statements.
Week 4: Performance indicators, baselines and targets.
Week 5: Identifying assumptions and risk.
Week 6: Monitoring systems.
Week 7: The role of evaluations.
Week 8: Wrap-up and Assessment

Taught by

Kieron Crawley Bsc, M Des (RCA), DIC, MM

Reviews

4.6 rating, based on 57 Class Central reviews

Start your review of Results-Based Project Management: Monitoring and Evaluation

Emily Essi

I loved this course and paid to receive a certificate. I completed every assignment on time and with nearly perfect marks. I was traveling on the weekend of the last week of the course, and was an hour late to complete the final "post course" test, thus I was not able to submit it and they failed me. Due to this, I did not receive my certificate. There was absolutely no leeway and it seemed I received only robotic answers to my email inquiries. This showed me that these courses are just a profit hungry endeavor and I really doubt the university or professors truly care about our success. I am very upset and because of this I will probably never do another course on edX again.
Anonymous

The course was very useful. I has an opportunity to broaden my understanding on Monitoring and Evaluation Concepts in the first place and juxtaposing the same to see how they relate and complement. On the other hand, I have significantly learnt on t…

The course was very useful. I has an opportunity to broaden my understanding on Monitoring and Evaluation Concepts in the first place and juxtaposing the same to see how they relate and complement. On the other hand, I have significantly learnt on the underpinning differences between traditional M&E and Results Based Monitoring and their importance to government, progarmmes and project performance. On the other hand, I learnt on how to develop SMART performance indicators, how to set baseline and targets for the set performance indicators. I also appreciated a methodical approach on how to prepare the SMART performance indicators. The course is coupled with a number of references, I liked most the Work Bank Reference i.e. Ten Steps to Results Based Framework. The same use simple language with a lot of examples and text boxes which make it very easy to refer.
The fact that someone can download the videos and key reference materials is another plus to this course, this is very much instrumental to my future reference.
However, I could not afford to pay for the certificate. I strongly feel that, the cost of the certificate is relatively high by considering the fact that the course is labelled as a Basic/Foundation one.
Sindiswa

Greetings I'm Cindy interested in Monitoring and evaluation of any project that has been given by the City of Johannesburg, there are too much funds that happened to be misuse in our Province.
Sahar Hegazy

This is a good course for a beginner to learn everything you need to know about Results-Based Management. Why it's important for citizens as much as for Governments. It gives a good overview on how to build a results framework, based on a real cas…

This is a good course for a beginner to learn everything you need to know about Results-Based Management. Why it's important for citizens as much as for Governments. It gives a good overview on how to build a results framework, based on a real case study. This case study is further explored as we move from one lesson to the next, selecting performance indicators, with practical examples to track performance and assess if the change we want to see has taken place, and make sure our project is on track. We get to practice exercises which provide a good training to what we have learned, including deciding on what the assumptions and risks would likely be, and attributing causality. I really liked the interviews at the end of the course, as they link between what we learn in theory and what is practiced. The choice of interviewees is really good, but sometimes I would have to download the script because it was a little difficult to understand the pronunciation.
Overall, I really liked the course. I have learned a lot from the trainer, who is very good, and the fact that the course is self paced is an extra star. My only concern was that I was in audit mode, and couldn't get any proof of completion of the course, which I can add to my CV.
Anyway, thank you edX. I look forward to other good courses like this one.
Anonymous

This is one of the few MOOCs that I found to be very engaging. Delivering online courses using videos means that course designers and lecturers need to be creative. This course was well-designed and the delivery was equally great. The lecturer was N…

This is one of the few MOOCs that I found to be very engaging. Delivering online courses using videos means that course designers and lecturers need to be creative. This course was well-designed and the delivery was equally great. The lecturer was NOT monotonous and the video content had great graphics that explained different concepts. Also, each topic had many examples and one case study was used throughout the course where each concept was applied towards the case study to provide context within a real-life project.

The assessments were very effective in measuring progress throughout the course. I also appreciated the discussion forums and learning from the experiences of my peers. The course content was not overwhelming. I was away for 10 days during the course and I was able to catch up and complete the course on time without any issues.
Anonymous

The course was very useful. It was an opportunity to broaden my understanding on Monitoring and Evaluation Concepts in the first place and again to see how they relate and complement. I have significantly learnt on the underpinning differences betwe…

The course was very useful. It was an opportunity to broaden my understanding on Monitoring and Evaluation Concepts in the first place and again to see how they relate and complement. I have significantly learnt on the underpinning differences between traditional M&E and results based monitoring and their importance to government, progarmmes and project performance.

I also understood how to develop SMART performance indicators, how to set baseline and targets for the set performance indicators. I appreciated the methodical approach on how to prepare the SMART performance indicators, and loved the use of simple language with a lot of examples and text boxes which make it very easy to refer.

The most fascinating part is that one can download the videos and key reference materials. i totally enjoyed participating in this course.
Tonny Limo

Best course in Monitoring and Evaluation upto date is still useful in my work.I was not able back then to afford to pay for the certificate but i implemenedt the course content in my projects and now i can afford to pay for the certificate.
Anonymous

This course was quite enlightening.

I really enjoyed the intellectually stimulating lectures.
The course materials for further reading were also rich and relevant to the study. I was particularly impressed by the depth of the study materials and citing of current case studies in reinforcing practical application of the knowledge.

Thank you very much EDX and University of the Witwatersrand for making this course available. I really look forward to reopening of the course so that I can earn a verified certificate.

Regards,

Cyrus
Anonymous

The content is very clear and well presented. However, it is a very introductory and superficial course. For those who have no experience whatsoever with the topic it is a soft way in. For those with just a little experience I would say it is already too expensive for what it offers in terms of content and certification. I honestly don't see the value for my resume for this specific course. I would have prefered a nominal fee for this course which would then enable a denser training with a meaningful certification.
Anonymous

This course really changed the trajectory of my professional career. A month after completion, I landed a job as a Monitoring & Evaluation Officer on a USAID-funded project. I can say that everything I learnt during the course helped me at work. I was able to not only apply but also transfer the knowledge from the course to my other colleagues. I’d definitely recommend this course to anyone looking to build a career in project management.
Alberto Piedra

The course is very interesting. The definition of the concepts is clear and the examples on the use of the methodologies to monitor and evaluate the projects allow to put into practice the conceptual framework. This base will allow me to develop an M & E system in my professional work.
Anonymous

The course is refreshing, and in sequence for good learning. It has enhance my monitoring and evaluation skills, including issue-based management (IBM). I have recommended it to friends.

I am eager to complete it on schedule for more experience.
Gofaone

i have just started the course and i am loving so far. it is answering long pending question about how to start monitoring. the facilitator is good and examples used are clear
Joao Fernando Dampua

It is a wonderful course and I learned a lot of Monitory and Evaluation. Unfortunately, I did not I get a certificate because I was only auditing due to the scarcity of resources.
David Fong

I did this course having already completed the MITx Micromasters in Data, Economics and Development Policy, which also covers theories of change and logical frameworks in the "Designing and Running Randomized Evaluations (DRRE)" unit. Although logi…

I did this course having already completed the MITx Micromasters in Data, Economics and Development Policy, which also covers theories of change and logical frameworks in the "Designing and Running Randomized Evaluations (DRRE)" unit. Although logical frameworks and theories of change are discussed extensively in the DRRE unit, application was not extensively tested.

I found the two University of Witwatersrand courses (this one, and "Theory of Change for Development") engaging, well-explained and somewhat more 'step-by-step' in its approach towards logical frameworks and theories of change compared to the MITx DRRE course (which covers and examines many, many more topic areas such as creating and managing surveys, health and empowerment indicators etc. etc..).

I found this course very practical, and took me to the 'next step' in both using, and teaching about!, theories of change and logical frameworks.
Egwudo Chidiebele G

The course was very useful. It was an opportunity to broaden my understanding on Monitoring and Evaluation Concepts in the first place and again to see how they relate and complement. I have significantly learnt on the underpinning differences betwe…

The course was very useful. It was an opportunity to broaden my understanding on Monitoring and Evaluation Concepts in the first place and again to see how they relate and complement. I have significantly learnt on the underpinning differences between traditional M&E and results based monitoring and their importance to government, progarmmes and project performance.

I also understood how to develop SMART performance indicators, how to set baseline and targets for the set performance indicators. I appreciated the methodical approach on how to prepare the SMART performance indicators, and loved the use of simple language with a lot of examples and text boxes which make it very easy to refer.

The most fascinating part is that one can download the videos and key reference materials. i totally enjoyed participating in this course.
Anonymous

It was an eye opening course which is of great help to me as a researcher and health practitioner. It helped me understand the concept of balancing goals, targets, baselines and results, thus improving efficiency and effectiveness in rendering servi…

It was an eye opening course which is of great help to me as a researcher and health practitioner. It helped me understand the concept of balancing goals, targets, baselines and results, thus improving efficiency and effectiveness in rendering services.
Videos and examples made it easier to understand all concepts presented.
Having done the course at a self paced time frame really helped me balance my time amongst all other responsibilities and also enabled me to budget for internet data connection without a strain on my finances. It's not easy doing an online program when based in Zimbabwe due to a lot of barriers and challenges.
Am really grateful to the team that plan and coordinate this program.. Am appreciative of earning myself this certification.
Anonymous

The course is a very important and valuable prerequisite for all who want to work or is currently working in public health. It utilize a simple and interactive approach to introduce learners to the concept of result based project management and monitoring and evaluation.
It made the concepts easy to grasp with the practical approaches embedded.

I took the course to refresh my memory about RBM and M&E and was happy I did. I discovered more about some pertinent issues in M&E and appreciated better theory of change and logic model development.

I will recommend to other colleagues and friends to take the course.
Anonymous

I think the benefit of the course depends on the level of familiarity with the subject one has. As I worked before with projects, it was quite easy for me and then I did not dedicate that much attention and time to the course and "just finished it." I still leant some new things and I use the certificate in my current job search. For people who do not have experience with projects, however, it can be very useful. The course was very clear, all well explained, with real-life interesting examples. The presentations nicely done. To someone new to the subject, I would definitely recommend it!
Jack Oupa Marole

This course has equipped me very well, it is the information that lacks in most businesses and projects implementing teams especially where follow up for service rendered is not done, i can proudly say that i can start and complete a project through the information acquired on this course, keep the fire burning and through this kind of learning platforms South Africa can experience a drastic development that will benefit the masses.