Conservation and development projects are under scrutiny as to their long-term impacts. Both funders and beneficiaries want to know if prjects and programs are effective and have achieved proposed results. Efforts to improve accountability have led to an approach termed results-based management (RBM). One of the side effects of RBM has been the development of extensive technical jargon and complex visual mapping tools, which can obscure the intent of RBM. Keeping it simple is my preferred approach.

During nearly fifteen years at WWF I have been involved in numerous conservation projects, mostly from a controlling and reporting perspective. Hence I know very well what can and does go wrong in projects aimed at protecting natural areas, improving livelihoods, promoting good agricultural practice or conserving endangered species. I have been exposed to the WWF Project and Programme Management Standards (PPMS), as well as the Open Standards. More recently I have successfully completed a Monitoring and Evaluation Certification Course of the ILO’s International Training Center, to obtain expertise in M&E in the realm of development programs.

Expertise: Review of M&E frameworks, independent evaluations