B6 Consultation Process

Background

Regular and effective monitoring, reviewing and lesson learning are key to how DFID measures the performance of its aid programme, including the results we expect to achieve and the delivery of Value for Money (VfM). All project reviews are routinely published in keeping with DFID’s transparency commitments.

How we monitor and review our projects, including our approach to project scoring, is important since it allows us to establish progress against planned Outputs and the Outcome in an objective and transparent way.  Fundamental to our approach to monitoring is the setting, at project design stage, of realistic results we actually expect to achieve through the project.  The DFID Business Case underpins this approach.  Annual scoring now measures what we have actually achieved over the last year, compared to what we expected to achieve..

Monitoring and reviewing also provide a means of:

• encouraging ownership and participation through working closely with project partners and other stakeholders.
• ensuring the funds of DFID and those of partners and other donors are used effectively and efficiently to deliver outputs/outcomes within the agreed budget
• ensuring that evidence of what is, and what is not, working and important lessons are better understood so that we can apply and share knowledge across DFID for future project design and implementation.

Each review captures information on the degree to which the results are being achieved, how the actual costs compare to financial forecasts, the strength of the evidence base, a review of the risks and a Value for Money assessment. This information and other portfolio quality measures are reported in the Quarterly Management Board Report (QMR), the DFID Annual Report (AR) and other corporate reports.

DFID records project performance data in ARIES. The Head of Department/Overseas Office is responsible for ensuring that all data entered are relevant, accurate and up to date.

• Regular monitoring
  All projects should be monitored regularly. Those reviewing projects must ensure that the Monitoring Strategy, as set out in the Management Case of the Business Case, and the Logical Framework, provides a strong basis for assessing the Impact, Outcome and Outputs of the project and helps with the assessment of Value for Money.
  Task assigned to: Project Staff
• Teams should regularly review the measures to manage and mitigate risks identified in the Business Case and specific project risk assessment.  New and emerging risks should also be identified in line with the Guidance on Risk Management in DFID.
  Task assigned to: Project Staff
• Project Reviews
  It is mandatory for all projects, irrespective of value, to be reviewed and scored annually and at project completion. Projects of between 12 and 15 months duration do not require both a separate Annual and Project Completion Review (PCR) - such projects just require a PCR.
  The first Annual Review must be completed within one year from the approval date in ARIES and annually thereafter by the same due date.
   
  Task assigned to: Project Staff
• The standard AR and PCR templates must be used for each review. Once completed they must be stored, with the correct content type, and then declared a record in Quest to meet our transparency commitments.
  Staff must download and use the specific Annual Review or, Project Completion Review templates from office templates on Word (under File>New>Templates on my computer>Project Management>and then select the appropriate form). This downloading must be done each time. Old ones should not be filed and reused.
  Task assigned to: Project Staff
• Key information from the AR and PCR templates must be entered in the ARIES Project Performance Tab for each review.
  Task assigned to: Project Staff
• Heads of Department/Overseas Office must ensure the quality and accuracy of the data entered in ARIES. This is in addition to the quality assurance checks undertaken by Project Staff.
  Task assigned to: Head of Department, Head of Overseas Office

• Project Completion Reviews (PCRs) Completion of the PCR template, ARIES inputs, and Quest document storage / publication issues follows the same requirements as for Annual Reviews (see Compliance Tasks 3 to 6 above).
  

  A PCR must be completed for all projects, unless (exceptionally) an exemption has been granted.  A PCR will be required where DFID is working as part of a multi donor funded arrangement and is not the lead donor; where appropriate drawing on performance reports produced by partners as the basis for the assessment.

  ARIES will alert Programme Staff when a PCR is due (three months before the project end date).  A PCR will not be considered as "overdue" in DFID's portfolio quality statistics provided it has been completed within 3 months of the actual due date.
  Task assigned to: Head of Department, Project Staff

• Those projects below £1m that were approved prior to the Business Case coming into force (January 2011) and which will cease after January 2012 must be reviewed through a simplified PCR assessment in order to meet our transparency commitments. A brief Intervention Summary titled "Intervention Summary PCR for projects below GBP 1m and approved prior to January 2011" template is available for such projects.
  Task assigned to: Head of Department, Head of Overseas Office
• Project Completion Reports (PCRs) Approval to exempt a project from either an Annual Review or PCR will be very rare and must be given by Head of Department/Overseas Office.
  Before seeking approval to exempt a project from a AR/PCR the exempt justification field must be completed in ARIES.
  Task assigned to: Head of Department, Head of Overseas Office, Project Staff
• Approval to defer a PCR must also be given by the Head of Department/Overseas Office and must only be granted where there will be a delay in obtaining all the required evidence or information on which to undertake the complete analysis for the final review.
  PCR deferral will be for 3 months (but exceptionally can be extended for a further period of 3 months). A PCR should not be deferred more than twice.