Monitoring and Evaluation Standards
These days most organisations have some form of monitoring and evaluation procedure in place; some even have huge departments devoted to this function. However, are your monitoring and evaluation processes unearthing the problems and highlighting the successes? Do you have a system in place that is understood across the departments?
In our increasingly connected world, the manner in which data is accessed and the demands on transparency are changing rapidly. Funding institutions, like the World Bank, now require much greater clarity in the evaluation reports and a higher level of accountability from the organisation seeking new funding. This means that you must be able to effectively monitor the work that is carried out by the various teams and departments, spot problems early and make the necessary changes.
Here is a recent TED talk, by vice president of the World Bank, on how open data is changing international aid. As more and more organisations around the world improve their transparency and are expressing their needs more clearly, funding is likely to be directed to the organisations that can demonstrate both the reasons for funding and the value that their work in the communities they serve.
http://www.ted.com/talks/sanjay_pradhan_how_open_data_is_changing_international_aid.html