Results-Based Management and M&E Planning

Design measurable programs with clear indicators, logical frameworks, and monitoring systems that demonstrate impact. Online certificate course.

Free for Academy members | Go to Academy

Self-Study Certificate Course
Start: Immediate Access
Time: Typically 20-30 hours to complete

Looking Beyond Activities and Outputs

In humanitarian and development work, projects can sometimes focus on operations and compliance without tracking progress toward meaningful change. When projects lack results-based thinking, you face:

  • Resources spent on activities that don't achieve meaningful outcomes
  • Inability to demonstrate impact to donors and communities
  • Reduced community benefit when programs can't learn what works
  • Missed opportunities to improve program effectiveness

This training equips you with Results-Based Management principles and practical M&E planning skills to design, monitor, and evaluate projects that deliver measurable change. Through effective RBM implementation, you can:

  • Focus on outcomes and impact, not just activities
  • Build accountability through clear objectives, indicators, and targets
  • Use real-time monitoring data to adapt and improve programs
  • Align objectives with community and stakeholder priorities
  • Demonstrate measurable results to all stakeholders

How You'll Learn

This self-paced course combines video lessons, practical exercises, and assessments:

  • Video presentations with downloadable transcripts and handouts
  • Practical templates and tasks for immediate application
  • Reflection exercises to adapt concepts to your context
  • End-of-module knowledge checks
  • Certificate upon completion

Course developed and presented by Neil Kendrick, founder of ELD Impact, with 25+ years of experience training humanitarian professionals across 20+ countries

Program Overview

Click any module to see content

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Welcome to the Course
2 lessons
  • Getting Started
  • Pre-Course Self-Assessment: Rate Your Current Skills
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Introduction to Results-Based Management
9 lessons
  • Resources
  • Origins of RBM
  • What are Results?
  • The Results Chain
  • What is Results-Based Management?
  • The RBM Process
  • RBM in Practice
  • Progress Assessment
  • Reflection & Application
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Introduction to the Logical Framework Approach
9 lessons
  • Resources
  • Overview of the Logical Framework Approach
  • The Narrative Summary
  • Objectively Verifiable Indicators
  • Means of Verification
  • Assumptions and Testing the Logic
  • Ten Steps to a Logical Framework
  • Progress Assessment
  • Reflection & Application
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Analyzing the Project Context
10 lessons
  • Resources
  • Context Analysis
  • Focus Group Discussion
  • Desk Study
  • Survey
  • Observation
  • Interview
  • Context Analysis Task
  • Progress Assessment
  • Reflection & Application
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Problem Analysis
9 lessons
  • Resources
  • Circular Reasoning
  • The Problem Tree
  • Problem Tree Analysis Task - Access to Water
  • Problem Tree Analysis Task - IDP Camp
  • Defining the Core Problem
  • Extended Task
  • Progress Assessment
  • Reflection & Application
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Stakeholder Analysis and Engagement
8 lessons
  • Resources
  • The What and Why of Stakeholder Analysis
  • The Four Steps of Stakeholder Analysis
  • Win-Win Strategies
  • Stakeholder Communication
  • Engaging with Stakeholders
  • Progress Assessment
  • Reflection & Application
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Setting Project Objectives
4 lessons
  • Resources
  • Building the Objectives Tree
  • Progress Assessment
  • Reflection & Application
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Project Strategy
7 lessons
  • Resources
  • The What and Why of Project Strategy
  • Identifying Approaches
  • Prioritizing Approaches - SWOT
  • Defining the Strategy
  • Progress Assessment
  • Reflection & Application
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Building the Logframe
12 lessons
  • Resources
  • Building the Logical Framework - The Steps
  • Outcome and Impact
  • Outputs, Activities and Inputs and Testing the Results Chain
  • Assumptions and Preconditions
  • Testing the Logic
  • Monitoring and Evaluation
  • The What and Why of Monitoring
  • Objectively Verifiable Indicators (OVI)
  • Means of Verification (MOV)
  • Progress Assessment
  • Reflection & Application
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Preparing for M&E
7 lessons
  • Resources
  • Planning for Results-Based M&E
  • Data Collection Methods
  • Grouping Indicators
  • Creating a Data Collection Toolkit
  • Progress Assessment
  • Reflection & Application
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Building the M&E Plan
15 lessons
  • Resources
  • Building the M&E Plan - Overview
  • The Cover Page
  • The 'About the Plan' Section
  • The Project Description
  • The Logical Framework
  • Indicators
  • Roles and Responsibilities
  • Data Flow
  • Data Management
  • M&E Tools
  • Acronyms and Table of Contents
  • Example M&E Plans
  • Progress Assessment
  • Reflection & Application
+
Review
6 lessons
  • Resources
  • Recap: What is RBM?
  • Establishing an M&E System
  • Operationalizing RBM
  • Progress Assessment
  • Reflection & Application
+
Wrapping Up
4 lessons
  • Final Self-Assessment: Reflect on Your Learning and Growth
  • Action Planning for Operationalizing RBM
  • Course Discussion Forum
  • Your Next Steps

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