About this course
Welcome to the “Foundations of Project Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)” self-paced course on Data For Development! This introductory program is designed for beginners and professionals working in or aspiring to work with nonprofit organizations who want to effectively measure and improve their project outcomes.
If you’re looking to understand how to track project progress, demonstrate impact, and make data-informed decisions, this course is your starting point. Through a series of engaging video lessons, interactive quizzes, and hands-on practical activities based on real-world NGO project examples (including projects focused on public health, WASH, and literacy), you will gain a solid understanding of M&E principles and practices. Our goal is to equip you not just with theory, but with the confidence to apply these essential skills in your day-to-day work, ensuring your projects achieve their intended results and contribute meaningfully to your organization’s mission.
What you’ll learn
In this course, you will gain the essential skills to effectively manage the entire Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) lifecycle for your nonprofit projects. You’ll learn to:
- Establish strong M&E foundations by understanding core concepts and developing key frameworks like Theories of Change and Logframes.
- Plan and implement M&E activities including crafting SMART indicators, utilizing planning tools, and applying appropriate data collection methods while ensuring data quality.
- Analyze data and communicate insights through basic quantitative and qualitative analysis, and effective data visualization techniques, including an introduction to GIS.
- Conduct impactful project evaluations from design and planning through to utilizing findings for adaptive management and organizational learning.
- Strengthen organizational M&E capacity by understanding the components needed to build robust M&E systems.
Course content
Introduction
- Welcome
- What is Monitoring and Evaluation
- Understanding the Results Chain
- Introducing the Case Study for Your Activities
M and E Design Frameworks
- Developing a Theory of Change
- The Logical Framework (Logframe)
Indicators and M and E Planning
- Crafting Smart Indicators
- Building an M&E plan
Data Collection and Management
- Data Collection Methods
- Ensuring Data Quality and Managing Data
Data Analysis and Visualization
- Basic Data Analysis Techniques
- Data Visualization and Reporting
- Introduction to GIS for M&E
Project Evaluation
- Basics of Project Evaluation
- Planning and Designing and Evaluation
M&E Information Utilization and Systems
- Using M&E Findings for Improvemen
- Building M&E Systems in an NGO
Instructor
Alexander Mtembenuzeni
Data Analyst, Instructor
DATAFORDEV Founder
Alexander has over 10 years experience training social impact organizations in data analytics. He also has consulted for small and big organizations alike - developing data collection tools, building M and E systems and analyzing data. He is a 4.6/5-rated instructor on Udemy.com where he has several courses with a combined over 7,000 students. He also loves blogging and creating tutorial videos for the Data for Development YouTube channel.
Frequently asked questions
Does this course offer a certificate?
Yes. You will automatically get a certificate of completion as soon as you complete the course and pass the graded quizzes and project
How long will it take for me to complete the course?
We recommend investing 2 hours of learning per day. With that time investment, you will finish the course including the hands-on practices in 14 days.
Which days and times does the course run?
This course is self paced. Once you enroll, you can go through the learning content at any time, and at your own pace!
Instant access
Start as soon as you enroll
Approximately 14 days to complete
Suggested 2 hours per day
Level
Beginner
OR