Audit - an examination or review that assesses and reports on the extent to which a condition, process or performance conforms to predetermined standards or criteria.
Baseline data - data that describe the situation to be addressed by a programme or project and that serve as the starting point for measuring the performance of that programme or project.
Benchmark - reference point or standard against which progress or achievements may be compared, e.g., what has been achieved in the past, what other comparable organizations such as development partners are achieving, what was targeted or budgeted for, what could reasonably have been achieved in the circumstances.
Capacity development - the process by which individuals, organizations, institutions and societies develop their abilities individually and collectively to perform functions, solve problems and set and achieve objectives.
Cluster evaluation - an evaluation of a set of related projects and/or programmes.
Conclusion - a reasoned judgement based on a synthesis of empirical findings or factual statements corresponding to a specific circumstance. Example: The research and development programme of the Agricultural Science and Technology Institute is strong in its technical aspects but weak in its linkage with target groups (see "Finding" for the difference between a conclusion and a finding).
Direct beneficiaries - usually institutions and/or individuals who are the direct recipients of technical cooperation aimed at strengthening their capacity to undertake development tasks that are directed at specific target groups. In micro-level interventions, the direct beneficiaries and the target groups are the same.
Effectiveness - the extent to which a programme or project achieves its immediate objectives or produces its desired outcomes.
Efficiency - the optimal transformation of inputs into outputs.
Evaluation - a time-bound exercise that attempts to assess systematically and objectively the relevance, performance and success of ongoing and completed programmes and projects.
Feedback - as a process, consists of the organization and packaging in appropriate form of relevant information from monitoring and evaluation activities, the dissemination of that information to target users, and, most important, the use of the information as a basis for decision-making and the promotion of learning in an organization. Feedback as a product refers to information that is generated through monitoring and evaluation and transmitted to parties for whom it is relevant and useful. It may include findings, conclusions, recommendations and lessons from experience.
Finding - factual statement about the programme or project based on empirical evidence gathered through monitoring and evaluation activities. Example: Although its initial tests of the new technology for preventing soil erosion have been positive, the Agricultural Science and Technology Institute effort has generated only a lukewarm response from the target group of farmers, who are misinformed about the cost implications of that technology. (See "Conclusion" for the difference between a finding and a conclusion).
Impact - see "Results".
Indicator - signal that reveals progress (or lack thereof) towards objectives; means of measuring what actually happens against what has been planned in terms of quantity, quality and timeliness. Example: women's annual income from small-scale and micro enterprises assisted by a project over a five-year period, to show if there has been an increase in the women's level of income as planned.
Input - a means mobilized for the conduct of programme or project activities, i.e., financial, human and physical resources.
Lesson learned - learning from experience that is applicable to a generic situation rather than to a specific circumstance. Example: A strong information centre is essential to an institution dealing with research and development (R&D) as a channel for disseminating the results of its research programme to target groups and generating feedback from target groups on the usefulness of its R&D results.
Monitoring - a continuing function that aims primarily to provide programme or project management and the main stakeholders of an ongoing programme or project with early indications of progress or lack thereof in the achievement of programme or project objectives.
Objective - purpose or goal representing the desired result that a programme or project seeks to achieve. A development objective is a long-term goal that a programme or project aims to achieve in synergy with other development interventions. An immediate objective is a short-term purpose of a programme or project.
Outcomes - see "Results".
Outputs - see "Results".
Performance - the extent to which a programme or project is implemented in an effective, efficient and timely manner.
Programme - a time-bound intervention that differs from a project in that it usually cuts across sectors, themes and/or geographic areas, involves more institutions than a project, and may be supported by different funding sources.
Programme approach - the process of defining and providing technical cooperation through a cohesive national programme framework, which in turn consists of a coherent set of interrelated policies, strategies, activities and investments designed to achieve a specific, national development objective.
Project - a time-bound intervention that consists of a set of planned, interrelated activities aimed at achieving defined objectives.
Project document - a document that explains in detail the context, objectives, expected results, inputs, risks and budget of a project supported by UNDP.
Rating system - an instrument for forming and validating a judgement on the relevance, performance and success of a programme or project through the use of a scale with numeric, alphabetic and/or descriptive codes.
Recommendation - proposal for action to be taken in a specific circumstance, including the parties responsible for that action. Example: As a strategy to ensure the acceptability of its research results by target users, the Agricultural Science and Technology Institute should establish a centre for sharing of information between the target users and the Institute. Through a systematic information exchange programme, the Institute should provide target users with information on new technologies being developed and obtain their views on how to improve such technologies.
Relevance - the degree to which the objectives of a programme or project remain valid and pertinent as originally planned or as subsequently modified owing to changing circumstances within the immediate context and external environment of that programme or project.
Results - a broad term used to refer to the effects of a programme or project. The terms "outputs", "outcomes" and "impact" describe more precisely the different types of results.
Stakeholders - groups that have a role and interest in the objectives and implementation of a programme or project; they include target groups, direct beneficiaries, those responsible for ensuring that the results are produced as planned, and those that are accountable for the resources that they provide to that programme or project (cf. "Target groups" and "Direct beneficiaries").
Strategic evaluation - an evaluation of a particular issue where timing is especially important owing to the urgency of the issue which poses high risks to, and has generated widely conflicting views from, stakeholders. It aims to advance a deeper understanding of the issue, reduce the range of uncertainties associated with the different options for addressing it, and help to reach an acceptable working agreement among the parties concerned.
Success - favourable programme or project result that is assessed in terms of effectiveness, impact, sustainability, and contribution to capacity development.
Sustainability - durability of positive programme or project results after the termination of the technical cooperation channelled through that programme or project; static sustainability - the continuous flow of the same benefits, set in motion by the completed programme or project, to the same target groups; dynamic sustainability - the use or adaptation of programme or project results to a different context or changing environment by the original target groups and/or other groups.
Target groups - the main stakeholders of a programme or project that are expected to gain from the results of that programme or project; sectors of the population that a programme or project aims to reach in order to address their needs based on gender considerations and their socio-economic characteristics.