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PREAMBLE

This book is part of a series of food security and livelihood programme books developed by ACTION AGAINST HUNGER | ACF International and is based upon a consolidation of experiences and investigations led over the past years in the field. This series looks at and develops specific aspects of the different food security and livelihood programmes, especially the technical tools that can be used within the scope of precise projects. Each of these books can be read alone or they can be complemented and reinforced with the other ACF Food Security and Livelihood books included in the series constituting a ‘food security and livelihood kit’.

This book addresses overarching monitoring and evaluation aspects which are applicable to all the various thematic interventions implemented by ACF FSL teams in the field. Hence all of the above thematic interventions are reflected in the indicator framework of these monitoring and evaluation guidelines.

The books address a variety of audiences including the international humanitarian community, technical and operation field workers and the public who wishes to learn more about food security and livelihoods at the international level. Each book contains a detailed index with examples of the different tools that can be used for the implementation of the programmes, a glossary of technical terminology and commonly asked questions that can give the reader a quick response to key points highlighted throughout the document. All of these books are subject at all times to additions and or improvements following the development of the food security and livelihood departments at ACF International and the continued internal and external evaluations of the different food security and livelihood activities.

In 2009, the food security and livelihood teams of ACF International recognized the need for a harmonized guidance document on monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of programme implementation.
A guidance document which would support food security and livelihood teams in the field to improve the overall understanding of the importance of monitoring and evaluation as well as the process of M&E activities throughout the programme cycle management, and the usage of the created data.

This guide to M&E is by no means exhaustive, but a cross-cutting approach on how to plan for M&E through-out a food security and livelihood project’s lifecycle. Project teams should use this guide alongside relevant thematic guidance for specific types of food security and livelihood projects (See references above), as well as to complement other resources on project management such as on assessments, project cycle management, the ACF Evaluation Policy and Guideline, and ACF FSL Guiding Principles. Different types of M&E data will be required depending on the project activity and type. The types of activities to be looked at in this guideline include Agriculture interventions,
Livestock and Fishery interventions, Food Assistance, Cash Based interventions1, Education / Training / Capacity Building interventions, Disaster Risk Management (DRM) & Natural Resource Management (NRM), Hunger Safety Net and Social Protection interventions, Income Generating Activities (IGA), and Surveillance / Early Warning System interventions.