The Water For People 2007-2011 Strategic Plan calls for more effective measurement and analysis of work through annual monitoring, allowing us to do the following:

1. Strengthen our in-country programs
building on verifiable strengths
addressing weaknesses in application of program model in the field

2. Hone our advocacy messages infusing reliable and comprehensive data to our broader developmental messages

3. Build relationships with donors and supporters by providing a transparent review of our activities by engaging the North American water and wastewater community by providing them with an option to use their technical expertise to strengthen our programs

Monitoring is often confused with either project supervision, which occurs during a project’s implementation, or evaluation, which is a more in-depth look at the impact of a particular intervention several years after its completion. Water For People defines monitoring as the following:

Monitoring is the continuous and systematic annual assessment of program/project progress against set targets designed to improve project performance.

Why Monitor?

• Monitoring of project results is notoriously weak in the development sector and is especially weak regarding water supply and environmental sanitation.
• The result of not monitoring is that new projects are consistently being implemented with little understanding of what has worked and not worked in the past.
• Monitoring provides annual data on functionality and use of water systems.
• Monitoring highlights problems or areas where partners or Water For People programs are weak and need improvement.
• Monitoring helps identify successful interventions.
• Monitoring documents trends that can be assessed over time.