What should potentially be monitored and how?

Consideration should be given to the need for monitoring when options are described in a policy brief. The extent to which monitoring is necessary and what exactly should be monitored will depend on how much uncertainty there is regarding the inputs, activities, outputs, and impacts of an option (as summarised in Table 6.2.^1,4). The extent to which specific types of uncertainty should be described in a policy brief will depend on a number of factors, including the:

Degree of uncertainty
Potential for monitoring to reduce important uncertainties
Feasibility of monitoring
Ability and preparedness to act on the results of monitoring

Table 6.2 Types of indicators, reasons for monitoring them, and potential actions*
Types of indicator	Definitions	Reasons for monitoring	Potential actions
Inputs	Financial, human, and material resources	Uncertainty about the magnitude of the resources required	Adjustments to the budget
Activities	Ways in which inputs are used	Uncertainty about how resources will be used, or to ensure that resources are used as intended	Changes in how resources are allocated or used
Outputs	Services provided, changes or short-term effects of activities	Uncertainty about the immediate effects of activities	Changes in the budget, how resources are used and the activities that are undertaken, or a decision to continue or discontinue the implementation of the option
Impacts	Desirable and undesirable effects that are important to those affected	Uncertainty about the extent to which outputs accurately and comprehensively reflect the likely impacts of the option	Changes in the services provided or their provision, or a decision to continue or discontinue the implementation of the option, or the undertaking of an impact evaluation

*Adapted from references ¹ and 

When there are compelling reasons for monitoring, consideration should be given to which specific indicators to use, in other words, which specific types of data could potentially be collected to provide a reliable measure of inputs, activities, outputs, or impacts. The data may simply be a record of the number of events, such as how many vaccinations were conducted within a set period of time. Or the data may be constructs based on various data sources, such as the proportion of all children who are fully immunised before their first birthday. The choice of indicators to be used for monitoring should be based on their specific characteristics, including the extent to which:

They are acceptable to those who are being assessed and those undertaking the assessment
Valid, reliable, and consistent data are available for collection
They are affordable

Consideration of which indicators to use and how to incorporate these considerations in a policy brief will help to ensure that important uncertainties are recognised, as well as appropriate ways of addressing them. This will also help to inform discussions about the need for monitoring an option during the policy development process. Although the amount of detail related to monitoring that can be included in a policy brief is limited, the risk of not incorporating these considerations is that monitoring may not be seen as an integral component of the option itself, and may be included only as an afterthought. Key related considerations could be incorporated into the text of the full policy brief report; more detailed considerations, where relevant, could be included as an appendix. A worksheet to help with the systematic and transparent consideration of the need for monitoring is provided in the ‘Additional Resources’ section of this guide. Further guidance is available in the SUPPORT Tool on planning the monitoring and evaluation of policies. A SURE Rapid Response article on policy implementation monitoring is also provided.

What should potentially be monitored and how?

Table 6.2 Types of indicators, reasons for monitoring them, and potential actions*

This page was last updated November 2011.