Measures of success

After more than a decade of intensive stoves work, the emphasis has changed from technology development and implementation to more systematic planning and the measurement of impact. Although information is available on how stoves affect ecology, health, women's workload and so on, the data is often not comparable. After successful first attempts to improve monitoring by FAO, a joint effort is being made by GTZ/ITDG/FWD and their partners, to devise a simple system of goal related indicators, using the same methods to measure successes and failures wherever applicable. In addition, ESMAP and UNDP have funded a major evaluation exercise, to analyse the potential economic and environmental impact of stove projects on a macro level. Bois de Feu are working on more effective methods for evaluating stove projects in the Sahel. Fortunately, these various organisations have joined forces to make their work complementary.

A Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system has to answer these questions: Who needs the results and for what purpose? What are the fields of analysis? When and how often should M&E take place? What methods should be used? Who carries out the M&E? The primary function should be neither supervision nor control but the improvement of project management for better results. M&E should be an ongoing process which provides feedback between users, producers, distributors, researchers and disseminators. This issue of Boiling Point addresses some of these questions and provides advice on how to measure and enhance the success of stove programmes.