Key terms used in M&E, what are the important terms used in Monitoring and Evaluation?
Understanding different terms is key to understanding M&E system, so let’s understand 5 important key terms used in M&E, We come across these terms in other management approaches like RBM and the meanings are similar.

1. Impact or goal: Is high level long term change that is expected out of the project, program or any interventions. It is the logical consequence of a combination of outcomes and other lower level actions and activities. It is usually expressed in terms of a region, country or a province and can be observed after the project ends.

Interestingly, the agency has limited control over the impact or goal, as this is subject to multiple influences. Examples of impact or goals that you may be aware of are the sustainable development goals or national priorities.

For organizations impact are their goal written in the form of Mission/Vision or objectives.

2. Outcomes: are the changes change that it's expected to occur once one or more outputs have been realized. We often define them in terms of change in levels of understanding and behavior amongst the beneficiaries of our program.

An example of an outcome could be increased level of green water usage by communities.

3. Outputs: These are the direct products, services or infrastructure stemming from the activities of an organization policy, project or program. They're usually immediately visible concrete and tangible, i.e. we can see them. It is achieved during and by the end of the project.

Completed activities are not always appropriate outputs, Examples of outputs may be pamphlets distributed, research published, water treatment plants commissioned, participants trained, food aid delivered, funding made available, mosquito nets distributed.

4. Activity: These are the actions taken or work performed, to produce outputs. Examples of activities are, delivering training to, construct hospitals, construction irrigation channel, constructing schools, conducting training, negotiating partnerships, providing care services, distributing food, distributing farms inputs like seed and seedlings and allocating funds.


5. Inputs: These are the resources we put together to conduct some activity. Example. Material for construction activity, seeds and seedling to be distributed to farmers, medicine and vaccine to be given to the patience, training content to be delivered to the participants, finance, human are also inputs to, equipment, supplies, reports

Essentially inputs are things that we need to put in place before we can start our program activities.

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