By the NGOs.ke Editorial Team.
A monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plan for a small Kenyan NGO is a short document that says what you will measure, how you will collect it, who is responsible and how often you will report. You do not need a dedicated M&E officer or expensive software to build one. You need a clear idea of what change you promised, a handful of indicators, and a routine your existing staff can keep up with. As of October 2026, donors across the sector still expect one with almost every proposal.
What is the difference between monitoring and evaluation?
Monitoring is the regular tracking of what your project is doing: activities done, money spent, people reached. Evaluation is the periodic, more reflective look at whether the project made a difference and why. INTRAC’s guide for small and diaspora organisations describes M&E as serving three purposes at once: accountability to donors, checking the quality of implementation, and demonstrating impact.
Small NGOs tend to do the first part well because donors force it. The learning part is where most slip, and it is where good M&E pays back.
What goes into a simple M&E plan?
Keep it to one table plus a page of notes. The essentials:
- Goal and outcomes: the change you want, in one or two sentences each.
- Indicators: the specific, countable signs that change is happening (for example, “number of girls who attend at least 80% of lessons in a term”).
- Baseline and target: where you started and where you aim to be.
- Data source and method: attendance registers, short surveys, focus groups, clinic or school records.
- Frequency and owner: who collects it, and how often.
- Use: which meeting or report the number feeds into.
How do you choose good indicators?
Fewer is better. Two or three indicators per outcome is plenty for a small team. Each should be specific, something you can realistically collect, and tied to a decision you will actually make. If nobody would change anything whatever the number turns out to be, drop the indicator.
Mix numbers with stories. A figure shows scale; a short, consented case example shows what the figure means. Never publish identifiable details of a beneficiary without clear permission, and follow your safeguarding policy when collecting data from children or vulnerable adults.
How do you build M&E on a small budget?
Start with tools you already own. A shared spreadsheet, a paper register and a monthly 30-minute review meeting cover most needs. ALNAP’s 2023 monitoring, evaluation and learning toolkit for small NGOs, produced with INTRAC, is aimed at organisations without dedicated M&E staff and focuses on foundational considerations rather than advanced methods.
Budget for it too. When you write a proposal, include a line for data collection and review. Our guide on writing a grant proposal covers where this fits, and the roundup of open funding calls shows the kinds of calls that will ask for a results framework.
Quick M&E starter table
| Step | What to do | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Define change | Write the goal and 2-3 outcomes | Programme lead |
| 2. Pick indicators | 2-3 per outcome, with baseline | Programme lead + field staff |
| 3. Set up collection | Registers, short forms, monthly tally | Field staff |
| 4. Review monthly | 30-minute team meeting, note decisions | Director |
| 5. Report and learn | Quarterly donor report, annual reflection | Director + board |
Frequently asked questions
Do small NGOs in Kenya need a full-time M&E officer?
Not usually. Many small organisations assign M&E as part of a programme officer’s role and review data together monthly. Hire dedicated staff when your portfolio or donor requirements outgrow that.
What is a logframe?
A logical framework is a table linking your activities to outputs, outcomes and the overall goal, with indicators and assumptions. Many donors ask for one or an equivalent results framework.
How often should we collect data?
Match it to the indicator. Attendance or distributions can be tallied monthly; changes in knowledge or income may only make sense to measure at baseline, midline and endline.
Is an external evaluation required?
It depends on the donor and the grant size. Check your grant agreement; larger grants often require one, while small grants may accept internal reviews.
Where can we find free guidance?
INTRAC publishes a monitoring and evaluation guide for small and diaspora NGOs, and ALNAP hosts a toolkit for small NGOs.
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