Implementation

Introduction

In this module, implementation refers to implementation of activities or projects. Your organisation helps a group of people (target group) with programs and services. These are called outputs and are usually provided through project work and activities. If you can develop a solid plan that can be implemented smoothly, these services will be successful through effective project activities. The plan should successfully meet the goals and objectives developed by the organisation – and the organisation achieves the planned results. It is important to make sure that activities match what your members want. Also, when implementing activities, you should keep an eye on the budget. Thus, implementation of activities include:

1. Planning activities
2. Reaching results
3. Budgeted amount spent
4. Activities match what members want

To implement a project means to carry out activities proposed in the application with the aim to achieve project objectives and deliver results and outputs. Its success depends on many internal and external factors. Some of the most important ones are a very well organised project team and effective monitoring of project progress and budget expenditures. Overall management must be taken care of by the project manager. The project management must have an efficient management system and always must be flexible to current needs and changed situations, as the project is rarely implemented exactly according to the initial plan.

Project implementation consists of carrying out the activities with the aim of delivering the outputs and monitoring progress compared to the work plan. Monitoring can be defined as control of the project implementation to keep the project on track and achieve the desired results of the project.

The project application that was approved is the baseline for project implementation. It is the main document that helps the project manager track progress. The project application contains project objectives, a description of the activities for achieving them, and measurable output and result indicators to show they have been achieved. However, you should not expect the project to be implemented exactly as planned. No matter how good the original plan is, there will always be some deviation during implementation. This should be anticipated, and the aim of project management is to track this deviation, make sure it stays within the scope of the project, and redirect activities to get back on track. The further the project goes into implementation, the more important it is to track things systematically to avoid drifting away too much from the original outline and falling outside the scope of the project. Remember also that many modifications will be improvements.

The work plan is the most important element in project implementation. It serves to effectively organize the work of the team and for monitoring and reporting purposes. It is normal to prepare an annual work plan, updating this plan once every quarter or six months, as necessary. Bringing the project team together to reflect on progress and reflect on next steps is a good way of keeping the project team focused. A work plan is usually planned to use a matrix that translates longer term outputs and results into manageable activities and sub-activities. This can also be linked to forecasted budget expenditure.

A project is a series of activities that aim at solving particular problems within a given time frame and in a particular location. The investments include time, money, human and material resources. Before achieving the objectives, a project goes through several stages. Monitoring should take place at and be integrated into all stages of the project cycle. The three basic stages include:

• Project planning (situation analysis, problem identification, definition of the goal, formulating strategies, designing a work plan, and budgeting)
• Project implementation
• Project evaluation

Planning for the implementation of activities

A successful activity is built on:

• Great ideas that meet real needs
• Goals that can be achieved
• The right people and resources to do the activity or project
• Participation and commitment in decision making
• Excellent management
• Plans for future

You should ensure that persons have right skills in relation to activities. The persons working in the organisation – members, volunteers, and employees – should as far as possible, have the qualifications and experience necessary to achieve objectives and to implement plans. You should ensure that the content of activities correspond with the vision. You should discuss and include ideas in the planning.

When you begin to plan your activity, start with a team of 2-4 persons. You can start your planning with discussions at your monthly organisation meeting or during committee meetings. Find people with different kinds of skills like organizing or budgeting. If your activity is based on a project, invite someone who already has experience with local or international projects to help you develop or write your proposal.

Your team will need to answer several important questions:

1. Why are you planning the project/activity?
2. Who should be involved in planning the project/activity?
3. What is the project/activity?
4. What do you hope to achieve with the project/activity?
5. Who will benefit from the project/activity?
6. Where will the project /activity take place?
7. When will the project/activity happen?

When your team finishes answering these questions, you are ready for formal planning. It is a good idea to set aside a whole day or weekend focused on planning your project. This is called a Project Planning Workshop.

Together, make a human resources inventory where you list people who can work during the project- staff, volunteers, and participants. For each person, describe the knowledge and skills they have and what role they will have in the project.

Who	Knowledge and/or Skill	Role
Lucia	Knows some government officials Good reading and writing English Has computer with some internet access	Responsible for all the documentation throughout project
Sally	Good with numbers Husband is pastor and will let use the church to meet	Responsible for budget
Chris	Respected leader in deaf community and hearing community Good organizational skills	Project Manager

Implementation

Relationship with donor during implementation of the project

It is important for the project to have your activities running. The activities usually help achieving the goal of your project. You should pay attention to your relationship with your donors. During the project, it is desirable to develop mutual trust with donors. Organizations that deal directly with donor representatives should do in a straightforward and positive manner. Show them the successes and failures of your organization and the difficulties you are facing. If progress reports are specifically required, these should be sent on time. It is good practice to keep donors well informed through periodic progress reports. If possible, supplement written reports with photographs documenting project progress.

Implementation of activities – checklist

Planning of activities

• Have written plans.
• Your activities are clearly linking to goals.
• The plan tells you how to implement the activity or the project.
• The plan has timelines.
• You can change plans when you need to.
• You have made budgets before the project starts.
• You can change the budget in the middle of the activity or project if needed.
• You use the money as planned.

Reaching the results

• You reach more than 80 percent of the things planned

Budget

• To what extent is the budgeted amount spent
• Over 80 percent of the budget was spent

Activities match what the members want

• Members are involved in deciding what to do.
• You ask members and include their views when deciding.

Follow up and learn from the work done

• You have a system of monitoring and evaluation
• Have a specific plan / system for monitoring and evaluation. Use it.
• You should monitor all the time
• Use the information you get to plan new things
• Use lessons learnt in planning

Follow-up and learning from work done

Follow-up means that the results of activities were achieved as expected through the planning process. It is very important that the organisation or project team watches all the activities happening at the beginning and during the project. This is called monitoring. At the end of the project, a comparison of the original budget and actual costs, goals and the outcome(s) of the project is called an evaluation.

By checking (monitoring) the progress throughout the project, the project team and organisation will know if everything is going smoothly and be prepared if something goes wrong. Your organisation should make changes or try to solve the problem before it is too late. With your work plan and timeline, you can make sure that you are following the plan and finish everything on time. Sometimes the result is not what you expected, and something goes wrong in the middle of an activity. Only with careful monitoring will you keep your project following the timeline so you can reach your goals. Expected results or outcomes are what you want to see happen after the project is finished.

You will need to decide how you will find out if the changes did happen. Maybe you will interview someone who was involved in the project, count how many people attend your training or ask someone to teach someone new what they have learned from the project.

Monitoring progress will also help you do the final evaluation after the project is finished.

• Review the whole project and see if the activities followed the timeline
• Check to see if you finished all your goals in the work plan
• Think about why some areas of the project were very good when others were not
• Think about what could be done differently next time

Even though the evaluation happens after the project is finished, you will need to think about how you will evaluate at the beginning when you are planning your project. You should think about who you will work with and how they will show you that the project was successful. One idea is to ask the same questions at the beginning and end of your project to compare the answers and see if there were any changes.
When you collect all the information, a final evaluation report should have information about the strengths and weaknesses of the project. It should show the success but also include some suggestions how the project activities can be better for the future. Having people outside of the project to help evaluate the project can help make the final evaluation stronger.

Follow up and report

At the end of the project, you should determine what to do next. You should also evaluate whether you have succeeded in achieving the goals you set up for the project.

Monitoring and evaluation

• Observe activities/events for success.
• Discuss with people at the activities/events who benefit from the project and record their feedback.
• Compare the results against your original goals.
• Report to funders and board about the success and challenges of the project.

Report

• As a minimum, the reporting should compare planned activities with how they have been realised. It is important to take advantage of the information collected during monitoring.
• Progress reports should be sent on time
• The purpose of the report is to keep your donors informed
• Show your donors successes and failures of your organisation and difficulties you are facing
• Supplement written reports with photos documenting project progress