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Foreword

The study described in this document focuses on one of the most challenging and delicate aspects of the overall experience developed by this inter-regional project over the last five years: the design and implementation of a system for planning, monitoring, and evaluating (PME) systems at both the project and community-levels.

Obviously, project-level and community-level PME must be as closely interconnected as possible. In fact, the rationale of the participatory approach adopted by the project implies a direct exchange and a mutual control between: i) plans and activities developed by concerned user groups/interest groups and communities, and ii) the assistance and services provided by the project.

Project design has entailed performing this task with the fewest human and financial resources as possible, so that achievements of pilot experiences developed in the framework of the project can be expected to be more easily replicable by local actors without international assistance. Though this approach has helped preventing the creation of artificial, project-led mechanisms, it has also entailed some limitations inherent to any real-life, low-budget condition.

In this framework, some weaknesses have been identified in the overall PME experience developed by the project to date. However, the study also clearly shows how an innovative PME practice is being progressively adopted by project field teams, collaborating institutions and grassroots organizations.

This process will be further strengthened and developed during the remaining life of the project, to support local partners in an area whose importance has been universally recognised, but where concrete, positive experiences are still strongly needed.

Luca Fé d'Ostiani - Project Manager, GCP/INT/542/ITA


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