The Evolution of International Cooperation
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2012 TaiwanICDF Key Reform 2:
Design and Monitoring Framework
In recent years, the international community has
placed a strong emphasis on aid effectiveness and
accountability. In response, the TaiwanICDF has moved
forward in exploring project management practices
implemented by various international aid organizations.
This year, we introduced a DMF into our project
management system, aiming to enhance the overall
effectiveness of project implementation.
The DMF we have developed is implemented in
parallel with the various stages of the project cycle. As
part of this system, once a project concept paper has
been produced during project identification, problem
analysis and stakeholder analysis is conducted. A range
of suitable objectives are then identified. The next step is
to select the most suitable design from the proposal to
develop the framework of the project (see Table 1).
After project identification is completed, the DMF
itself needs to be created (Table 1), fleshing out project
concepts with written descriptions.
The DMF is necessary because it sets out the overall,
logical structure of the project, also known as the “results
chain” (Figure 2). The DMF emphasizes results, starting
from a description of the expected achievements of a
project. It therefore forces those planning a project to
think about what impacts they would expect a project to
bring about, what outputs would lead to these results,
and what activities and resource inputs would achieve the
outputs. At this point, the project’s compliance with the
results chain is checked.
The contents of the DMF are described below:
1. Outcome
After defining and confirming major problems, the
first step is to specifically state the goals that the
project expects to achieve, the core problems to
be solved and the outcome expected at the end of
the project. This is the project outcome and also the
most important part of the DMF.
The “outcome” generally refers to the changes made
by the project to the beneficiaries (generally changes
in knowledge, attitude and behavior).
2. Impact
After confirming the project outcome, the next task
is to describe the specific changes that the project
would bring about which would improve conditions in
a partner country on a long-term basis. This is called
the project impact.
“Impact” is also known as the project’s goal or
long-term objective. It refers to the continuing
changes that the project brings to the quality of life
in partner countries and what a country will be like
after the successful implementation of the project.
In some instances, projects affect partner countries
at the national level. The full extent of the impact
of some projects might only be seen after a period
of time (medium- to long-term). Other projects may
be affected by external factors and require various
adjustments and accommodations before they can be
completed.
3. Outputs
After confirming the project outcome, we list the
tangible goods and intangible services that would be
produced as part of achieving the project outcome.
These are the project’s outputs.
4. Activities and Milestones
After setting the project outputs, the work that we
must incorporate into a project’s daily operations for
the project to succeed are listed as project activities.
At this point, the DMF only lists the project’s principle
activities, describing the main points of regular
operations fairly broadly. These activities will be
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Figure 2 Results Chain
Inputs
Impact
Outcome
Outputs
Activities
