Aid Delivery Modalities

Project Approach

A project is a series of activities aimed at bringing about clearly specified goals within a defined time-period and with a defined budget. A project has:

a primary target group and final beneficiaries
clearly defined coordination, management and financing arrangements
a monitoring and evaluation system
financial and economic analysis, showing that benefits will exceed costs.

Project cycle management

- Project Cycle Management Guidelines: describes management activities and decision-making procedures used during a project’s life-span (including key tasks, roles and responsibilities, key documents and decision options).

It is based on the principles of the l ogical framework approach and helps ensure the project fits into overall policy objectives, is relevant to an agreed strategy, is feasible and will have sustainable results.

The goal of project cycle management is to improve the management of external co-operation actions by taking better account of essential issues and framework conditions in both designing and implementing projects and programmes.

Clear and realistic goals

drawing a clear distinction between goals and the means of achieving them
clearly and realistically defining the purpose of each measure, which must always entail sustainable benefits for the target group(s)
risks and assumptions: major external factors which could significantly affect success – and which are normally much higher and more numerous in the field of humanitarian aid.

Factors enhancing long term benefits

relevance of the measure - does it respond to real needs and problems?

degree of ownership by beneficiaries / other stakeholders ('do no harm' principles)
choosing appropriate technologies – e.g. using locally renewable resources
respect for socio-cultural values of the beneficiaries themselves
appropriateness of measures to the interests of specific vulnerable groups
management ability of the bodies (public or private) running the projects
acknowledging differences in vulnerability of the different groups (women, children, disabled, etc.)
cooperation and coordination between different actors

Top