Translate the ambitions of a team into a project meeting the expectations of the donors

Accompanying CREED allows project coordinators to develop a proposal of good quality, meeting the requirements of their funders. Specifically, the proposed activities result in the production of tangible pieces of information that can be used to finalize the drafting of a project, including through the production of a coherent and rigorous logical framework. It is therefore not a conceptual approach but a collective reflection exercise aimed at gathering information and facilitating its treatment.

The support for the formulation of a project takes the form of a participatory workshop, lasting from 3 to 5 days, which brings together the project’s stakeholders around activities of reflection and exchange around all the constituent elements of the project cycle methodology. This should be used on the basis that there is no need to look at the resources available to the project before knowing what these resources should achieve, ie the end result, the project objectives (ex. : increasing the employability of young graduates). We do not start by talking about what we want to do (activities), but what we want to achieve (results). The basic idea of ​​this methodology is that the project can only be justified if the services or goods produced by the project actually correspond to the needs of the target groups.

The three phases of project formulation are:

1. Analysis of the assumptions associated with achieving the objectives

✔ Identify the assumptions and constraints to be taken into account;

✔ Analyze the risks to be monitored;

✔ Check the internal logic of the project.

2. Identification of indicators to measure achievement of objectives

✔ Identify and quantify Objectively Verifiable Indicators OVI;

✔ Specify their sources of verification.

3. Planning activities and resources to implement

✔ Build the activity planning table;

✔ Determine the means required for each activity and quantify the costs;

✔ Build the resource planning table.

Accompanying CREED starts from the preparation of the formulation mission and extends after the mission with support for the drafting of the complete project.

Examples of formulation missions:

→ Creation of a Master and Research Center in Urban Planning and Land Management at the State University of Haiti (2017)

→ Multidisciplinary Research Project on the Challenges of Economic Modernization in the Ocongate Region, Peru (2018)

Strengthen the capacities of stakeholders to support and enhance the achievements of a project

The specificities of each project and the contexts of intervention require the development of tailor-made methodologies. However, the experience of CREED has allowed us to develop a generic methodology which is the main focus of our support:

A good example of the complex relationship between analysis and context is the difficulty for the sociologist or anthropologist to construct his or her research subject. The physicist or the chemist does not have to ask a question: a calcium ion is the same, whether it is in Norway, Japan or Burkina Faso, fifty years ago or tomorrow. Research in SHS, strongly linked to its environment, must be contextualized to contribute, if not to Science, to the understanding of the social phenomena and, if possible to the collective well-being. Hence the importance of having reliable data, often collected during a “field” study, necessarily specific to a historical, political and geographical context.

→ Diagnosis / state of play

The starting point is the realization of the basic study. This step involves a systematic review of the indicators proposed in the logical framework according to criteria of relevance, scope of validity and feasibility. In parallel, we draw up an inventory of the monitoring and evaluation systems used by the partners to identify the best practices as well as the strengths and weaknesses to be included in the construction of the overall system.

→ Collective development of the monitoring and evaluation system


Based on the results of the first step, a workshop is organized to lay the foundation for the program’s monitoring and evaluation system and to harmonize data collection and processing practices. This collective work also makes it possible to build the mechanisms of collaboration between the stakeholders.

→ Continuous improvement of the system, producer of knowledge

The system tracks and measures results continuously. His dashboard illuminates the decision-making process of project coordination. Its operation is ensured by regular monitoring of the expert with the partners, according to a methodology inspired by mentoring (systematic communication, differentiated support, quality control, distance to the issues). The mid-term evaluation is usually a good time to adjust the system. The final evaluation helps formulate a sustainability plan.

→ Measurement and valorisation of results thanks to powerful tools

The knowledge produced by the system is systematically collected and valued through the use of appropriate computer tools. A dashboard is updated automatically, allowing continuous visualization of progress. Accompanying work / training is provided to ensure the proper use of tools. Finally, in a more traditional way, capitalization documents are disseminated in the stakeholder networks. In general, the contribution of the partners to the monitoring and evaluation system strengthens their capacities and constitutes a lever towards the sustainability of the program.

Example of creation and implementation of monitoring and evaluation system:


– URBAYITI, Urban Program of the European Union in Haiti

Reinforce the sustainability and impact of a project through neutral and distant support

Help management teams identify priorities and set directions for the future

Take advantage of the experience to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a project