2020-09-14 GC Agenda - Item 7 - Attachment 2 - Independent Scientific Review of Monitoring and Evaluation Plan

    Document               Current terminology        Alternative                 Explanation
                           (# of items)               terminology
    Project Plan           Project goal (1)           Project goal                An overarching project goal is
                                                                                  appropriate.
                           Objectives (5)             Project phases or           These are operational elements
                                                      elements                    or phases of the project
                           Deliverables (21)          Deliverables or             Outputs of the project activities.
                                                      outputs
                           Measurable                 Measures                    These are not outcome measures,
                           outcomes (27)                                          but output measures.
    MER Plan               Targets (3)                Targets                     The targets are clear and helpful.
                                                                                  They could also be considered
                                                                                  outcomes.
                           Goals (11)4                Objectives                  Steps on the way to the targets /
                                                                                  outcomes, achieved in the life of
                                                                                  the project
                           Objectives (19)5           Performance                 More detail on measures and
                                                      measures                    assessment.
                           Indicators                 Indicators


Recommendation 2. Incorporate recommendations for longer term monitoring as part of the final project
report.
Legacy is the extent to which project impacts will continue over time after funding ceases (Roberts et al.,
2018). The Project Plan and MER Plan don’t explicitly address legacy but there is evidence that legacy has
been considered in the overall project design. Monitoring of project legacy (impacts) should be addressed
by incorporating recommendations for ongoing monitoring as part of the final project report, when the
performance of the current project and its MER are known and future resources and capability understood.

Recommendation 3. Consider further development of socio-economic monitoring and assessment
methods if desired.
Biophysical and ecological monitoring and assessment methods are well established and clearly described.
The monitoring and assessment methods provided for the socio-economic target are fairly generic.
Evaluation of qualitative socio-economic data is not described, and many of the socio-economic indicators
have no clear benchmarks (e.g. knowledge, skills and educational objectives). Measures such as the number
of community events, number of attendees, and number of groups engaged are suitable output measures,
but don’t assess community awareness, use and satisfaction, for example.
The degree of effort expended on socio-economic monitoring and assessment should reflect the priority
that Noosa Council and TNC place on the socio-economic outcomes of the project, and what can be learnt
from that. If community engagement and outcomes are considered important then I recommend the


4
 11 goals are listed in Annex 1 of the MER (pg. . .69-73) but only 10 goals are shown in figure 6 of the Project Plan
(pg.32)
5
  19 objectives are listed in Annex 1 of the MER (pg. 69-73) but only 13 are shown in Annex 2 (pg.74) and 15 are shown
in figure 6 of the Project Plan (pg. 32)


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