Knowledge Management

Monitoring & Evaluation - Monitoring is a periodically recurring task already beginning in the planning stage of a project or programme. Monitoring allows results, processes and experiences to be documented and used as a basis to steer decision-making and learning processes. Monitoring is checking progress against plans. The data acquired through monitoring is used for evaluation.Evaluation is assessing, as systematically and objectively as possible, a completed project or programme (or a phase of an ongoing project or programme that has been completed). Evaluations appraise data and information that inform strategic decisions, thus improving the project or programme in the future. A monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plan is a document that outlines how an implementation research project is monitored and evaluated, and that links strategic information obtained from various data collection systems to decisions about how to improve the project on an ongoing basis. The M&E plan serves several main purposes, including: stating how achievements of the programme/project will be measured;documenting consensus, thereby encouraging transparency, accountability and responsibility; guiding implementation of M&E; and preserving institutional memory.An M&E plan is built on the key parameters of a project, which include the:overall goal or desired change or effect;main beneficiaries or audience of the project;hypotheses or assumptions that link the project objectives to specific interventions or activities; project scope and size;extent of participation in and capacity for M&E;project duration; and overall project budget.

Project Mgt Support (LIME tool) - A project management office (PMO), is a group or department within a business, agency or enterprise that defines and maintains standards for project management within the organization. The PMO strives to standardize and introduce economies of repetition in the execution of projects. The PMO is the source of documentation, guidance and metrics on the practice of project management and execution.PMOs may take other functions beyond standards and methodology, and participate in Strategic project management either as facilitator or actively as owner of the Portfolio Management process. Tasks may include monitoring and reporting on active projects and portfolios (following up project until completion), and reporting progress to top management for strategic decisions on what projects to continue or cancel.Project support officers provide vital assistance to project managers. These highly organised, dynamic professionals work on important projects for all kinds of different organisations, from investment banks and I.T. consultancies to hospitals and local authorities.As a project support officer, you will not only perform routine administrative duties like minute taking – rather, your responsibilities will be inextricably tied to the success of the project you are working on. Driving everything forward from planning to implementation, your actions will directly influence the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the project.Every project is different and therefore your duties will change accordingly. However, for the most part, you will be responsible for monitoring project schedules and budgets, preparing progress reports, and liaising with key stakeholders.

Impact Assessment- Impact Assessment is a means of measuring the effectiveness of organisational activities and judging the significance of changes brought about by those activities. Impact assessment is intimately linked to Mission, and, in that sense, ripples through the organisation.Key types of impact assessments include-global assessments,policy impact assessment (policy level),strategic environmental assessment (programme and plan level), and environmental impact assessment (project level). Impact assessments can focus on specific themes, such as social impact assessments and gender impact assessments.

Social Communication- Social Communication is a regrouping and recategorizing of the previously known concepts of social reciprocity, social interaction, social skills, communication or communication skills, and language or language skills.

Micro / Regional Planning- Micro-planning is essentially a spatial development planning which tends to utilise all kinds of available resources – natural, human and others to the fullest extent. It attempts to distribute the fruits of development among regions and social groups within the region, which can minimise the socio-economic imbalances and improve the living conditions of the masses.

Global Opinion Poll- An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll, is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence intervals.Opinion polls for many years were maintained through telecommunications or in person-to-person contact.

Process Documentation- Process documentation records and supports the process itself. Process documentation is not about writing a final report for externals, but about an internal ongoing documentation of the process during the execution of the programme or project. It is cooperation between the project team, stakeholders and outsiders, which helps to reflect, analyse and improve the ongoing project or programme process.

Decentralized Planning- Decentralised planning is a kind of percolation of planning activities or process from the Centre to the sub- state levels, i.e., district, sub-division, block and village level. Since the inception of First Plan, the importance of decentralised planning was emphasised in order to achieve active people’s participation in the planning process.

CSR Support- Movement aimed at encouraging companies to be more aware of the impact of their business on the rest of society, including their own stakeholders and the environment.Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a business approach that contributes to sustainable development by delivering economic, social and environmental benefits for all stakeholders.CSR is a concept with many definitions and practices.

Training & Capacity Building- Capacity Building and Training Programme enables people, communities and organizations to strengthen their capabilities to develop, implement and maintain effective health sector services. The programme also provides guidance and support on preventing and responding to disasters, conflicts and other humanitarian emergencies.

Domain Knowledge

Public Health & Nutrition- Public Health & Nutrition- Public health nutrition is any organized measure to promote health, prevent disease and prolong the life of a population according to the World Health Organization. Public health was established to protect the well-being of a whole population rather than a single individual.Strives to improve or maintain optimum nutritional health of the whole population and high risk or vulnerable subgroups within the population.Emphasizes health promotion and disease prevention but may include therapeutic and rehabilitative services when these needs are not adequately addressed by other parts of the health care system.

Water, Sanitation & Hygiene- The concept of WASH groups together water, sanitation, and hygiene because the impact of deficiencies in each area overlap strongly. Addressing these deficiencies together can achieve a strong positive impact on public health.Access to WASH, in particular safe water, adequate sanitation, and proper hygiene education, can reduce illness and death, and also impact poverty reduction and socio-economic development. Lack of sanitation contributes to approximately 700,000 child deaths every year due to diarrhea, and chronic diarrhea can have a negative effect on child development (both physical and cognitive). In addition, lack of WASH facilities can prevent students from attending school, impose a burden on women, and diminish productivity.

Education- It is common knowledge that financial constraints or domestic chores are the main reasons cited by people for dropping out of education. But data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) shows that 13 out of every 100 Indians between 5-29 years did not attend school or dropped out because they did not consider education “necessary.”This proportion is significantly higher for school going kids between 10-14 years. In this category, one out of every three person who is not attending school said they considered education unnecessary. In a similar survey conducted almost a decade ago, only one in every four person cited the same reason for non-attendance.This trend is more marked among rural students with 34.8% of drop outs (including those who have never attended school) indifferent to studies. A far lower proportion of urban students—about 22.8%—showed a lack of interest in education.

Environment & Land Management-Land management is the process by which the resources of land are put to good effect. It covers all activities concerned with the management of land as a resource both from an environmental and from an economic perspective. It can include farming, mineral extraction, property and estate management, and the physical planning of towns and the countryside.As management is the human activity meaning the action of people working together in the aim to accomplish desired goals, land use management is a process of managing use and development of land, in which spatial, sector-oriented and temporary aspects of urban policy are coordinated. Resources of land are used for different purposes, which may produce conflicts and competitions, and land use management has to see those purposes in an integrated way.

Livelihood promotion- A livelihood is a means of making a living. It encompasses people’s capabilities, assets, income and activities required to secure the necessities of life. A livelihood is sustainable when it enables people to cope with and recover from shocks and stresses (such as natural disasters and economic or social upheavals) and enhance their well-being and that of future generations without undermining the natural environment or resource base.

Market & Economic Assessment- A market analysis studies the attractiveness and the dynamics of a special market within a special industry. It is part of the industry analysis and thus in turn of the global environmental analysis. Through all of these analyses, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of a company can be identified. Finally, with the help of a SWOT analysis, adequate business strategies of a company will be defined.

Women Empowerment- Women's empowerment, referring to power of women in our present society, has become a significant topic of discussion in regards to development and economics. It can also point to approaches regarding other trivialized genders in a particular political or social context.

Financial Inclusion- Financial inclusion may be defined as the delivery of banking services at an affordable cost, especially to the vast sections of disadvantaged and low-income group.With the arrival of banking technology and realization that poor are bankable with good business prospects, financial inclusion initiatives will strengthen financial deepening further and provide resources to the banks to expand credit delivery. The banking technology initiatives meant for financial inclusion should be collaborative and innovative with an objective to reduce the transaction costs.

Urban Development- Urban development is a system of residential expansion that creates cities. Residential areas are the primary focus of urban development. Urban development occurs by expansion into unpopulated areas and/or the renovation of decaying regions.

Public Finance- Public finance is the study of the role of the government in the economy. It is the branch of economics which the government revenue and government expenditure of the public authorities and the adjustment of one or the other to achieve desirable effects and avoid undesirable ones.The purview of public finance is considered to be threefold: governmental effects on efficient allocation of resources, distribution of income, and macroeconomic stabilization.The proper role of government provides a starting point for the analysis of public finance.

CSR Compliance-Over the last 20 years, many companies have invested considerable time and resources in developing comprehensive compliance standards and procedures. At a minimum, compliance programs are intended to prevent and detect violations of the law that may lead to civil or criminal liability. While compliance and CSR fundamentally serve some of the same risk-management functions for companies, internally they are often managed quite differently. Personnel in charge of compliance may have few direct engagements with those in charge of CSR. With rigorous compliance audits, companies may be able to demonstrate their compliance with law, but they may not have the same capacity to demonstrate their efforts to fulfill voluntary commitments. A failure to demonstrate that a company is fulfilling its commitments to stakeholders can be costly. There are strong business reasons, therefore, to leverage and integrate CSR commitments and compliance processes.