Monitoring, Evaluation and Impact Assessment for Food Security Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends M&E Officers, Food Security Programme Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-ME-071

Before you join: Participants should have basic familiarity with project-cycle terms such as objectives, activities, outputs and indicators, gained through at least six months of programme, research, assessment or reporting work.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Food security and nutrition programmes need credible evidence that assistance reaches intended households, improves food access and dietary quality, and avoids harm. Managers, donors and implementing teams must distinguish routine delivery data from outcome evidence, interpret food security indicators correctly, and make decisions when seasons, markets, displacement and shocks affect results. Weak indicator design, unreliable baselines and poorly managed evaluations can produce misleading conclusions and limit accountability to affected populations.

This course develops practical monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment skills for food security and nutrition interventions. Participants build results frameworks and theories of change; select indicators for availability, access, utilisation and stability; design monitoring systems; plan baselines and endlines; and assess data quality. The course covers commonly used measures including Food Consumption Score, Household Dietary Diversity Score, reduced Coping Strategies Index and Household Hunger Scale. Participants also examine sampling, questionnaire design, qualitative inquiry, evaluation designs, contribution analysis, OECD DAC criteria, data protection and reporting for programme decisions.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with worked cases from cash and voucher assistance, agricultural livelihoods, supplementary feeding and emergency food response. Small-group work applies methods to realistic programme documents, monitoring data and evaluation scenarios. Participants leave with a food security and nutrition M&E pack containing a results framework, indicator reference sheet, data collection plan, data quality checklist, evaluation terms of reference and action plan for their current or planned programme.

The course is suited to professionals responsible for programme quality, field monitoring, assessments, grants, accountability, learning and donor reporting in humanitarian and development settings.

What you will be able to do

  • Construct a food security and nutrition results framework with a testable theory of change
  • Select and define food security indicators using SMART criteria and indicator reference sheets
  • Design a monitoring plan covering data sources, frequency, responsibilities and data flows
  • Apply Food Consumption Score, HDDS, rCSI and Household Hunger Scale scoring methods
  • Plan baseline, endline and post-distribution monitoring using suitable sampling approaches
  • Assess monitoring data quality through verification, disaggregation and data quality assessments
  • Choose evaluation and impact assessment designs appropriate to programme decisions and constraints
  • Prepare an evaluation terms of reference and evidence-use action plan

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce indicator definitions that field teams can collect consistently
  • Interpret common food security scores without confusing their intended use
  • Write stronger monitoring and evaluation sections for proposals and reports
  • Challenge weak baselines, unsupported claims and poor-quality monitoring data
  • Lead informed discussions with enumerators, technical advisers and evaluation consultants

For your organisation

  • Improves consistency between programme theories, indicators, data collection and reporting
  • Produces evidence better suited to adaptation during seasonal and market changes
  • Reduces reporting errors caused by unclear definitions and inconsistent disaggregation
  • Strengthens accountability for cash, food, agriculture and nutrition assistance
  • Improves donor confidence through defensible evaluation plans and documented data quality

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can translate a food security or nutrition intervention into a measurable results logic.

  • Food security pillars: availability, access, utilisation and stability
  • Nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific pathways within programme results chains
  • Theory of Change assumptions linking assistance to household outcomes
  • Problem trees separating immediate, underlying and structural food insecurity causes
  • Results frameworks connecting inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes and impact
  • External factors: seasonality, prices, conflict, weather and displacement
  • Stakeholder analysis identifying duty bearers, participants and information users

Participants can select valid indicators and document how each will be measured.

  • SMART indicator criteria applied to food security programme objectives
  • Indicator reference sheets defining numerator, denominator, source and frequency
  • Output, outcome and impact indicators distinguished through measurement purpose
  • Disaggregation by sex, age, disability, location and livelihood group
  • Proxy indicators and their limits for food access measurement
  • Targets, baselines and thresholds set using contextual evidence
  • Indicator performance tracking tables for planned versus actual results

Participants can calculate, interpret and appropriately use common household food security measures.

  • Food Consumption Score groups, weights and standard interpretation thresholds
  • Household Dietary Diversity Score construction from 24-hour recall data
  • Reduced Coping Strategies Index frequency and severity scoring
  • Household Hunger Scale occurrence, frequency and categorical classification
  • Livelihood-based Coping Strategy Index and stress-response interpretation
  • Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women measurement and reporting limits
  • MUAC screening purpose, referral thresholds and measurement safeguards

Participants can design a practical monitoring system for timely programme management decisions.

  • Monitoring plans assigning indicators, methods, schedules and accountabilities
  • Data flow maps from collection point to management decision
  • Routine activity monitoring for distributions, training and agricultural inputs
  • Post-distribution monitoring questions for receipt, use, satisfaction and protection
  • Output tracking registers reconciled with commodity, voucher and cash records
  • Feedback and complaints mechanisms linked to programme monitoring actions
  • Dashboard specifications showing trends, disaggregation and decision thresholds

Participants can prepare fit-for-purpose data collection and sampling plans.

  • Quantitative, qualitative and mixed-method designs matched to information needs
  • Target population, sampling frame and unit of analysis defined
  • Probability and non-probability sampling choices for monitoring purposes
  • Sample size factors: precision, confidence, design effect and non-response
  • Cluster sampling considerations for dispersed rural household populations
  • Questionnaire sequencing, recall periods and response-option design
  • Translation, back-translation and pilot testing before field deployment

Participants can manage ethical data collection and assess the reliability of monitoring evidence.

  • Informed consent procedures for household surveys and sensitive questions
  • Do-no-harm considerations during food insecurity and nutrition assessments
  • Enumerator training covering probing, neutrality and interview protocols
  • Data Quality Assessment dimensions: validity, reliability, precision, integrity and timeliness
  • Spot checks, back checks and supervisor review procedures
  • Range checks, skip logic and duplicate detection during cleaning
  • Data protection controls for personally identifiable household information

Participants can plan comparison surveys and interpret basic food security monitoring findings.

  • Baseline timing aligned with seasons, programme start and target population
  • Endline design comparing results against baseline and target values
  • Repeated cross-sectional and panel surveys distinguished by respondent selection
  • Descriptive statistics: proportions, means, medians and disaggregated comparisons
  • Confidence intervals and statistical significance interpreted for programme decisions
  • Cross-tabulation of food consumption results by livelihood and gender
  • Missing data, outliers and non-response documented before analysis

Participants can commission or manage evaluations that answer useful programme questions.

  • Evaluation questions derived from decisions, theory and stakeholder priorities
  • OECD DAC relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability criteria
  • Process, outcome and impact evaluations distinguished by intended use
  • Terms of reference specifying scope, methods, deliverables and governance
  • Evaluator selection criteria covering independence, technical expertise and safeguarding
  • Evaluation matrices linking questions, indicators, sources and analysis methods
  • Management responses assigning actions, owners and completion dates

Participants can judge which impact assessment approach is credible under programme constraints.

  • Attribution, contribution and plausible association distinguished for programme claims
  • Counterfactual logic and selection bias in food assistance evaluations
  • Randomised controlled trials: strengths, ethical limits and operational requirements
  • Quasi-experimental designs using matching, difference-in-differences and regression discontinuity
  • Contribution analysis testing causal assumptions with multiple evidence sources
  • Before-and-after comparisons and their threats to validity
  • Cost-effectiveness questions linking resources, outputs and outcome changes

Participants can communicate findings clearly and plan improvements to their own M&E arrangements.

  • Finding statements separating observed data, interpretation and recommendation
  • Results narratives explaining trends, limitations and programme adaptations
  • Tables and charts selected for donor, management and community audiences
  • Data visualisation checks preventing misleading scales, labels and comparisons
  • After-action reviews converting monitoring findings into operational improvements
  • Learning agendas prioritising unresolved assumptions and evidence gaps
  • Personal application plans scheduling M&E system improvements after training

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Food security and nutrition results framework template
  2. Indicator reference sheet template
  3. Monitoring plan and data flow map
  4. Food security score interpretation guide
  5. Data Quality Assessment checklist
  6. Evaluation terms of reference template

Who should attend

  • M&E Officers — need to design, manage and improve programme monitoring systems
  • Food Security Programme Managers — need evidence for targeting, adaptation and donor reporting
  • Nutrition Officers — need to measure dietary and nutrition-related programme outcomes
  • Project Coordinators — need clear results, indicators and reporting responsibilities
  • Assessment and Information Management Staff — need sound tools, sampling and data interpretation
  • Grants and Programme Quality Staff — need credible evidence against proposal commitments

Skills and tools covered

Results framework designFood security measurementMonitoring system designSurvey samplingEvaluation designData quality assurance

Tools and standards

OECD DAC evaluation criteria, Theory of Change, Food Consumption Score, Household Hunger Scale

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to establish methods, followed by case work based on food assistance, livelihoods and nutrition programmes. Participants review results chains, calculate and interpret selected food security scores, assess sample monitoring datasets and diagnose data quality issues. Group exercises develop indicators, questionnaires, monitoring plans and evaluation terms of reference. A simulation examines how programme teams respond when monitoring findings conflict with assumptions. Each participant completes an application plan linked to a current or anticipated programme.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have basic familiarity with project-cycle terms such as objectives, activities, outputs and indicators, gained through at least six months of programme, research, assessment or reporting work. Experience in food security, nutrition, livelihoods, cash assistance or humanitarian response is useful but not essential. Participants should be comfortable reading tables and carrying out simple percentage calculations. Prior training in statistics, specialised survey software, econometrics or impact evaluation is not required. The course introduces required concepts before applying them to food security and nutrition cases.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should understand basic project terms such as activities, outputs and indicators. Prior food security or nutrition experience is helpful, but the course explains specialist measures before using them.

Bring a laptop if possible and, where permitted, a logframe, monitoring plan or indicator list from a current programme. Course materials and case datasets are provided.

It is designed for M&E, programme, nutrition, food security, assessment, grants and programme quality staff. It is particularly relevant to teams managing humanitarian assistance, livelihoods, cash or nutrition interventions.

The course applies M&E methods to food security and nutrition decisions, measures and operating realities. It covers tools such as Food Consumption Score, HDDS, rCSI and Household Hunger Scale rather than treating indicators only at a general level.

You can use the templates to revise an indicator matrix, monitoring plan, baseline design or evaluation terms of reference. The application plan identifies priority changes, responsible people and realistic next steps.

The five days provide about 32.5 contact hours, normally from 08:30 to 16:30. Time is divided between instructor input, cases, group work, calculations, data review and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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