WASH Programme Monitoring and Evaluation Training Course

Course overview

WASH teams are expected to show not only how many water points, latrines or hygiene sessions were delivered, but whether services are functional, safely managed, used equitably and sustained after project support ends. Weak indicator definitions, incomplete field data, inconsistent baseline methods and delayed analysis can leave programme managers unable to explain results to donors, government counterparts or affected communities. This course equips participants to build monitoring and evaluation systems that produce credible evidence for operational decisions, adaptive management and donor reporting across emergency, recovery and development WASH programmes.

Participants learn to construct a results framework and theory of change; define SMART, disaggregated WASH indicators; develop indicator reference sheets; select baseline, monitoring and endline methods; and create practical data collection workflows. The course addresses water supply, sanitation and hygiene behaviour indicators, including functionality, water quality, service access, open defecation, handwashing facilities and user satisfaction. Participants apply Sphere Handbook commitments, WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme service ladders, sampling basics, data quality assessments, qualitative feedback methods and dashboard design using KoboToolbox, Excel and Power BI.

Teaching combines instructor-led technical sessions with a running WASH programme case. Participants work in teams to diagnose an underperforming rural and peri-urban WASH project, revise its logframe, prepare tools and analyse simulated monitoring data. Each participant leaves with a usable WASH M&E package: a results framework, indicator performance tracking table, indicator reference sheet, data collection plan, data quality checklist and a simple management dashboard design. The course is suited to staff who need to turn routine monitoring into defensible evidence and timely programme action.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Develop a WASH theory of change and results framework linking activities to service-level outcomes
• Define SMART WASH indicators using indicator reference sheets with disaggregation and calculation rules
• Apply Sphere Handbook and JMP service-level criteria to water, sanitation and hygiene measurement
• Design a baseline, routine monitoring and endline data collection plan for a WASH programme
• Build KoboToolbox forms with validation rules, skip logic and consent fields for WASH field data
• Calculate WASH coverage, functionality, water-quality and hygiene indicators in Excel
• Conduct a data quality assessment using verification, completeness, timeliness and consistency checks
• Produce an indicator performance tracking table and Power BI dashboard specification for management review

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• WASH Programme Officers — who must track implementation quality and demonstrate results against project targets
• Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning Officers — who design data systems and assure evidence quality for WASH portfolios
• WASH Project Managers — who need timely performance evidence to adjust delivery, staffing and partner support
• Field Coordinators — who supervise enumerators, community mobilisers and routine site-level monitoring
• Humanitarian Programme Officers — who report against emergency WASH commitments and Sphere-aligned indicators
• Government WASH Officers — who contribute to district monitoring systems, service-level reporting and programme reviews

Requirements and prerequisites

This is a foundation-to-intermediate course. Participants should be comfortable reading a project logframe, using basic percentages and rates, and working with spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel. Familiarity with WASH programming terms such as water point, household sanitation, hygiene promotion and beneficiary disaggregation is helpful, but not essential. Participants will benefit most if they can bring an example of a current or recent WASH project. No previous training in statistics, Power BI, KoboToolbox, survey programming or formal evaluation design is required; these are introduced through guided exercises.

Training methodology

The five days use short technical briefings, worked examples and a continuing WASH programme case involving rural water systems, household sanitation and hygiene promotion. Participants build and critique actual M&E artefacts: a theory of change, indicator reference sheet, KoboToolbox form, sampling plan, data quality checklist and dashboard specification. Facilitated group reviews simulate programme review meetings, requiring teams to interpret findings and recommend action. On the final day, each participant prepares an application plan for adapting the course tools to a live or planned WASH intervention.

Course outline

Day 1: WASH results and measurement foundations

• WASH programme pathways from infrastructure and promotion activities to outcomes
• Theory of change assumptions for water supply, sanitation and hygiene interventions
• Logframes, results frameworks and the distinction between outputs, outcomes and impact
• Sphere Handbook commitments and core WASH technical indicators
• WHO/UNICEF JMP service ladders for drinking water, sanitation and hygiene
• Equity, protection, gender, disability and age disaggregation in WASH monitoring
• Indicator selection criteria for emergency, recovery and development contexts

Workshop: Participants rebuild a weak WASH project logframe into a results framework with clear outcome pathways and assumptions.

Day 2: Indicators, baselines and data collection design

• SMART indicator construction for access, functionality, quality, use and behaviour change
• Indicator reference sheets covering definitions, numerators, denominators and data sources
• Baseline, routine monitoring, midline and endline measurement schedules
• Household, facility, water-point and community-level WASH data sources
• Sampling fundamentals for household surveys and site monitoring
• Quantitative surveys, observation checklists, focus groups and key informant interviews
• Ethical data collection, informed consent, safeguarding and secure data handling

Workshop: Participants create indicator reference sheets and a data collection matrix for a district WASH programme.

Day 3: Digital field monitoring and data quality

• KoboToolbox project setup and form structure for WASH monitoring
• Question types, response constraints and required fields in KoboToolbox
• Skip logic, relevance conditions and validation rules for household surveys
• GPS capture, photographs and unique identifiers for water-point monitoring
• Enumerator briefing, piloting procedures and field supervision plans
• Routine data quality assessment dimensions: completeness, timeliness, accuracy and consistency
• Data verification, spot checks and correction logs for partner-reported data

Workshop: Participants build and test a KoboToolbox water-point functionality and household hygiene monitoring form.

Day 4: Analysis, interpretation and reporting

• Excel data cleaning using filters, validation checks and duplicate detection
• Calculating coverage, functionality, usage and handwashing facility indicators
• Cross-tabulation by sex, age, disability, location and displacement status
• Water-quality monitoring results and interpretation of field-test data
• Trend analysis against baselines, targets and previous reporting periods
• Qualitative evidence coding for user feedback and community complaints
• Power BI dashboard requirements for WASH management decision-making

Workshop: Participants clean a simulated WASH dataset, calculate priority indicators and draft a management dashboard specification.

Day 5: Evaluation, learning and adaptive management

• Evaluation questions for relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability
• Mixed-method evaluation designs for WASH service delivery and behaviour outcomes
• Contribution analysis and managing attribution limits in multi-actor WASH programmes
• Functionality, operation and maintenance and post-implementation sustainability monitoring
• Beneficiary feedback mechanisms and closing the loop with communities
• Indicator performance tracking tables and evidence-based programme review meetings
• Learning agendas, adaptive actions and donor-ready WASH M&E reporting

Workshop: Participants complete a WASH M&E package and present an evidence-based corrective action plan for the case programme.

Tools & standards covered

KoboToolbox, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Power BI, Sphere Handbook

A typical training day

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

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions