Extension Programme Planning
Building a programme from situation analysis to evaluation, and the vocabulary the examiner expects you to use precisely.
Three words that are not synonyms
- Programme. A statement of the situation, objectives, problems and solutions. Relatively permanent, and broad.
- Plan of work. The outline of activities arranged in order: what, who, where, when and how. Usually annual.
- Calendar of work. The plan of work arranged by date. Operational.
Questions frequently ask you to distinguish these. Losing marks here is avoidable.
Principles
- Based on an analysis of the facts of the situation.
- Selects problems on the basis of needs, and fixes priorities among them.
- Has clear and significant objectives that satisfy an important need.
- Indicates the solutions to the problems as well as the problems.
- Has both permanence and flexibility.
- Involves people at every stage.
- Provides for coordination with other agencies and for the training of local leaders.
- Provides for evaluation of results, and is a continuous, teaching and educational process.
The steps
- Collection of facts. The situation, its resources and its people.
- Analysis of the situation and identification of problems.
- Determination of objectives. General and specific, in terms of behaviour to be changed.
- Deciding the solutions and the plan of work.
- Execution of the plan.
- Evaluation of the progress and the results.
- Reconsideration and revision. Which returns to step one, making the process a cycle rather than a line.
Draw it as a cycle in the answer. The examiner is looking for the feedback loop.
Writing objectives properly
A usable objective states the behaviour to be changed, the content or subject matter, and the audience. Vague objectives cannot be evaluated, which is why weak programmes and weak evaluation usually appear together.
General objectives are broad and long term. Specific or working objectives are narrow, measurable and time-bound.
Evaluation
| Type | When | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Formative | During | Improve the programme while it can still change |
| Summative | After | Judge the completed programme |
| Process | During | Was it delivered as designed |
| Outcome | After | Did the intended change occur |
| Impact | Later | What changed because of it, net of what would have changed anyway |
Monitoring is continuous and internal, tracking whether activities are on schedule. Evaluation is periodic and judges worth. Do not use the words interchangeably.
Points to carry into the exam
The lines from this topic that recur in the paper.
- Programme, plan of work and calendar of work are three different things. This is asked directly.
- Learn the steps as a cycle ending in reconsideration and revision.
- An objective needs behaviour, content and audience.
- Formative improves, summative judges. Monitoring is continuous, evaluation is periodic.
- Impact assessment is about attribution: what changed because of the programme.