In the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) application form, information about project results has been requested separately under outputs and outcomes. Outputs are the immediate results of any activity and these are to be expressed in measurable quantity
For example, if a project activity involved ‘training women on human rights,’ the output will be ‘25 women gained increased understanding about human rights.’
Outcomes are relevant to the proposed objectives and these can be seen beyond the project activity. For example, an activity such as ‘training women on human rights’ produces an outcome of ‘women’s advocacy groups influencing gender policies.’
“Monitoring & Evaluation” in the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF): Mention the processes involved in your organization to review and see the progress of the project like board meetings, project review meetings, reports and field visits. Evaluation can include a mid-term and end-of-project evaluation.
“Innovation”: As more and more donors stress on innovation, UNDEF also seeks to know how different the project is from other interventions. Innovation is about being something new and at the same time effective. In a women’s rights project, involving men in sensitization process can be an innovative work.
“Sustainability”: At the end of the project, mechanisms should be in place for the sustainability of the activities. Some of these mechanisms can be network-led or community-based organizations-led activities managed with the support of other donors or internal funds.
The relevance of UNDEF for this project can be its flexibility and the UN support offered to make the intervention. The focus of UNDEF covers several aspects of democracy from human rights to women empowerment to civil society development. Such a focus is strategic for the project.
