PRIME (Project Information, Monitoring and Evaluation System) Ethiopia

What is PRIME?

PRIME is a Management Information System that was developed for the Sustainable Poverty Alleviation Programme for the Kafa Zone (SUPAK) and Kafa Development Programme (KDP) in Ethiopia. Despite its agricultural potential, the Kafa zone is one of poorest areas in the country. The programme is executed by the Zonal Planning and Economic Department (ZOPED) with funding from the Dutch government. The programme supports activities and micro-projects in the fields of agriculture, health services and rural infrastructure and strengthens the capacity of the institutions that are involved in the planning and implementation of these projects.

PRIME was developed as a management tool for ZOPED and the other departments and organisations to keep track of the implemented activities and projects in terms of progress, results and effects. PRIME includes technical, social, institutional and financial indicators and has excellent data analysis facilities. It is a very user-friendly programme that is easy to learn (within one day).

Type of information recorded and analyzed with PRIME

• Programmes and logical frameworks. Different programmes can be defined with their own logical frameworks: i.e. objectives, expected results and activities.
• Micro-projects. The activities that are supported range from simple events such as workshops to complicated micro-projects that include a number of sub-activities. The activity definition therefore includes a variety of variables that are necessary for the planning and subsequently monitoring of these projects, i.e. milestones, budget details, expected outputs, etc.
• Activity/project Monitoring reports (progress, process). The reports include quantitative and qualitative assessments in relation to the planning framework. With regard to milestones and expenditures, the cumulative figures, percentages achieved/spent and balances are automatically calculated.
• Outputs. Each planned activity/micro-project might produce different outputs. Apart from recording planned and achieved outputs the application also includes a set of forms for the detailed recording of the most common type of outputs, such as workshops, studies, infrastructure, and community (extension) programmes.
• Programme progress. On the basis of the results of the activity/project monitoring and recorded outputs, programme progress can be assessed and included in the database.