Definition of Monitoring
The term "monitoring" can relate to various activities. Generally, it can be defined as any kind of acquisition or collection of data on a certain state, activity or process by means of a technical device, an observation system or any other surveying method to assess the current status of the chosen parameters and changes over time .
According to this definition, monitoring relates to research activities observing the world’s environment (air, water, land/soil, biota), but it also relates to following the implementation of a plan or project in order to ensure smooth management and cooperation among partners that can follow the progress. Thus, monitoring does not only relate to the pure collection of technical data, but also refers to reporting and observation activities.
According to this definition, the Water Monitoring Alliance collects and publishes information on water-related monitoring activities corresponding to the following categories:
- Measurement data (such as all physical, chemical and biological parameters involved in the system);
- Statistical Data & Survey Results (such as household surveys);
- Reports & Analyses (in view of gathering and publishing existing information).
Why monitor?
The goal of monitoring in the field of water is to ensure our planet’s health, as well as the living conditions of its inhabitants. Monitoring systems perform systematic and selective data collection--like a filter --which enables creation of a clear image of the particual system of interest.
This information can then be used:
- As an early warning system;
- To focus and orient political and policy reforms, and to channel financial resources accurately;
- To enable national, international and bi-lateral agencies to develop strategies and action plans, to create policies and to target resource allocation;
- As advocacy and communication tools (communication of certain information to the public is most convincingly done by means of numbers and facts);
- To track the progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals;
- To provide an opportunity to improve national and international statistics.
What is effective monitoring?
When monitoring is performed, great importance should always be given to the question of whether the desired information can be attained through the employed method and the chosen data. Therefore, monitors should verify that:
- Monitoring is performed in a goal-oriented way (using fixed targets or objectives);
- Comparable and well-defined terminologies are used (data must use the same definitions, base and scales);
- Content validity is guaranteed (data must reflect what is being studied and answer initial questions);
- Data quality is appropriate in terms of timeliness (data are recent), in terms of the choice of baseline (e.g., 1990 for sanitation), etc.
Introduction of the "Indicator" Concept – Why use indicators?
If we talk about effective monitoring, the concept of indicators is very important. Indicators are tools developed to simplify the description and explanation of a system and are, therefore, essential for monitoring activities. They are used to express complex states of a system as simply and understandably as possible.
“Indicators help to reflect and communicate a complex idea […]. We use them to observe, describe, and evaluate actual states, to formulate desired states or to compare an actual with a desired state. These simple numbers, descriptive or normative statements can condense the enormous complexity of the world around us into a manageable amount of meaningful information. […] It aims to communicate information on the system or process. The dominant criterion behind an indicator’s specification is scientific knowledge and judgement.”
UN WWAP, World Water Development Report, 2003
Thus, indicators are very useful in the global context of monitoring, providing information for political decision-making processes, but also information for the public. Within the water-related field, indicators must be used to manage and systemize information due to the large amount of data available and the increasing complexity of policy problems.
How are indicators used?
An indicator is comprised of a single piece of information in the form of a variable or an output value from a set of data (aggregation of variables). It can be descriptive or normative and can give qualitative as well as quantitative information. In order to evaluate a certain system, several indicators must be chosen, which must then be made comparable through a dimensionless scaling system. This is done by means of a standardization method. Finally, an index is formed by a mathematical aggregation of the standardized indicators. An example of an index would be the combination of the two indicators "water withdrawal" and "availability of water" to create a water stress index.
Difficulties connected with indicators
Indicators aim to make information in complex data sets as simple as possible (in the sense that they include only observable parameters that are easy to measure), but, at the same time, they try to give a clear and representative picture of the issue being assessed. This is a difficult task, and the danger of overlooking important information exists. Indicators can be described as a screen that filters information. Thus, if indicators are not chosen carefully enough, warning signals or system changes may be overlooked. Therefore, chosing the right indicators requires much experience and understanding of the system .
Sources: - IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, 2004, Monitoring Millennium Developments Goals – A review of experiences and challenges
- UNESCO-WWAP, 2003, World Water Development Report
