agencies establish contacts through the committee to present their various proposals for action. The committee should formalize these processes and maintain them throughout the implementation stage of the programme. Effective evaluation The reporting processes will be based on the objectives and targets that make up the plan and the assignment of responsibilities to various agencies and organizations for achieving them. To facilitate effective evaluation, it will be necessary to develop a standardized reporting format. This will set out the goals, objectives, target dates and performance indicators and seek succinct information from the relevant agency or organization on how it has implemented activities aimed at fulfilling them during the period in question. In order to evaluate whether or not a particular activity has been implemented successfully, it will be necessary to have a complete understanding of its objective. This underscores the importance of taking time when drafting the plan to establish clear and realistic performance indicators. The tabular approach suggested in section 9.5 is probably particularly useful in this regard. Monitoring and reporting mechanisms The core process of monitoring will flow from meetings of the coordinating committee at which it examines the situation in each of the plan’s areas of activity. Each country will develop mechanisms that suit its own situation, but it may be useful to hold a major evaluation session on an annual basis, with a simplified evaluation every six months. At this time, each of the agencies and organizations responsible for implementing sections of the plan will provide a report to the committee in the form of a statement setting out the relevant objective, the performance indicator, what the implementing agencies have done to achieve the objective and how their activity satisfies the performance indicator agreed at the beginning of the process. If the performance indicator, and hence the particular objective, was not met, the report should state this frankly and include an assessment of why it was not met and what should be done. The reports should be collated and presented at a meeting or meetings of the committee specifically dedicated to monitoring. The whole process should be systematic and all those involved should fully understand and accept it well in advance. The monitoring process should continue throughout the life of the plan. The whole approach should aim to be economical in terms of resources and time so that the reporting process does not become unwieldy or sink under its own weight. If it is too cumbersome in terms of either the preparation or the evaluation of reports, there will be a disincentive to all concerned to maintain it effectively. For this reason, the reports should not exceed more than a few pages. The outcome of the evaluation should also be systematized, with the committee advising each agency promptly of its views on its performance and, for example, requesting special attention to be given to specific areas and the provision of additional information as appropriate. The process should seek to advance achievement of the plan’s targets on the basis of dialogue and agreed action. Where the results of certain activities are at variance with the targets, there will be a requirement for additional action. If the evaluation process demonstrates that targets 95