ABSTRACT
The monitoring and evaluation process begins long before the research starts. A golden rule about any kind of evaluation is to know and, if possible, influence the criteria for success. The monitoring and evaluation process also may pick up examples of both good and bad research practice. If these begin to combine into a common thread, then they can be seen and addressed. Within a funding body, monitoring and evaluation processes will vary depending on the size and nature of the project. The Economic and Social Research Council says its evaluation serves three purposes: accountability, a project-based evaluation and feedback. The value the researcher adds therefore extends beyond the immediate project and into the strategic objectives of the funder and the research community as a whole. Conducting a satisfactory evaluation that demonstrates both how people responsibly carried out research and how they enhanced the life of the academic community is what separates the great from the mundane.
