An ex-ante evaluation game to analyse project feasibility and guide redesigns

by Esteban Tapella

Purpose

The Project Traffic Lights game is designed to help players participate in the review and critical analysis of a project, addressing the variables or feasibility factors that are most relevant to the intervention in question.

The game is played by representatives from the target group or population, support entity members, donor representatives etc. Their participation should be open and non-hierarchical as they review and critically reflect on a completed project design that is ready for implementation.

Materials

The game consists of a board with six numbered boxes (one for each feasibility type) and a pack of 30 numbered cards which feature questions related to each feasibility type.

There are also six blank wild cards for players to write down any other questions they may have, so the group can respond by analysing the project documentation. The game also requires a dice.

To use this tool, you have to download the materials by clicking on each element of the game. Next to it, we suggest you how to print each element.

FOLDER AND BOARD. The board is also the folder of the game. You have to print it in A3 format, 250-grams paper, preferably in colour. CARDS. The cards must be printed in A3 format, 250-grams paper, preferably in colour. Remember that you can adapt the questions according to the type of intervention and the purpose of the evaluation. INSTRUCTIONS. This document can be printed in A4 or letter format, in black and white or colour.

How to play

In the game, the players answer the questions shown on each card for each of the project’s feasibility factors. After each card has been discussed in depth using the information available in the project documentation, the group decides whether the card should be placed on the GREEN, YELLOW or RED light. Placing the card on the green light signals that the project is feasible in the aspect analysed. Placing the card on the yellow light means that there are some feasibility issues in this aspect and more information or clarification is required. If the card is placed on the red light, the players believe that the project is not feasible as the project currently stands, and it needs to be redesigned or modified.

Projects and ex-ante evaluations

Programmes and projects are useful tools for transforming situations, as they organise a set of activities into a logical order so that previously determined objectives can be met. Different feasibility or viability factors are analysed with the aim of reducing the risk of failure for any given intervention. One of the purposes of this kind of analysis is to highlight possible factors that could facilitate or obstruct objectives being met.

Ex-ante evaluations, sometimes known as ‘preliminary studies’, constitute a very useful type of analysis in the management of social programmes and projects. They usually take place after the project has been formulated, at the pivotal moment between the project’s definition and design, and its implementation/execution. This evaluation phase involves the critical review of the intervention’s design with the aim of determining how relevant, feasible and sustainable it is.

Along with its weaknesses and gaps, the logical coherence of the project is also analysed before it is implemented. Furthermore, this type of evaluation facilitates the acceptance of a project when it offers the greatest possible guarantees of success, or it justifies the need for modification when some aspects are not clear enough or when the project does not provide sufficient guarantees that the objectives will be met.

While the feasibility factors that are relevant to different intervention types may vary, the following are those most commonly analysed:

• • • TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY: the physical and technical ability that is needed to realise the project, given the context, the available knowledge and predicted resources
    • SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND ORGANISATIONAL FEASIBILITY: the level of ownership felt by stakeholders for the proposal (relevance and timeliness) and the organisational capacity to make it feasible (especially important in projects involving associations or multiple stakeholders)
    • LOCAL MANAGEMENT CAPACITY: the capacity of relevant staff and local stakeholders to implement the proposal on a local level, outside of external support
    • INSTITUTIONAL FEASIBILITY: the level of external support for the proposal from the different institutions linked to the project
    • ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY: the availability of material and economic resources and the potential to repay credit should it be required
    • ENVIRONMENTAL FEASIBILITY: the undesirable impacts and outcomes on the environment and ways the proposal seeks to mitigate them if necessary

Recommendations

Some of the cards or feasibility factors may not be applicable to certain projects. The group can decide to skip these and continue with another card if they think it is appropriate to do so. There may also be cases where the group eliminates one type of feasibility factor or adds others that are more relevant to the intervention type.

The game could also be used to carry out ex-post evaluations (of performance or results). In this case, you would need to adapt the questions so they refer to the actions taken and the results achieved, rather than potential ones. You would also need to modify the cards according to the aims of the evaluation. The traffic light colours could have other meanings. For example: green for positive aspects achieved by the project; yellow for aspects that were not fully achieved as expected; and red for problems and for objectives that were not met by the intervention.