PLANNING THEORY 1

UNIT 5 : Planning, Implementation and Evaluation

1. Planning

• Planning can be viewed as an approach to problem solving.

• It provides a systematic way of viewing problems and developing short- and long-term
solutions.

• It can also be viewed as a decision-making process used to help guide decisions for
future needs.

• It involve setting of goals, objectives & deciding the line of the actions. This establishes
the relationship between actions & objectives.

Types of Plans

1. Short range plan:- The plan having a time period for or up to one year.

2. Medium range plan:- The plan having a time period for more then one year & less then five
years.

3. Long range plan:- The plan having a time period for five years or more .

2. Nature of Planning or Principles of planning

1. Planning is a intellectual process.

2. planning is goal-oriented.

3. Planning is all Universal.

4. Planning facilitates efficiency.

5. Planning is the primary function.

6. Planning is flexible.

7. Planning involves choice & decision making.

8. Planning is a Continuous Process.

3. Stages of Planning

Stage 1: Identify problems and needs

Stage 2: Develop goals and objectives
Stage 3: Develop alternative strategies
Stage 4: Select strategies and develop a detailed plan
Stage 5: Design a monitoring and evaluation plan

1.1 Identification of the Problem

At this stage, the planner(s) and community leaders collect information to assess problems
and needs. A variety of techniques may be used:
• Conduct surveys — Using a complete census of a given area, or sample surveys that
focus on problems
• Hold community, village or town meetings — Identify key problems and issues
• Conduct interviews — With others who are involved or concerned such as other
government agencies, non-government organizations, and community groups
• Use secondary data — Census survey data to identify problems and needs
The planner and team see that many problems exist. The planner must work with staff and
residents to select problems requiring attention. The planner needs to ask a number of
questions at this stage to clarify the problem(s)
1.2 Goals and objectives
• Once the problems have been identified and agreed upon, the planner develops goals and
objectives to lighten the problem or needs. Goals are usually assist by detailed and
specific objectives.
Definition:
• Goals are broad statements of desired accomplishments. Goals are usually attend by
detailed and specific objectives.
• In general, objectives can be defined as specific, measurable accomplishments to be
achieved within a given time period. Developing clear objectives provides the guidelines
for measuring progress and achievements.
Objectives
• Specific — Indicates the target population for given services.
• Measurable — Indicates how many will be targeted.
• Area-specific — Indicates the geographic location of the target population or community.
• Realistic — Takes into account existing resources, and has the support of the target
population or community involved.
• Time-Bound — Should indicate the time period when accomplishments will be achieved.
1.3 Development of Alternative Solutions
There are several ways to achieve goals and objectives. At this stage the planner working
with staff and community leaders, comes up with a list of alternative strategies to achieve the
goals and objectives. There are 3 basic ways to collect information for this activity:
 • Investigate ways that other agencies and communities are achieving similar objectives.
• Have staff and others generate ideas based on their personal experience.
• Use knowledge gained from demonstration or other projects that offer possibilities in
achieving the intended goals and objectives.
Once alternative strategies have been identified, evaluate each to determine which is the most
appropriate for achieving goals and objectives. There are a number of ways to evaluate each
alternative strategy.
1.4 Selection of Strategies and Development of Detail Plan
Once a strategy (or group of strategies) has been selected, a detail plan to implement the
strategy is developed. The development of the plan requires four types of activities:
• Programming: Identify the activities or tasks that need to be completed in order to reach
the desired objectives. In many cases, several major tasks or activities are required to
achieve each objective. Activities then need to be put into the order in which they should
be completed.
• Allocating resources: Determine and assign the resources needed to implement the
activities. Resources are normally divided into three general categories: human, physical
(materials, facilities and equipment) and financial. In planning, both internal as well as
external resources are identified. While it is important to identify resources within the
organization to carry out specified activities, other public and private sector agencies can
also play major roles in implementing the plan. Community members can also contribute
to planning and implementation activities.
• Scheduling: Establish the required time needed to complete each activity. This will
involve an assessment of how long each task takes to be completed.
• Fixing accountability: Determine specific individual and/or agencies/institutions
responsible for the accomplishment of activities. Simple devices can be used to indicate
tasks and planned completion time such as Gantt charts, which indicate tasks vertically
(Y-axis) and time horizontally (X-axis).
1.5 Monitoring and Evaluation
Monitoring and evaluation help guide the following kinds of decisions:
• Continue or discontinue a program or component of a plan
• Improve existing programs/plans
• Add or drop a component or an entire program
• Institute a similar program elsewhere
• Reallocate resources among competing programs or program components

Evaluation

An evaluation is an integral part of a grant proposal that provides information to improve a

project during development and implementation.

There are two types of evaluations:

• Process evaluation: Helps program managers and policy makers redirect program
activities to achieve desired goals. Process evaluation is concerned with the efficient use
of resources such as personnel and equipment, and focuses on reducing waste and making
more productive use of scarce resources. It is primarily concerned with finding better
ways of implementing the plan.

• Impact evaluation: Measure whether or not the plan is having an impact on the target
population or environment. It is concerned with program effectiveness, that is, whether or
not the plan is achieving its objectives.

Some people also refer to monitoring programs as a form of evaluation. Monitoring simply
tracks the progress of program implementation and operation. It usually entails the
development of an information system that is updated periodically to meet reporting
requirements of certain activities, such as the expenditure of funds, the number of
participants, allocation of staff to given tasks, and the completion of given tasks. Evaluation,
however, is more concerned with addressing specific decisions concerning program success.

Program evaluations are successful if the following three conditions are met:

• Program objectives are well defined in terms of specific measures of program

performance

• Intended uses of evaluations are well-defined, and

• Monitoring and evaluation plans are developed.

Include an evaluation strategy in the plan to determine if goals and objectives are being
achieved. The plan should include a time frame and budget for monitoring and evaluation.

4. Phases of Evaluation

• Planning
• Implementation — Formative and Process Evaluation
• Completion — Summative, Outcome, and Impact Evaluation
• Reporting.

5.Need for Evaluation

• Improve program design and implementation.

• It is important to periodically assess and adapt activities to ensure they are as effective as
they can be.

• Evaluation can helps in identify areas for improvement and ultimately help in realize the
goals more efficiently.
• It is a process that helps improve performance and achieve results.

• Its goal is to improve current and future management of outputs, outcomes and impact.

• Their expertise and independence is of major importance for the process to be successful

6. Different Type of Planning Theories

1. rational comprehensive planning;

2. incremental planning;
3. advocacy planning;
4. implementation-oriented planning;
5. strategic planning;
6. transactive planning;
7. negotiative planning; and
8. communicative planning.

7.Development Plan

A "development plan" is an aspect of town and country planning in the United

Kingdom comprising a set of documents that set out the local authority's policies and
proposals for the development and use of land in their area.
Development plan is done with a definite purpose wrt Settlement of a town

8. Planning Policies

A definite course or method of action selected (by government, institution, group or

individual) from among alternatives and in the light of given conditions to guide and,
usually, to determine present and future decisions. · A specific decision or set of
decisions designed to carry out such a course of action.

9.Land use and land value

Land Use: Land use is the human use of land. Land use involves the management and
modification of natural environment into built environment such as fields, pastures, and
settlements.

 'Land use' is also often used to refer to the distinct land use types in zoning

 " As of the early 1990s, about 13% of the Earth was considered arable land, with 26%
in pasture, 32% forests and woodland, and 1.5% urban areas.
Land Value: “The price, of a particular site of land is what a fair exchange brings in
terms of money during an agreed trade or transaction between two parties, one of whom
is the land owner is called land value”

 . The ingredients that constitute land value are utility, scarcity and desirability

10. Functional Classification of Towns

1. Primary

2. Secondary

3. Tertiary

There are 5 types of towns

1. Administrative town
2. Defence town
3. Cultural town
4. Industrial town
5. Trading and commercial town

Administrative town: Which has national capital head quarters having their
administrative office of central government

Defence town: Centres with military activities Ex: Jodhpur

Cultural town: Towns famous for religious, educational and recreational functions

Industrial town: An IT is a city where the economic system is based on indudtries such
as mining and large scale industries

It may have sought of slums, industries mixed together

Ex: Vishakapatanam

Trading and Commercial town: Many old towns which are famous for trade center
which offer lot of trade and commercial activity. They are also center for communication
with major public transport
11. Methods of Evaluating Development Plans

An evaluation is an integral part of a grant proposal that provides information to improve a

project during development and implementation.

A "development plan" is an aspect of town and country planning in the United

Kingdom comprising a set of documents that set out the local authority's policies and
proposals for the development and use of land in their area.

Development plan is done with a definite purpose wrt Settlement of a town

It consists of

1. Socio Economic Development Plan: In the socio -economic development process, all
countries around the world apply planning as a tool in governing the countries by
setting overall objectives and targets for the immediate and future socio -economic
development. Guidelines, tasks and implementing measures are set from time to time
to achieve the objectives and targets set out.
2. Physical Development Plan: Physical planning is a design exercise that uses the land
use plan as a framework to propose the optimal physical infrastructure for a
settlement or area, including infrastructure for public services, transport, economic
activities, recreation, and environmental protection.

Methods of Evaluating
1. Pre Evaluation
2. Concurrent Evaluation
3. Post Evaluation

1. Pre Evaluation : Defined Pre-planned evaluation of program effectiveness is defined

as the establishment of the total evaluation plan before program activities begin. The plan
includes specification of criteria to be measured, who gets measured and when, how
measurement will occur and how program effects will be estimated. Figure 1 depicts this
concept.
 2. Concurrent Evaluation: It is to be done within a short period of time so that the
findings can be used to take prompt remedial action.

3. Post Evaluation: Defined Post-planned evaluation of program effectiveness is

defined as the establishment of the total evaluation plan after the program has either
fully completed its activities or performed a portion of them. Figure 2 depicts this
conceptualization of post-planned evaluation which occurs after the program has
ended. Figure 3 depicts how pre- and post-planned evaluations can sequentially occur,
within the context of a single program.

It is important to point out that Figure 3 suggests that while the evaluation conducted
at T + 4 is post-planned, a subsequent evaluation repeated at, say, T + 7 which was
similar in nature to that conducted earlier becomes a preplanned evaluation. In
essence, the process that was a post-planned evaluation of program effectiveness from
T + 1 to T + 4, becomes more accurately described as preplanned evaluation of
program effectiveness when repeated from T + 5 onward.

12. Inseparability of Planning and Evaluation

1. 'Clients' for evaluation are different in the various planning theory positions. For
example, in the rational model the clients are programme staff and politicians; in
advocacy planning they are the competing groups of citizens; in negotiative planning
the clients are public and private negotiators of a development project; in
communicative planning they are multiple stakeholders. The specifications of goals
and meaning given to indicators become more difficult and obviously more political
as we move from the rational position to the communicative one.

2. As we move from the rational position to the communicative position evaluation

becomes more 'comprehensive', not in the sense of empirical knowledge for rating
alternative policy arguments, but in the sense that a broad range of values are given
more attention. The rational model separates and compartmentalises values, whereas
the communicative approach puts values at the heart of the planning process. The
intermediate planning theory positions put varying emphasis on the role of values.

3. The role of politics in specifying indicators and interpreting their meaning changes
as we move from the rational to the communicative postion. An effectiveness
requirement is 'replaced' or supplemented by other important requirements: justice,
legitimacy, mutual understand- ing, epistemological integration and democratic
pluralism. The percep- tion that evaluation is carried out with the explicit aim of
finding an instrumental means-end relationship is superseded by evaluation becoming
an integrated part of the planning process (Nachmias, 1980).
4. Evaluation's expanded domain shows the inadequacy of the quantitative,
effectiveness-based methods. The role of qualitative analysis becomes all the more
obvious. The less sophisticated input-output models with optimisation as their main
aim are replaced by models that facilitate our understanding of what happens during
the planning process. This depends on the fact that it is should be limited to policy
proposals learning and institutional capital come into focus in evaluation.
Epistemologically this implies that the assumption about value-free knowledge is
replaced by an acceptance that knowledge is politically influenced, and that it needs
both professional and experiential knowl- edge of planning as well as evaluation.

5. Incrementalism showed the politics of exclusion. Which plan alternatives are

included and which are left out in the evaluation process is subject to political trade
offs. According to implementation-oriented planning, evaluation becomes more
responsive to politico-bureucratic conditions. In negotiative planning the need for
political trade offs and value judge- ments becomes much more significant. The
communicative planning position involves decisive methodological change. It is
inadequate and incomplete to regard evaluation in terms of organisation theory (for
example, incompleteness in information, lack of consensus, and so on). It is necessary
to adapt a critical social theory perspective in order to understand the importance of
the uneven division of power, ambiguity in value systems and defectiveness in social
structure (Fischer, 1985).

Both planning and evaluation science find themselves in transition, and therefore the
use of evaluation in the planning context changes continually. In rational planning
evaluation had a direct and instrumental role in helping planners understand and
improve the plans. In the communicative planning approach, evaluation helps the
planner to think otherwise, tackle problems in an open, discursive manner and even
be prepared to reveal facts that could prove embarrassing. Evaluation thus becomes a
part of the 'transformative' learning process. It is accorded an emancipatory role - to
change the society and not just the plan.

13. Planning Theories and evaluation (refer Theory in Planning and Theory about
Planning unit 1 notes all 8 theories)
14. Theories of Implementations of Planning policies

Implementation is the key to the whole process, as without it the work done is useless.
The experience of Implementation is probably the most useful input to a successful of
any project.

Stages of Implementations:

Stage 1: Feasibility Studies

Stage 2: Detail Studies

Stage 3:Development Project Options

Stage 4: Detailed Site Development

Stage 5: Implementation

Stage 1: Feasibility Studies: A feasibility study aims to objectively and rationally

uncover the strengths and weaknesses of an existing or proposed venture,
opportunities and threats present in the natural environment, the resources required to
carry through, and ultimately the prospects for success. In its simplest terms, the two
criteria to judge feasibility are cost required and value to be attained.
A well-designed feasibility study should provide a historical background of the
project, a description of the product or service, accounting statements, details of
the operations and management, marketing research and policies, financial data, legal
requirements and tax obligations. Generally, feasibility studies precede technical
development and project implementation.
A feasibility study evaluates the project's potential for success; therefore, perceived
objectivity is an important factor in the credibility of the study for potential investors
and lending institutions. It must therefore be conducted with an objective, unbiased
approach to provide information upon which decisions can be based.
Stage 2: Detail Studies: In this stage the detail study of the project is done in
Systematic research, examination, identification, and understanding of the aspects or
factors associated with an activity, event, phenomenon, situation, etc. Often a report is
produced at the end of a study that summarizes its findings and may also include
recommendations on the next step(s) to be taken.

Stage 3:Development Project Options: This Stage consists of

1. Formulating development options

2. Institutional and Financial framework

Stage 4: Detailed Site Development : This Stage consists of

1. Designing site development
2. Institutional and Financial framework

Stage 5: Implementation: This Stage consists of

1. Monitoring
2. Evaluation