Advanced Training on Project Cycle Management:
Launch of the SIMI-UISG Webinar Series
On June 23, 2025, the Scalabrini International Migration Institute (SIMI) and the UISG International Migrants and Refugees Network launched a new series of advanced training webinars with a session focused on the Basic Concepts on Project Cycle Management (PCM). The event was held online and registered by approximately 100 religious women.
SIMI and UISG has been collaborating since 2021 with the International Conference “Migrants and Pilgrims as our Ancestors” and has continued their collaboration in training programmes with a three-year project both online and in-presence, supported by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DSSUI). This webinar is the first of a series of advanced training designed to equip particularly religious women with knowledge and training to serve migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, victims of trafficking and people on the move.
Cecilia Bock, Director of Monitoring and Evaluation at the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), was the keynote speaker of the event. Drawing from her extensive experience in South Sudan with Caritas Spain and in Kenya with Caritas Italiana, as well as her consultancy work with FOCSIV and FAO, Bock delivered the fundamental concepts of PCM.
Bock covered essential components of PCM, explaining the significance of programming, identification, planning, monitoring and evaluation. She distinguished between objectives, results, outputs and activities, emphasizing the prominence of well-defined indicators to measure project success. The link between planning and successful fundraising efforts were further underscored.
Participants engaged in breakout sessions to reflect on their role in the project, involvement and collaboration with colleagues. The second session of the webinar highlighted Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL). Bock stressed the importance of clearly defining objectives and expected results to establish an effective monitoring system. The concepts of theory of change and logical framework were discussed, as well as the specific characteristics of monitoring at different organizational levels. The importance of indicators to measure progress were accentuated and various methods of data collection and analysis to evaluate the impacts of the project were described. Results-based approach, the importance of monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning were lastly underlined.
Upcoming sessions will be held in November 2025 and Spring 2026, focusing on Fundraising and Advocacy, respectively.
For more information and regular updates, stay connected with SIMI and UISG through their official communication channels.
By Ishrat Jahan Haque Mitu
Intern at SIMI