Aid delivery methods. Volume 1. Project cycle management guidelines

Update of the 1993 Project Cycle Management (PCM) manual. The Guidelines have been prepared to support ongoing improvements in the quality of EC development assistance. Quality is defined primarily in terms of the relevance, feasibility and effectiveness of the programmes and projects supported with EC funds, including how well they are managed. More specifically, the Guidelines aim to support good management practices and effective decision making throughout the project management cycle – from programming, through to identification, formulation, implementation and evaluation. The Guidelines aim to promote consistency and clarity of approach, while allowing for the operational flexibility required of a dynamic and diverse external assistance programme.  PCM provides an overall analytical and decision making framework, which must nevertheless be complemented by the application of other specific ‘technical’ and ‘process’ tools. Thus, the Guidelines should also be used in conjunction with other important EC reference documents relevant to specific sectors, to specific cross-cutting issues and to specific assessment tools.