Donor M&E Requirements by Funder

How to Use These Profiles

Funders write their M&E rules into the grant agreement and the policies it points to. The profiles below describe the general pattern at each funder as of October 2026. They are a starting map, not the rules of your award. The five funders are a sample that shows different patterns; the habits at the end apply to any funder, including ones not listed here. Funders change guidance often, and an agreement can differ from the funder's usual practice.

For each funder, read the agreement and list five things: the results framework you must use, the main reporting tool, the reporting dates, the evaluation duties, and any required disaggregation (splitting results by sex, age or another group). The page on donor requirements explains how to build that list. Donor reporting covers the reports themselves.

Terms used below:

• Logframe: a table of objectives, indicators, sources of data and assumptions.
• Milestone: a target for a set date.
• Legacy award: an award made before a funder stopped or changed its program.
• Value for Money (VfM): a judgment of whether results justify the cost.

Former USAID (Legacy Awards Only)

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) stopped implementing foreign assistance on July 1, 2025. Programs that fit administration policy moved to the U.S. State Department. This profile is for teams that still manage an award made before the change, and for readers who meet USAID terms in older documents. For a new funder, treat it as background on practices that many other funders copied.

The rows above describe common practice in older awards. They are not taken from a current USAID page, so confirm each one in your own agreement.

Common Pitfalls

• Reporting custom indicators without the standard indicators the award names.
• An IPTT that shows totals but not the required sex and age breakdowns.
• Missing the AMELP due date. Check your own agreement, because the office that manages the award may have changed.

FCDO (UK)

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) took over from the Department for International Development (DFID). Its programs are managed against a logframe and reviewed at least once a year.

The A++ to C scale comes from a DFID-era scoring note that applied from 2012. On it, A++ means results well above what was planned, A means results as planned, and B and C mean results below plan. The FCDO Programme Operating Framework of April 2026 refers to a B score at annual reviews but does not list the scale. Check the scale and the review timing in your own funding agreement.

Common Pitfalls

• Leaving VfM out of the Annual Review.
• Vague milestones such as "improved capacity". A milestone like "80% of target district officials complete training" can be scored. A vague one cannot.
• Missing disability data. Where feasible, use the Washington Group questions on functioning.

European Union

The European Union (EU) funds through many instruments, so rules differ by contract. Programs usually use a logframe or results framework with indicators and sources of verification, the places where each indicator's data comes from.

ROM is an external review of a sample of ongoing projects. It is not a request you make. Read the contract's general conditions for the exact limit on budget transfers and for visibility duties, the rules on showing EU funding on materials and sites. Do not rely on a figure from another project.

Common Pitfalls

• Moving money between budget headings without the written approval the contract requires.
• Using a generic logframe when the contract names a specific template.
• Treating visibility as optional. It is a contract term.

The Global Fund

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria funds grants run by a Principal Recipient (PR), the organization that receives the money and reports on it. Applicants usually build their requests on the Global Fund's Modular Framework, which sets standard modules, interventions and indicators aligned with World Health Organization guidance. As of October 2026, the Global Fund's funding model page describes Grant Cycle 8 (GC8).

The PU/DR sets performance ratings and results for each grant, and it is the report tied to disbursement requests. The reporting cycle depends on the portfolio and the grant, so read the grant agreement for your dates. Data on key populations is sensitive, so follow national data protection rules.

Common Pitfalls

• Treating the PU/DR as a narrative report. Late or inconsistent submission can delay money.
• Results and spending that do not match. An LFA may ask why 80% of targets show against 40% of funds spent.
• Changing a standard indicator definition without agreement.

World Bank

World Bank projects use a Results Framework with a Project Development Objective (PDO), the change the project aims to bring about, and indicators at the PDO and intermediate levels. The Bank's own staff report on progress, and the borrower supplies much of the data.

A DLI ties payment to a verified result. The method for verifying it is agreed with the Bank, and you must follow it exactly. ESF requirements apply where the project carries environmental or social risk, and the agreement names what to monitor.

Common Pitfalls

• Learning the DLI verification method when the first payment is due. Clarify it at project start.
• Surprising the Bank team with problems that then appear in the ISR.
• Treating safeguards as separate from M&E. Monitoring them is part of the system.

Habits That Work at Any Funder

• Read the whole agreement. Audit, visibility and sub-grantee clauses often carry M&E duties.
• Map early. In the first few months, list each requirement and the part of your M&E system that meets it. Update the list each year.
• Ask early. If you cannot meet a term as written, say so and propose an alternative.
• Put changes in writing. If a program officer agrees to flexibility by phone, confirm it by email.

Related Concepts

• Donor requirements
• Donor reporting
• Logframe
• Results framework