The evaluation of management effectiveness is generally achieved by the assessment of series of criteria (represented by carefully selected indicators) against agreed objectives or standards. The following definitions refer specifically to the context of protected area management effectiveness.
Management effectiveness evaluation: is defined as the assessment of how well the protected area is being managed – primarily the extent to which it is protecting values and achieving goals and objectives. The term management effectiveness reflects three main themes:
design issues relating to both individual sites and protected area systems;
adequacy and appropriateness of management systems and processes; and
delivery of protected area objectives including conservation of values.
Assessment: the measurement or estimation of an aspect of management.
Evaluation: the judgement of the status/condition or performance of some aspect of management against predetermined criteria (usually a set of standards or objectives); in this case including the objectives for which the protected areas were established.
IUCN-WCPA Management Effectiveness Evaluation Framework: a system for designing protected area management effectiveness evaluations based around six elements: context, planning, inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes. It is not a methodology, but is a guide to developing assessment systems.
Element: a major component of the evaluation Framework defined by the aspect of management that is being assessed. The elements relate to the steps in a strategic planning and management cycle. Performance within each element is assessed by reference to a number of defined criteria.
System: a specific process for doing monitoring and evaluation, generally accompanied by steps or guidance (equivalent to an evaluation approach as defined by Stem et al.).
Criterion: a major category of conditions or processes – quantitative or qualitative – which together helps define the thing being measured. A criterion is characterized by a set of related indicators.
Indicators: quantitative or qualitative variables that provide useful information about a criterion and can be used to help compile a picture of the status and trends in protected area effectiveness.
Tool: an instrument that aids in undertaking of evaluation – e.g. a questionnaire or scorecard (Stem et al. 2005).
Monitoring: collecting information on indicators repeatedly over time to discover trends in the status of the protected area and the activities and processes of management.
A lot of the terms used above are defined fairly vaguely in English; however in this document, and for this specific purpose of management effectiveness, we have tried to provide more precise definitions.