Value Chain upgrading initiatives - tools for project planning and management

Supporting value chains has become a key intervention of private sector development and rural development projects. It is also used in projects that aim at sustainable management of natural resources. But value chain development projects typically are rather complex:

• A lot of activities are carried out over a period of a few years,
• taking place at many different levels (micro, meso, macro),
• with many different value chain actors,
• with many different supporting institutions,
• and with many different service providers.

Therefore, the approach requires systematic project planning and implementation! Based on successful value chain development project experiences, it is essential to carefully

• cluster the activities into main fields of intervention (or work packages),
• define the leading organization / player responsible for each activity,
• budget the different activities with the corresponding funding sources
• design the right sequence for implementing the activities
• specify linkages to other work packages and specify deliverables

To assist upgrading initiatives in setting up a coherent, effective project management system, we developed a quick guide on suitable tools (see contents below).

Contact persons
Thomas Finkel	Christian Koch