Once the strategic and monitoring frameworks have been set up, implementation begins and must be carefully monitored by coordination platform. The core response monitoring tool is the 5W matrix. A a well-structured 5W matrix will be able to:
- Track progress towards HRP objectives and targets
- Highlight disparities to inform adjustments in the response – these might be geographic, sub-sectoral, by type of beneficiary or response, inter-cluster, etc.
- Highlight service-level indicators for the activities, measured against the minimum standard benchmarks
- Facilitate transparency and accountability to WASH partners, donors, public and affected population
A core function of the IMO is to ensure that such operationally relevant data is available in a timely, digestible manner to support operational decision making. A well-constructed activity tracking system will also minimise the time required to fulfil upward reporting obligations, to maximise the time available for strengthening each part of the IM system, to enable more specific gap analyses.
5W must be set up in the early stage of the response, and modified later once the strategy monitoring plan will be finalized. It can be designed using GWC template, but needs to be customized for each crisis based on the monitoring plan indicators and queries done by WCC to the IMO. 5W matrix can produce satisfactory outputs only if partners properly fill it with their project data, and a lot of training and efforts are necessary to get a good quality and timely reporting from them. 5W do have limitations, and should not be the only monitoring tool used by coordination staff.