The PM-KOI, in one sentence
PM-KOI stands for Protection Mainstreaming Key Outcome Indicator and Monitoring Tool: a framework of indicators and a monitoring tool published by DG ECHO (the European Commission's Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations) to help its partners measure, in a comparable way, whether protection is genuinely mainstreamed into their projects, whatever their sector of intervention.
Why this tool exists
The protection mainstreaming is a DG ECHO requirement for all of its partners: the safety, the dignity and the participation of affected populations must be taken into account in every sector of intervention, WASH, shelter, food security, health, not only in projects dedicated to protection.
The difficulty is that a cross cutting requirement of this kind is inherently hard to measure consistently: each partner is liable to invent its own indicators, which makes results incomparable from one project to the next. The PM-KOI answers that need with a framework of standardised indicators, ready to reuse directly in a project monitoring plan.
The pillars of protection mainstreaming
Protection mainstreaming is generally built around four pillars, shared by most humanitarian frameworks (IASC, ECHO):
Safety & dignity
Making sure aid does not expose people to further risk, and delivering it in a way that respects their dignity.
Meaningful access
Making sure aid is reachable by everyone, with no discrimination and no barrier of gender, age or disability.
Accountability
Answering to affected populations, with a complaints mechanism that works and that people know about.
Participation & empowerment
Involving people in the decisions that concern them, rather than treating them as mere recipients.
The PM-KOI turns each of these pillars into outcome indicators measurable in the field. See the official document above for their exact wording.
The PM-KOI in the ECHO Single Form
The Single Form is the standard proposal and reporting document required by DG ECHO. It includes a section on how protection mainstreaming is built into the project, with the monitoring indicators that go with it. Using the PM-KOI framework for that section saves you from starting from a blank page on every proposal, and makes results comparable from one project to the next, an argument that MEAL and protection advisers appreciate particularly when they review proposals.
Collecting the data in the field
Protection mainstreaming indicators are most often measured through perception surveys with beneficiaries, focus group discussions (FGD), or the monitoring of the complaints mechanism. As with any MEAL survey, this data digitises naturally into an XLSForm questionnaire deployed on KoboToolbox or ODK.
Glossary
- DG ECHO
- The European Commission's Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, one of the largest humanitarian donors in the world.
- Protection mainstreaming
- Building protection principles (safety, dignity, access, participation) into every sector of a project, not only into projects dedicated to protection.
- Key Outcome Indicator (KOI)
- A standardised outcome indicator, defined by the donor, so that projects can be compared.
- Single Form
- The standard proposal and reporting document DG ECHO requires from its partners.
- AAP
- Accountability to Affected Populations: answering to the people you are helping.
Frequently asked questions
What does PM-KOI stand for?
PM-KOI stands for "Protection Mainstreaming Key Outcome Indicator and Monitoring Tool": the DG ECHO tool that provides standardised outcome indicators for tracking protection mainstreaming in humanitarian projects, across all sectors.
Does protection mainstreaming only concern protection projects?
No, and that is precisely the point: protection mainstreaming is a cross cutting DG ECHO requirement that applies to ALL sectors (WASH, shelter, food security, health, and the rest), not only to projects dedicated to protection. The idea is to build safety, dignity and participation into every intervention, whatever its sector.
How does the PM-KOI fit into the ECHO Single Form?
The ECHO Single Form asks partners to document how they mainstream protection, and to define monitoring indicators. The PM-KOI offers a framework of standardised indicators for that section, to be worked into the project monitoring plan rather than inventing ad hoc indicators on every proposal.
How do you collect PM-KOI data in the field?
Usually through perception surveys with beneficiaries, focus group discussions (FGD), or monitoring of the complaints mechanism, often digitised into an XLSForm questionnaire on KoboToolbox or ODK, which Opti Gemba can generate from a description of your project context.
Build your PM-KOI monitoring plan with Opti'
Describe your project and its sector to OptiBot: it helps you turn the pillars of protection mainstreaming into monitoring indicators consistent with your logical framework, and then Opti Gemba generates the collection questionnaire (perception survey, complaints mechanism monitoring), ready to deploy in the field.
OptiBot
Methodological advice on building protection mainstreaming into your monitoring plan.
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Opti Gemba
Generates the collection questionnaire aligned with your protection mainstreaming indicators.
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Opti Academy
Train your teams in protection mainstreaming and the ECHO standards.
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