This manual has been put together in collaboration with professionals who revised the draft. It builds on the experience accumulated over the last five years in basic education projects in Indonesia, Pakistan, Peru, Sri Lanka, and in community participation in Nepal and Bangladesh. It draws on previous work done by Johannes Spitta, and on a number of topical documents from GTZ section 04, GATE, as well as workshops on monitoring worldwide. Critical analysis and recommendations to projects and programmes on basic education as well as various presentations and articles from Dr. Herbert Bergmann have been integrated into this manual.