text: could do more than suggest broad guidelines for policy. It was from recording precisely and frequently the small changes, little failures and successes detectable by a monitoring system that better understanding was achieved of the mechanics/processes/relationships through which a project achieved its impact on the various development goals. The managers of development could learn the most, could correct errors befo~ the social costs became too large, and could arrive at new ideas 28 with the aid of a good monitoring system. Programme and project monitoring through the use of micro or programme- and project-specific indicators provided the link between field workers and planners and fostered congruence between the kinds of projects being implemented and the development goals being sought. 117. Project-monitoring indicators were part and parcel of a responsive and integrated statistical information · system. The continuous participa­ tion observation method and/or the use of local people in information gathering was necessary in order to have an accurate picture of the situation at the local level. Case studies provided valuable additions to the common or standard indicators. VI. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL INDICATORS 118. The obseivations and recommendations of the Expert Group are summarized in the following five sections, corresponding to the major topical areas that received detailed attention in the course of the Group's deliberations, viz. improved definition of the process of "development"; the relation between social indicators and the planning process; needed improvements in the data base and related analytic techniques; needed improvements in the organization and co-ordination of data collection operations; and some general observations concerning the function and limitations of social indicator reports in relation to socio-economic planning. A. THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT 119. The Group unanimously agreed that the conventional division of the planning process into separate sectors (e.g. "economic" planning, 
analysis: The text discusses the importance of monitoring and evaluation in development projects, specifically highlighting the need for accurate and timely data to understand the impact of projects on development goals. It also touches on the need for a responsive and integrated statistical information system. These topics suggest that the text is related to development and planning, rather than a specific sector or industry.