The World Council of Churches (WCC) exists to promote visible unity among the churches in all regions. Historically, one of the main areas of its commitment has been sharing and service with those in need. In all its work, the WCC seeks to empower and enable the capacities of churches and of their specialized offices and agencies, including through efforts to promote capacity building and organizational strengthening.

WCC Round Table programmes are an instrument of ecumenical sharing of resources involving church and other partners based on the theological concepts of diakonia (service) and koinonia (fellowship). Ecumenical Round Table programmes provide platforms of ecumenical partnership and of diaconal coordination and cooperation. WCC has developed Round Table programmes involving churches, other organizations and international agencies in over 40 countries of the world.

The WCC Manual for Ecumenical Project Management is the fruit of several years' collaboration between WCC, churches and related organizations, and ecumenical agencies throughout the world. In preparing this Manual, case studies have been developed from actual Round Table programmes, and several examples have been included in the annexes. However, the scope of this Manual goes far beyond the Round Table programmes. The hope of WCC is that it will provide a useful resource for a wide range of church organizations and for their diaconal ministries, and that it may further contribute to the quality and coherence of ecumenical development cooperation around the world, in the service of those in need.

Planning, monitoring and evaluation (PME) are not always familiar words to churches and related organizations. Modern management approaches to programming can sometimes appear technical and results-oriented, at the expense of other qualities such as commitment, sharing and people-centred processes. However, the WCC considers that the methodologies and experience outlined in this Manual may offer an additional and important set of tools for churches and partners to add to their own experience and approaches.

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