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Free NG-CDF / CDF Project & Absorption Tracker (Excel)

Public money needs public-grade records. This free tracker keeps them for an NG-CDF or county fund: log each project by ward with its allocation, what has been disbursed and what has actually been spent, and it works out the absorption rate, the balance and a clear status for every project and for the fund as a whole.

Download — Excel (.xlsx) ↓Opens in Excel or Google Sheets · no sign-up
Prefer Google Sheets? You don't need Microsoft Excel →
  1. Download the file above.
  2. Open Google Drive, then New → File upload and choose the file.
  3. Right-click it in Drive → Open with → Google Sheets. It becomes a fully editable Google Sheet — every formula and tab intact — and works on your phone too.

The .xlsx format opens free in Google Sheets, LibreOffice, or Excel for the web — no paid software required.

What's inside

  • Absorption % (spent ÷ allocation) per project and fund-wide
  • Status per project: Not started / Ongoing / Stalled / Complete
  • Breakdown by ward, with allocation vs spent
  • Undisbursed and unspent balances, flagged
  • Formulas locked; safe to share with a PMC

The tabs

  • Start Here (guide)
  • Projects
  • Dashboard

Yellow cells only. You type in the yellow cells; the rest are locked formulas. Gridlines are off and it prints clean on A4.

On the Projects tab, add each project with its ward, category, allocation, amount disbursed and amount spent — the absorption %, the undisbursed balance and a status (Not started, Ongoing, Stalled or Complete) fill in automatically. On the Dashboard you get the totals: number of projects, total allocated, disbursed, spent, overall absorption rate and a breakdown by ward.

Absorption is the number everyone asks about — spent as a share of allocation. The tracker shows it per project and for the whole fund, so a low-absorption ward is obvious at a glance and the follow-up list writes itself. The formulas are locked and only the yellow cells accept typing, so it is safe to share with a project management committee.

For the numbers behind national and county budgets, explore LeadAfrik's Policy Sandbox and country dashboards; to brief a decision, the free proposal and summary tools turn a tracker into a paper.

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Frequently asked questions

Is this only for NG-CDF?

No. It fits any project-based public or donor fund — NG-CDF, a county development vote, or a ward bursary programme. Rename the columns to suit; the allocation → disbursed → spent → absorption logic is the same.

What does absorption mean here?

Absorption is money actually spent as a percentage of money allocated. A project allocated KES 5m that has spent KES 2m is at 40% absorption. The tracker computes it for every project and for the fund as a whole.

Can a committee use it together?

Yes. Keep it in a shared Drive and open it with Google Sheets; the formulas are locked so members can update disbursements and spending without breaking the totals.