Title: Monitoring & Evaluation in a dynamic health environment (M&E)
Keywords: Planning and programming
Monitoring and evaluation
Health systems
Health indicators
Country: Netherlands
Institution: The Netherlands - Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), Amsterdam
Course coordinator: Dr Sandra Alba
Date start: 2024-08-12
Date end: 2024-08-23
About duration and dates: 2 weeks
Classification: advanced optional
Mode of delivery: Face to face
Course location: KIT (Royal Tropical Institute),
Amsterdam,
The Netherlands
ECTS credit points: 3 ECTS credits
SIT: Student Investment Hours: 84 hours
Contact hours: 45 hours plenary class sessions, 3 hour flipped classroom; 6 hours group work (case study); 3 hour group presentation,
Self-study hours: 27 hours
Language: French
English
Description:
•Compare and critically discuss the functions of monitoring and evaluation of health programs within health systems
• Contrast and adapt monitoring and evaluation plans, designs, tools and indicators
•Appraise and select new and innovative approaches to M&E ranging from the appropriate use of technology through to new theoretical frameworks and approaches
•Critically analyse how aid architecture and multiple stakeholders in the health system influence the design of an M&E strategy as well as participation and decision making
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Assessment Procedures:
•3 hour open book exam questions, combination of multiple choice questions and short essay
•Feedback will be given within 3 weeks
•Students who fail will be given the possibility of 1 resit (distance, via email).
•The group work is not part of the assessment.
Content:
Sectoral plans at national, regional or local levels require a strategic investment in management tools that facilitate informed decision making, planning and implementation. Developing appropriate monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and management information systems is being increasingly recognised as an essential component of any health program. Yet M&E practitioners operate in an ever changing and evolving scientific and socio-political landscape. Dynamic approaches which can be adapted and re-focused are essential to ensure their continued relevance and usefulness. This context is the basis for the course content:
•Introduction to core concepts: overview of M&E, relationship between monitoring and evaluation and project cycle management, functions of M&E
• Developments and challenges: factors that influence M&E in relation to new architectures of aid, focusing on poverty and health, the multi-stakeholder environment, partnerships, Civil Society Organisation involvement and accountability,
•Models and frameworks: advantages and limitations of commonly used approaches for M&E such as the logical framework approach, theory of change, monitoring tools for human resources, pharmaceutical supply chains, health governance and health equity .
•Methodology: use of quantitative and qualitative evaluative approaches, and participatory methods, developments in information technology, mapping for health (GIS) and quality assurance systems
•Different stakeholders: addressing and balancing perspectives of different stakeholders in decision making as well as level of participation by policy makers, donors, providers and beneficiaries
•Making M&E equity aware: for example by ensuring data is gender disaggregated; and that the perspectives of minority, disadvantaged and marginalized groups are accommodated
•Ethics: differences between evaluation and research, need for ethical approval, ethical conduct as an evaluator
Methods:
Lectures, interactive group discussions, online forum discussions, group work, debates, role plays, case studies and self-study:
• 45 hours: Contact hours including lectures, exercises, group work, interactive group discussions, debates and role plays building on participant experiences
• 3 hours flipped-classroom: participants are requested to read guidelines for ethical conduct in evaluations and test their understanding with an MCQ test. Thereafter, they are requested to reflect on how the guidelines could be used to tackle a real life ethical dilemma and discuss their recommendations in an online forum with other participants. The discussion will be moderated by the course co-ordinator who will flesh-out the main recommendations arising from the forum discussion
• 6 hours: Group work will consist of developing dissemination product for a case study evaluation (radio interview, infographic and policy brief) with tailored dissemination goals and messages for a given audience (community, donors and policy-makers respectively)
• 3 hours: Participant groups will present their dissemination products to their class colleagues who will critically appraise each other. The discussion will be moderated by the course co-ordinator who will link back main elements of the group work and discussion to the theory covered in class
Prerequisites:
• • Academic training or a professional qualification in a relevant area at least equivalent to BSc level
• At least 3 years professional experience in areas relevant to public health management and planning in low income countries
• Practical experience in Monitoring and Evaluation (at least 1 year)
• English level TOEFL 550 or IELTS 6.0 for applicants whose first language is not English
Attendance:
• Maximum number of students: 25
• Maximum number of topEd students: 4
Selection:
Places will be allocated on a ’first come first served’ basis
Fees: •€ 2650
Early bird fee € 2.220 (payment deadline=12.05.2024)
tropEd fee : € 2.120
Scholarships:
Scholarships: For this course funding from the Orange Knowledge Programme (OKP, former NFP) is available for applicants from OKP countries. Additional information available at: https://www.kit.nl/health/study/okp-orange-knowledge-programme/
Major changes since initial accreditation:
•The program now uses one case-study (a mixed methods evaluation of a results-based financing intervention) throughout the course. As much as possible facilitators are asked to refer to this case study in their sessions so that participants can focus on the specific learning aspects of the session, without the distraction of having to understand different and study case-study contexts each time
•The group work now consists of students developing their own dissemination material (on the above mentioned evaluation) as a way to better internalise the importance of aligning dissemination goals and message to the right stakeholders
• The program includes one flipped-classroom session with a self-test (MCQ) and forum discussion
•The exam now includes multiple choice questions (apx 30% of total exam grade)
Student evaluation:
• • Positive aspects from student evaluations include: diversity of experienced lecturers with relevant examples, covers wide range of issues, good mix of participants’ background and nationality, competency based approach
• Negative aspects: not enough practical tools, too much/too little theory
Lessons learned:
tropEd accreditation:
Accredited in November 2010. Re-accredited in April 2016. Re-accredited October 2020. This accreditation is valid until October 2025.
Remarks: Key references include:
•WHO 2010 - Monitoring the building blocks of health systems: A handbook of indicators and their measurement strategies
•UNDP 2009 - Handbook on planning, monitoring and evaluating for development results
•Guijt 2010 - Accountability and Learning
•WHO 2012 - Framework and Standards for Country Health Information System
Email Address: courses@kit.nl
Date Of Record Creation: 2012-01-19 02:52:34 (W3C-DTF)
Date Of Record Release: 2017-10-09 18:25:27 (W3C-DTF)
Date Record Checked: 2018-07-18 (W3C-DTF)
Date Last Modified: 2024-01-12 19:10:09 (W3C-DTF)