Measuring Results (Monitoring and Evaluation)
Q: What does success in health look like?
How directed should donors’ dollars be? There are many programs implemented without follow up, so monitoring is important. Yet there are trade-offs between measuring progress and adapting to conditions on the ground. How are these being resolved? What are examples of best practices?
· rise of impact evaluation (J-PAL, IPA)
· importance of results to increase collaboration with governments and private sector
Q: What’s the best approach to ensure success?
There is a great deal of debate over whether approaches to global health should be integrated or focus on distinct diseases. President Obama’s recent Global Health Initiative signals an increasing shift towards comprehensive approaches, premised on the idea that health issues are interrelated. Historically, health organizations focused on a single disease, such as polio, and many organizations have evolved to reflect this strategy. Re-evaluating this model is worthwhile, but strategy shifts will need to be accompanied by organizational change.
