Data for Action Workshop Report

Recommendations

Each day participants made recommendations to various audiences regarding topics discussed in the workshops that day. On Day Three of the workshop, participants prioritized these recommendations. The recommendations are listed in their ranked order in the Summary section of this report.

Day One

To PVOs/PVO Practitioners:

Other Data Uses:
To PVO HQ and SR staff: Be aware of political uses of data.
Engage in dialogue with Senior Mgmt, marketing, and advocacy arms of your PVO and partners to influence/balance investment strategies.

Technology for Data Collection, Analysis:
PVOs develop, pilot test, and promote participatory market research tools to define how services might be delivered–to inform design or open our minds

Qualitative Methods:
PVO practitioners: obtain qualitative information to establish causality of impact and un-derstand what really made the difference. When? During evaluative exercises.

Economic/Social Impact:
For PVOs: find ways to make data you must collect for a donor or the public sector available to and used by the other “clients” e.g. community members.

Improve Design of CB-HIS:
Integrate information from formal, non-formal private practitioners into CBHIS. Better under-stand, acknowledge, and build upon existing traditional community systems of collecting, sharing, using and storing information to enhance sustainability.

To CORE/CSTS/USAID/Donors:

Document Sustainable CHIS:
Document successful examples of how commu-nities generate/use data for decision-making post-project.

Reliability/Data Quality:
CORE: assess the reliability of self-assessment (need a series of studies).

Improve Design of CB-HIS:
Document how PVOs stimulate community members to use data for decision-
making at the (how to) community level.

Document Sustainable CHIS:
Do inventory of CB-HIS that actually remained/were sustained. In developing community information systems, sustainability should be an important consideration during design.

Reliability/Data Quality:
Insure quality of data by re-sampling a small portion of the population.

Importance of triangulating results using multiple methods.

Capacity & Tool Assessment:
SOTA process should be peer-reviewed among PVOs vs. self-report.

Technology for Data Collection, Analysis:
Advance the development of hand tabulation methods.

Develop standard software for analysis of recurrent HIS, survey data, and reduce need for computer pro-gramming through local data collection, analysis

Projects need to do more capacity building for data analysis and decision making, e.g. reports on new priorities based upon data.

Economic/Social Impact:
Measure/ support the development of information gathering tools to measure equity and promote improvements.

Global and com-munity groups: consider using indicators of cost and economic impact to influence decision-making based on the audiences (policy-makers, credit groups, etc.).

Improve Design of CB-HIS:
CB-HIS linked to accountability/Performance-based actions.

CB-HIS should be developed from angle of desired actions and decision-making levels.

Day Two

PRODUCT/OUTPUT	PERSONS/ ORGANIZATIONS RESPONSIBLE	BY WHEN?

Evaluation: Post-project evaluation of the sustainability of information systems and uses of information.	Consultant, CORE, USAID funding	TOR by February (or sooner, if funding is available)
Clearinghouse of tools and training manuals: Create a clearinghouse of tools and training manuals (i.e. Amazon type), starting with those from this workshop, including reviews (peer and expert) for information systems, social autopsies.	CSTS, CORE MEWG, users. Send tools to CSTS.	Three tools that were presented here up by the end of January 2003.
Database of tools and experiences: Create a database of tools and experiences in CB-HIS.	CORE, CSTS, MEWG	September 2003
Report: documentation on how PVOs stimulate community members and partners to use data for decision-making at the local level. Process: add questions to the mid-term and final evaluations.	CORE MEWG, CSTS, USAID	By CORE Spring Meeting
Collection of best-practices: Develop guidelines and disseminate best practices on CB-HIS including how the community defines priorities and parameters. Include mechanisms to collect information on community feedback on program strategies.	CORE	September 2003
Inventory of CB-HIS: Country-wide meetings for preparing an inventory of CB-HIS and make recommendations, in 2-3 countries. In preparation for country-wide meeting described above, PVOs to complete inventory on p. 23 of draft SOTA paper in advance.	CORE NGOs and partners; CORE/CORE-lettes (MEWG to facilitate) Potential CORE participants in country-wide meeting.	Spring/Summer 2003 Winter 2002-2003
Toolkit/resources on cost effectiveness and applied analysis: Develop a toolkit/resources (economists, etc.) on cost effectiveness and applied analysis (not just facility-based). Need to do a post-training assessment, for example, why didn’t the Harper’s Ferry Workshop do more? Conduct a survey of who is doing what (e.g. IEF, others).	CSTS working with MEWG (at least two people, forming a Taskforce on Cost/Analysis Effectiveness) to define product. Consider Abt, URC, QAP.	No date set.
Toolkit/resource/compendium of qualitative research: Develop a toolkit/resource/compendium of qualitative research including guidelines for standardized reporting of qualitative data. Include: inventory of PRA packages used in public health guidelines for using qualitative research to set survey questions tips for using/writing up qualitative results skills workshop qualitative “Data for Action” workshop.	CSTS, SBC WGs	No date set.
Documentation of strategies: Incentives/disincentives related to the “cooking the books” phenomenon. How best to change attitudes about reporting so that “good” data = honest data, even if “bad”/negative.	No lead person/organization identified.	No date set.
Projections of increased demand: Projects should develop projections of increased demand on drug/vaccine supplies from community mobilization	New CSPs or current CSPs with new interventions.	Spring 2003
Assessment tool for market force issues: Develop assessment tool for market force issues in community health services demand.	CSTS or CA in collaboration with CORE members.	September 2003.

Day Three

Data for Action Workshop: Day 3 Action Planning Worksheet
(for Incorporating Operations Research Activities into
Child Survival and Health Programs)

PRODUCT/OUTPUT	PERSONS/ ORGANIZATIONS RESPONSIBLE	BY WHEN?

Develop an OR process that is more community-friendly, whereby communities can come up with their own hypotheses, etc.
Develop a central capacity to document, disseminate individual PVO research, a “bank” where all PVOs deposit their OR. An “OR-TS” idea.
Develop a “CORE agenda”, and an action-plan to go with it, which began during the C-IMCI meeting, for OR, at the individual project level and also at multiple project/multiple PVO level where this may be more useful or appropriate. For example, some core PVO values/strategies could become more apparent looking across PVOs.
Create a specific fund to be centrally managed by CSTS or CORE to add on to CSP for OR for specific issues. Priorities to be decided by PVOs.
Use more of the support available at CSTS, and perhaps try to set up a point of contact at CSTS and become linked up to other advisors or sources of support.
PVOs working with other organizations or schools of public health to report back on the experience and provide recommendations.
Provide locations at country or PVO level where PVOs can work together on common issues.
Those who have conducted OR should try to come together to pull together practical tips/lessons learned, especially for design of OR.
CAs need to be “incentivized” to work with PVOs, and this should be worked into their original budgets.
CORE to manage small ($2000) grants for OR.
CORE to have an OR person on retainer (and the funds for this person) who can provide immediate OR on issues as they arise.
Small grants to do OR.