Developing an M&E framework for OPT IN’s Madagascar programme and conducting a midterm and a final evaluation and impact assessment
Ongoing monitoring and evaluation to improve the training programme in rehabilitation medicine for both Malagasy and UK partners.
Approach
In September-October 2011, Simone assisted OPT IN to develop a simple system to monitor their Madagascar programme’s objectives and training activities. She developed the monitoring tools and indicators in consultation with the OPT IN team and the beneficiaries. After thoroughly reviewing the project documentation and agreeing the terms of reference, these were tested during a two week mission to Madagascar.
Simone has since used the M&E framework to conduct a midterm evaluation of the Rehabilitation training programme in 2011 and a final evaluation and impact assessment in 2015, over a year after the formal end of the programme. She collected a wide range of quantitative and qualitative information, including conducting informal, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, ensuring that the voices of all stakeholders were taken into consideration and the Malagasy partners were given sufficient prominence.
Outcomes
The different stakeholders have found the M&E framework to be invaluable in planning, monitoring and improving their programmes and activities.
The mid-term evaluation report Simone produced detailed the different successes and challenges of the programme, highlighting opportunities for learning. The Malagasy and UK partners found the reports extremely helpful in defining the direction of the programme and agreeing which aspects to develop and which to modify.
The final evaluation report and impact assessment documented the programme’s achievements in the face of considerable challenges. One of these achievements is the establishment of Rehabilitation Medicine as a medical speciality and the creation of the professional association AMPR-Mada (the Association of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine of Madagascar). The report also identified key factors in the programme’s success and suggested these could be transferred to similar programmes in other specialities and health systems.
Download the article entitled Evaluating a global health partnership rehabilitation training programme in Madagascar, co-authored by Simone