Presenting an Information Needs Framework for PEPFAR OVC Programs Molly Cannon PEPFAR OVC Forum Johannesburg, South Africa February 1, 2015

Activity – Who Needs What Information? On the wall, there are flipcharts with questions. You also have 4 post-it notes and dots in front of you. Blue – USG Green – Implementing Partner Yellow – Community Based Organizations Pink – Home Visitors Dots – Government Partners Place the post-its notes/dots on the question that best fits the type of information that stakeholder might be interested in. As you went to lunch, you were thinking about some of your own big questions. Around the room, you will see some of the questions that typically emerge. Take a moment silently to review the questions…fee free to walk around. There is no right/wrong answer – you can go where you like.

Questions How many children need services in a given region? Which children/HH in a given community are in need of services? What does a specific child/HH in a community need to ensure his/her well-being? Has the program reached the number of OVC/HH targeted? Why hasn’t the program reached the anticipated number of OVC/HH?

Questions, cont. What is the best strategy for ensuring children under five are engaged in stimulating activities? Has regular school attendance improved for OVC? Has the program led to an increased number of households accessing money for unanticipated needs? Is a program site implementing activities according to quality standards? What are OVC program expenditures in country xx?

Why an Information Needs Framework? There are many different types of information needs that stakeholders have Information needs/questions require different tools and methods or “tools fit for purpose” With new reporting requirements and guidance, the framework can help us see how the pieces fit together As you can see from this activity and as we know from the field, there are many types of needs that different stakeholders have. The questions you see up on the wall map to different types of information needs. With new guidance on MER and MER essential survey indicators, as well as evaluation guidance, and SIMS – we developed a framework to demonstrate how the pieces fit together – that the different types of information needs require different tools/methods – so we’ll review this as a group.

What is the Framework? 10 different information needs related to OVC programs Illustrative questions Recommendations on methods Who collects the information How frequently Color coded to illustrate information needs of different users Reference for the next few days The framework started with a paper that Jen Chapman and I had published in the Journal Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies. However, as a team, we have expanded the framework to represent and even broader set of information needs. Let’s take a look at the tables on the wall – briefly the framework has a few components that I’ll go over in detail shortly.

Situation Analysis Use: All Stakeholders to plan programs and allocate resources Questions: Approximately how many children need services/support in Area xx Methods: Survey, secondary analysis, qualitative Who collects: External organization Frequency: Non-routine For example DHS, MICS (Multi Indicator Cluster Survey) - UNICEF

Targeting Use: Programs to help identify children and HH needing assistance. Question: Which children/households are most in need of program services? Methods: Quantitative tool Who collects: Internal to the program Frequency: At registration

Case Management Use: Home visitors prioritize and attend to the needs of a child, household Question: What are the child’s immediate priority needs/have they been abated? Methods: Job aid with care plan Who collects: Home visitors Frequency: Routine

Program Monitoring Use: To ensure programs are implemented as planned Question: How many children, HH are receiving services? What types of services? Methods: Monitoring tools Who collects: Home visitors/program staff Frequency: Routinely (monthly)

Process Evaluation Use: To determine how the program is implemented, valued, and why results are/are not occurring. Question: To what extent is the program on track for achieving its objectives and why? Methods: Mixed Who collects: Program staff/external data collectors Frequency: Non-routine

Operations Research Use: To determine the best approaches to achieve results. Question: What is the most cost-effective strategy for improving uptake of services? Methods: Mixed/more rigorous design Who collects: Program staff/external data collectors Frequency: Non-routine

Outcome Monitoring (MER Essential Survey Indicators) Use: To assess changes in a population across a limited number of key indicators Question: Has the status of the population improved or worsened over a given period? Methods: Surveys using LQAS/cluster samples Who collects: External organization Frequency: Every 2 years

Impact/Outcome Evaluation Use: To assess changes in program/intervention beneficiaries across key indicators over time Question: Has the status of beneficiaries changed over time? Is the change attributable to the program? Methods: Mixed/more rigorous design with counter-factual (impact) Who collects: External organization Frequency: Non-routine

SIMS Use: For USG to ensure that programs are performing to PEPFAR quality standards Question: Are program sites performing to PEPFAR quality standards? Methods: SIMS tool at select site Who collects: USG Frequency: Routine

Expenditure Analysis Use: For USG to determine OVC program expenditures Question: What are the fixed and recurrent costs to PEPFAR for implementing specific OVC interventions? Methods: Expenditure analysis worksheets Who collects: Implementing partners Frequency: Routine

Reflection On your own, spend time reviewing the framework in your binder. Consider which areas you are most interested in learning about.

The research presented here has been supported by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the terms of MEASURE Evaluation cooperative agreement AID-OAA-L-14-00004. Views expressed are not necessarily those of PEPFAR, USAID or the United States government. MEASURE Evaluation is implemented by the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partnership with Futures Group, ICF International, John Snow, Inc., Management Sciences for Health, and Tulane University.