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

2. 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.

3. 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?

4. 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?

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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)

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

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

18. 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 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.