This advanced practitioners’ course equips participants with up-to-date knowledge and state-of-the-art monitoring and evaluation (M&E) tools enabling them to answer such questions as: What models, frameworks and tools are suitable for a specific evaluation? How to balance the perspectives of different stakeholders?

Monitoring and evaluation skills are essential tools for working in a dynamic development environment. They aid decision making and lead to improvements in project impact through maximising the learnings available.

This course is designed for senior managers who are actively involved in planning, management and evaluation of health sector reforms in developing countries. These senior managers might be either working in Ministries of Health, or they may be staff of embassies, international organisations, or NGOs developing partnerships with Ministries of Health within the scope of current health reforms.

The course will allow key staff in Ministries of Health as well as external development partners to gain a deeper understanding of the role M&E plays in all aspects of the health system including the institutional, political, financial, managerial, human resource, inter-sectoral and public health dimensions. Topics covered include M&E, and management information systems which provide the basic data required for informed and effective decision making, planning and implementation in a health system. New M&E frameworks, techniques and information technology will also be examined.

This course is accredited by tropEd. It can be taken as an advanced module for the Master in International Health programme organised by tropEd, a network of European institutions for higher education in international health.

Objectives

The aim of this short course is to provide participants with a broad knowledge of advanced monitoring and evaluation tools and methods, and how to appropriately apply these in the health sector in developing countries. At the end of the course the participants will be able to:

• Compare and critically discuss the fundamental concepts that underpin effective monitoring and evaluation of health programs within health systems
• Formulate the most appropriate M&E strategy in a given situation, develop M&E plans, contrast and adapt suitable evaluation designs, tools and indicators
• Appraise and select new and innovative approaches to M&E ranging from the appropriate use of technology through to new theoretical frameworks and approaches
• Critically analyse how aid architecture and multiple stakeholders in the health system influence the design of an M&E strategy as well as participation and decision making