Presented by Cristina de la Torre

1. Monitoring and Evaluation
at the Community Level
A Strategic Review of MEASURE Evaluation,
Phase III Accomplishments and Lessons
Learned
Cristina de la Torre & Kirsten Unfried

2. Objectives
 Describe MEASURE Evaluation contributions
 Document best practices, innovative
approaches, and lessons learned
 Identify gaps
 Develop recommendations for future support
for community-level M&E systems

3. Community M&E
Global
National
District
Health facility
CBO/NGO
Community
Community
M&E
activities
Service delivery point

4. Methods
 Desk review & search project
databases
 Activity lead survey
 Internal consultations and
discussions
 Synthesize information using
the MEASURE Evaluation
framework

5. Project accomplishments
 50+ activities in multiple countries
 Mostly HIV and OVC-related
 Emphasis on the production of data
Support reporting systems, develop indicators and
tools, train in data collection, promote data quality
 Less attention to data use
 System strengthening (M&E plans, M&E skills)

6. Key Challenges
Not unique to CBIS, but more pronounced at this level
 Low M&E capacity
 Lack of resources for M&E at the CBO level
 Poor data quality
 Over-burdened community workers
 No demand for data
 Data for reporting purposes not for decision-making
 Data is not accessible in practical way to those who
could use it

7. Best practices
 Involve stakeholders in all planning activities
(TWG)
 Obtain feedback from community workers
 Intensive capacity building, supervision,
mentoring, and data quality checks
 Participatory M&E to facilitate data use
 Simple and minimalistic tools

8. Key gaps and opportunities

9. Data for whom? For what purpose?
 Better understand the types of
decisions around community
services
 Client management
 Program management
 Reporting
 May not collect the most
useful data
Global
National
District
Health facility
CBO/NGO
Community Service delivery
 Community indicators lacking for non-HIV

10. Data collection ≠ data accessibility
 Data in a format that can easily be interpreted
 Need better solutions
 Dashboards, DHIS2, mHealth, mapping can help
 Innovative low-tech solutions can too
 Family folders, posters, “decision days”

11. Guidance for the integration of
community information systems
 Integrate community data into national RHIS
 Integrate CBIS across health areas
 Integrate CBIS across sectors
 The same CW tracking health, food security,
nutrition, education etc.

12. Capacity Building (CB)
 CB needs to happen at all levels
 CB strategies need to be adjusted to the target
audience based on their skill-set and M&E
responsibilities
 Training vs mentoring
 Need to better share CB strategies and curricula

13. What constitutes a strong CBIS?
We have pieces but not the big picture
 Respond to information needs of multiple
stakeholders
 Consensus and prioritization of indicators
 Data collected needs to help verify, support and
improve the work carried out by CWs.
 Alignment of M&E plans
 Realistic assessment of the skills and resources
OVC case studies should be replicated more broadly

14. CBIS strategic approach needed for
the MEASURE Evaluation project
 Coordinate efforts
 Contribute to a learning agenda
 Prioritize efforts
 Ensure the exchange of information and M&E
materials (e.g. training curricula)

15. 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 GHA-A-00-08-00003-
00. 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.

16. www.measureevaluation.org