Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation

K4Health's research, monitoring, and evaluation (RM&E) team applies rigorous mixed-method approaches to plan, assess, and document project activities. This is crucial to our ongoing improvement process--and it also produces strong, credible data to demonstrate the impact of activities over time. We have presented and published K4Health's research in several peer-reviewed contexts, to support understanding and appreciation of knowledge management among global health practitioners and to contribute to the evidence base for knowledge management in global health. 

K4Health's research staff:

  • Identifies knowledge needs, preferences, and promising evidence-based practices in the global health field, so that they can be incorporated into K4Health's other products and services
  • Conducts ongoing monitoring and evaluation, including the recent Family Planning Voices evaluation;
  • Designs and implements structured inquiries into our capacity strengthening engagements (such as K4Health's work in East Africa); and
  • Manages the Idea Lab, which tells us more about how people use K4Health's work.

In Practice

Ouagadougou Partnership KM Assessment

K4Health interviews MCH Director Niger MOH

K4Health Program Officer for Strategic Partnerships interviews Dr. Adama Kimou, Director of Maternal and Child Health, Ministry of Health, Niger

Background

Although each country faces unique challenges in meeting the health needs of its population, within a geographic region, governments, civil society organizations, and donors can benefit from learning from the experiences of their counterparts in other countries. K4Health partners with regional bodies to improve health in West Africa through strengthened collaboration, coordination, and knowledge management (KM).

Ouagadougou Partnership Knowledge Management Assessment

The Ouagadougou Partnership (OP) was created in 2011 and includes nine Francophone West African countries, donors, and civil society members with objectives to elevate the position of family planning in the social and economic landscape of the partnership countries, to accelerate the implementation of the countries’ family planning strategies and action plans, and to ensure coordination of donor investments. The Ouagadougou Partnership Coordinating Unit (OPCU) facilitates coordination among donors and member countries, as well as the sharing of information, progress, challenges, and successes among member countries.

West African Health Organization KM Assessment

Background

Although each country faces unique challenges in meeting the health needs of its population, within a geographic region, governments, civil society organizations, and donors can benefit from learning from the experiences of their counterparts in other countries. K4Health has partnered with two regional bodies to improve health in West Africa through strengthened collaboration, coordination, and knowledge management (KM).

East Africa Regional Partnerships

Background

The symbiotic nature of health programs across the East Africa region presents both challenges and opportunities. Strong health systems and outcomes in one partner state contributes to another’s improvement, while poor health systems and outcomes can threaten its neighbors.

A regional approach is well recognized as a valuable and efficient path to support individual partner state health priorities as well as to scale up improved health outcomes. Regional Intergovernmental Organizations (RIGOs) play a key role in achieving improved health outcomes across the region by promoting collaboration and serving as a knowledge hub for partner states. Inhe East Africa region, which is comprised of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, the East African Community plays this important convening role.

Despite the strong efforts of the RIGOs to coordinate and harmonize across the region, challenges remain with systematically collecting and sharing relevant and usable knowledge among partner states to improve their health programs. Partner states face challenges in accessing strategic information and knowledge from local and international researchers due to limitations of current sharing tools and strategies. The absence of a harmonized approach to using global and regional learning serves to weaken individual partner state programs, their advocacy agendas, and program implementation. Knowledge management is a powerful tool to address these challenges.

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