IDSI Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework

Abstract

The International Decision Support Initiative (iDSI) is an innovative, global partnership established to provide policymakers with coordinated support in evidence-based decision making as a means to progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC). iDSI promotes priority setting knowledge, skills and processes through sharing experiences, lessons learned, and country-focused technical and practical support. Established in 2013, iDSI is a relatively young organisation which occupies a unique policy space in the complex landscape of evidence-informed priority setting (EIPS). In 2016, iDSI launched its Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) framework with the aim of improving the ability of the initiative to understand progress and contribution towards its long-term vision of “better decisions for better health.” The MEL has been designed to provide learning opportunities to guide the implementation of the initiative, as well as to provide an evidence and reporting base to members, stakeholders and funding partners. With the first year of MEL implementation completed, it is now an opportune time to share the initial outputs of the MEL, reflect on the strengths and challenges of the process, and define the next steps for future application of the MEL. An important intention of this report is to provide learning for iDSI, and other actors working on evidence-informed priority setting for health, on the strengths and challenges in capturing change and monitoring progress against important pillars of evidence-informed priority setting. This report presents an overview of the MEL framework (with additional detail on the MEL tools provided in Annex 1), emerging findings from the first year of the iDSI MEL, reflections and learning on the process of implementing the MEL, and proposed next-steps.