Evaluation of the Western Consortium for Public Health population leadership program

Interim evaluation covers the period 9/94-5/98. The program is being implemented by the Western Consortium for Public Health (WCPH), in collaboration with the Center for Health Leadership. Overall, the program has been very effective. In the first component, PLP has recruited and placed 45 highly qualified Fellows, the overwhelming majority of whom have shown the highest level of performance. Placement of these individuals has been suitable and timely. For their part, Fellows, both overseas and in Washington, gave mixed reviews of administrative and management support, complaints centering around the lack of information on and clarity of WCPH procedures, especially personnel management, and the lack of orientation to USAID policies, procedures, and programs given in preparation for assignments. Field Fellows said they often feel professionally isolated when left to their own devices without an adequate professional support system. All in all, however, WCPH has made great strides in establishing the systems required to effectively recruit, place, and monitor Fellows. The leadership training component is designed to help Fellows develop leadership skills in communication, advocacy, organizational change, and coalition building. Fellows and participating direct hires rated it very highly overall and said they use the concepts taught. Specifically, Fellows report being more tolerant of other leadership styles; thinking and planning much more for group process; being more collaborative; and being better at delegation, teamwork, and listening. Direct hires said they have learned to prioritize things that are worthwhile, interact more with staff, listen better, be more aware of how others see them, come to meetings without preconceived ideas, use conflict resolution skills, and be more aware of modeling behavior. Participants generally agreed that PLP has enhanced technical and managerial consultation by improving leadership capacity and by preparing Fellows to inspire and lead in their specialty. They were less sure, however, about whether other training objectives were being realized, namely, whether PLP: prepares participants to direct, inspire, and mobilize resources for population assistance and effectively communicate P/FP/RH priorities and policy; aids in developing a network of population specialists capable of providing ongoing leadership to the field; assists selected organizations worldwide in developing effective policies and implementing successful population programs; or helps participants mobilize resources. Both Fellows and direct-hires found most of the subjects taught relevant to their jobs; only one topic or course fell below the midpoint (4.5) of the scale: Week-on-Campus. Typically, topics and courses on the list were rated higher by staff and management than by PLP participants. To its credit, the WCPH has altered curriculum topics and presentations on the basis of participant evaluations and at USAID's direction. When asked to identify specific training they wanted added to the program, PLP participants requested individually personalized training plans. PLP participants rated the overall quality of the faculty "very good," while noting that faculty lack USAID experience. However, field-assigned PLP Fellows are seriously underserved in the area of training. No significant nor successful connection has been made with mission-funded PLP members. The evaluators recommended a series of initiatives to alleviate this problem. Administrative responsibility for PLP will be transferred from the WCPH to the Public Health Institute on 6/30/98. USAID should closely monitor this transfer to ensure that Fellows do not suffer changes in their employment contracts or in support that will adversely affect their work.