LMG/NMCP Trip Report: Emmanuel Le Perru and Betsie Frei

The project is funded by the US Agency for International Development and is implemented by Management Sciences for Health. The project's overall goal is to strengthen the management and governance of National Malaria Control Programs in six target countries: Burundi, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. The project has three main objectives: to ensure that National Malaria Control Program human, financial, and material resources are effectively managed; to develop and direct policy and norms for the implementation and surveillance of the national malaria control strategy; and to mobilize stakeholders to participate in national malaria control coordination and implementation efforts. To achieve these objectives, the project has seconded Senior Technical Advisors to the NMCP of each target country to provide regular technical support and coaching. The project has developed country-specific workplans based on the results of an initial rapid organizational capacity assessment conducted with NMCP and stakeholder participation. The workplans align with the three overall project objectives and identify specific outcomes and outputs under these objectives. The project also provides targeted training and coaching support to NMCPs on effective implementation of Global Fund grants. The LMG/NMCP staff attended an annual coordination and training meeting in Cotonou, Benin, where they received training on the facilitation, rollout, and support of country-specific Leadership Development Plus (LDP+) Programs, as well as on the use of the LeaderNet platform. The LDP+ is a performance improvement process that empowers teams to use a leading and managing for results model to create an inspiring shared vision, apply leading and managing practices, use a Challenge Model process, and align stakeholders around a common challenge. During the meeting, Senior Technical Advisors from each country presented on challenges in the fight against malaria, project successes to date, current activities, challenges facing the project, and assistance provided to the NMCP for the management of Global Fund grant funds in their respective countries. The presentations showed that many of the activities completed by NMCPs in each country were made possible by LMG/NMCP support and the work of the Senior Technical Advisors. The meeting also focused on project evaluation tools, including the Organizational Capacity Assessment Tool (OCAT) and the Program for Organizational Growth, Resilience and Sustainability (PROGRES) tool. The group recommended adapting the OCAT to take into account all the important aspects of management at the central coordination unit. A version of the OCAT, revised based on experiences in Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon, will be available for use in Burundi. The meeting also included training on the use of virtual tools, including Google Applications, LeaderNet, and OLLIE. The training focused on using different Google functions and applications to improve project coordination and planning, as well as training on the use of LeaderNet and OLLIE, which are MSH-created platforms designed to strengthen communication and online training. In addition, the meeting included a working session on communication and report writing, which focused on the structure of quarterly reports for submission to USAID and the elements of a Success Story. The discussion centered around the key elements and format of Success Stories, the format of Quarterly Reports, and each Senior Technical Advisor's role in developing reports. A short presentation was also given on how to capture quality photographs for project communications. The Leadership Development Program Plus (LDP+) training took place on the 3rd-5th days of the meeting and was carried out with a participatory approach, using various adult learning practices. The objectives of this portion of the meeting were to empower teams to use a leading and managing for results model to create an inspiring shared vision, apply leading and managing practices, use a Challenge Model process, and align stakeholders around a common challenge.