USAID/global health evaluation and learning support activity (GH EvaLS) : mid-term performance evaluation of breakthrough research : local lessons, global learning

Because BR and BA are closely related but have experienced distinct successes and challenges, USAID contracted a single evaluation team to conduct separate evaluations of the projects, thereby measuring individual performance while also exploring relational factors. This report focuses on the successes, challenges, and recommendations for BR. An 11-person evaluation team, including members based in the United States, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, and Nigeria, conducted the mid-term evaluation between November 2020 and May 2021. The evaluation team interviewed 152 individuals using a semi-structured interview guide, reviewed program documents, and synthesized the data to answer the five evaluation questions. BR addresses a clear need for increased study of SBC interventions. To this end, BR helped create a global research and learning agenda for SBC through a participatory process, and linked this global level work with local research, particularly around priority themes of integrated SBC and provider behavior change and the cross-cutting knowledge gap of costing and cost-effectiveness of SBC. BR has managed to produce multiple timely and programmatically relevant research outputs to help inform SBC programming across a range of USAID projects and missions. BR has faced challenges in designing, conducting, and disseminating research, particularly in addressing initial differences in expectations of research to be conducted between the project and USAID, and then in overcoming hurdles in conducting research activities that are tied closely to project implementation. BR has made contributions to advance the practice of SBC, including through the business cases for family planning and malaria that show the value of SBC. BR should now focus on dissemination of practical guidance around how to turn SBC research findings into programmatic practice, using existing platforms and partnerships, and through joint dissemination with BA to maximize the impact of the projects.