Document(s) 23 of 27

Flowchart: Steps in the development of a health systems research proposal

NB: Development of a research process is a cyclical process. The double-headed arrows indicate that the process is never linear.

Module 17: PLAN FOR PROJECT ADMINISTRATION, MONITORING AND UTILISATION OF RESULTS

1. Administrating research projects
2. Project monitoring
3. Planning for the dissemination, communication and utilisation of research results

I. ADMINISTRATING RESEARCH PROJECTS

What is project administration?

Why is good administration important in a research project?

• It allows for orderly and accurate purchase and procurement of equipment, payment of bills, and preparation of financial reports.
• It allows researchers to foresee the need for and to make timely requests for resources in order to avoid unwanted breaks in the implementation of the project.
• It allows researchers to devote most of their time to the technical and scientific aspects of the project.

What administrative issues should be considered as the project proposal is being finalised?

As a team developing a research project, you should now consider the following issues:

• One of the research team members should be selected by you as team leader (TL). A team leader is the ‘first among equals’; (s)he is ultimately responsible for implementing the proposal as planned and for solving possible problems that may arise. The TL should be selected based on his or her leadership skills, commitment to the project, availability, and the ability to facilitate the smooth implementation of the project. The TL should co-ordinate the team’s official contacts with the Ministry of Health and with other relevant (funding, research or service) institutions. If the TL is not available or is for some reason unable to provide the leadership needed, the research team, in consultation with the HSR unit or facilitators, may select another team leader.
• An organisational unit or official has to be identified outside the team, who has the power to receive and handle funds: a project administrator (PA). The research team has to consider what service unit is best able to:

  — work in collaboration with the team leader and funding authorities to ensure an adequate flow of funds, including petty cash for minor expenses; and

  — avoid creating unnecessary bureaucratic or administrative difficulties that may hinder the implementation of the study.

• Procedures for ensuring the smooth procurement and flow of funds should have been worked out immediately after the workshop between the research ream and the MOH, the facilitators and possible external donors, so that the research teams can start working as soon as possible after official approval to implement the study has been obtained. Since the documents that must be prepared for this purpose require the signatures of the TL and PA, they need to be finalised during the workshop.

What would the tasks of the team leader, related to project administration, include?

• Supplying the project administrator or the administrative team with a copy of the research proposal and making sure they understand the work of the researchers and when funds are needed.
• Delegating selected administrative tasks to other members of the research team.
• Alerting administrative officials in a timely fashion concerning staff, materials, equipment and funds needed during various stages of the project.
• Supervising the flow of funds, project accounting and preparation and submission of financial reports.
• Discussing with the relevant authorities in the Ministry of Health (Health Research Unit for example) any difficulties encountered in the project and attempting to identify appropriate solutions.

What administrative operations need to be supervised by the team leader at the end of the project?

• Working with project administration to plan for ‘end of project’ activities, such as arranging for termination or transfer of staff, making an inventory of supplies and equipment and dispensing them, if required, and arranging for any final payments and financial accounting.
• Overseeing the preparation and distribution of the final administrative/financial report.
• Making sure that all financial obligations are met.

II. PROJECT MONITORING

What is project monitoring?

Monitoring should continue throughout the project and be organised so that it is helpful in alerting staff to problems that develop and changes needed. It is a valuable management and learning tool for everyone concerned.

During monitoring sessions you will review:

• The resources needed for the project, including staff, equipment, supplies, logistical support and funds, to assess if they are available when needed and being appropriately used;
• The activities of each team member and their relations to the project as a whole, to assess if the work plan is being carried out as planned and what delays or difficulties, if any, have emerged that need to be addressed;
• The flow and quality of the data that are being collected; and to what extent they meet the objectives or answer the research questions; and
• The research team’s communication and co-ordination with the study population, other collaborating groups, and funding authorities.

III. PLANNING FOR THE DISSEMINATION, COMMUNICATION AND UTILIZATION OF RESEARCH RESULTS

Before you finish drafting your research proposal you should start planning how the results of your study could be used.

Why should researchers be concerned about dissemination, communication and utilisation of research results?

The fundamental reason for undertaking health systems research is to obtain results that can be used to improve health and health care.

Who will be interested in the results?

Depending on the topic you selected, the results may be useful to the community, staff and managers of health and health-related services and to researchers and donor agencies in your own country, as well as others.

However, above all, you as a research team and your program should benefit from the results, as you have developed the proposal to help solve one of your own priority problems.

What strategies can you follow to ensure that the results of your study will be used?

1. Involve relevant authorities, staff and community members in the selection of your topic and in the definition of your problem.

If possible, these groups should be consulted before the proposed development workshop begins. If the final decision for a certain topic is made during the workshop, however, not all parties concerned may have been consulted. If not, they should be consulted immediately after the workshop.

2. List two or three major recommendations you expect to obtain from your study and identify who should be involved in their implementation.

Here we must distinguish between two categories of people who should be involved:

• Those who authorise you to implement the recommendations, and
• Partners in the implementation process.

  Most likely you will be authorised to implement certain recommendations yourself but for others you will need the approval of your superiors and/or of decision-makers from other sectors. Some authorities may merely need to give their approval, but you may need the active collaboration of others during the application of the results. Furthermore you will need to identify from which colleagues, subordinate staff and target groups in the community co-operation will be required for the formulation and implementation of the study’s recommendations.

3. Identify which communication channels already exist which can be used to discuss and disseminate results.

Channels for discussing and disseminating results may include, for example:

• Provincial or District Development Team meetings;
• Provincial or District Health Team meetings;
• Supervisory visits to health facilities involved; staff meetings;
• Mobile clinics or other health activities carried out in villages included in the study; monthly meetings of village health workers when they collect drugs; meetings of village health committees.

Keep relevant parties informed of progress during implementation of the study and plan to obtain their input when study findings and recommendations are being drafted.

4. Determine what written materials should be prepared to keep relevant parties informed. They may include:

• A one to two page summary of your project proposal that includes details on expected results, to distribute when you introduce the project to policy makers and staff concerned.
• An introductory statement to use with interview guides and questionnaires, explaining to informants the purpose and procedures of the study, as well as expected results. This introduction could also be used when you introduce the project to policy makers in the village.
• A progress report of four to five pages, including preliminary findings and recommendations, which you will prepare for presentation of the data analysis and report writing workshop. This report can also be used to inform authorities that will be crucial to utilisation of project results.
• The draft report of findings and recommendations, prepared during the data analysis workshop. The summary of this report can be used for discussion with policy makers and staff. However, to obtain feedback from decision makers and target groups in the community, you will need a different summary, concentrating in simple words on the findings and preliminary recommendations that directly concern them.

Make sure that summaries of your findings and preliminary recommendations are adapted to the level of understanding and interests of different audiences. This will increase their motivation to provide thorough feedback and to participate in the implementation of the final recommendations collectively agreed up on.

5. Determine whether additional actions should be taken or mechanisms developed to discuss the study results with all parties concerned and obtain their input, approval and co-operation for the implementation of the recommendations. These may include, for example:

• Special visits to top policy maker(s) by the team leader or the whole research team to report on progress during the fieldwork and/or to discuss preliminary results and recommendations.
• The invitation of the most crucial persons for implementation of your recommendations to the last day of the data analysis workshop, when you will present your preliminary findings and recommendations in plenary for discussion.
• Special discussions with policy makers, staff and representatives of the target groups concerned to finalise the findings and recommendations of the study and develop a plan for action.

For complex studies of relatively long duration it may be advisable to have a Project Advisory Committee, representing the major parties involved. Since the projects developed during workshops will in general not last longer than six months, you may be able to keep key individuals or representatives informed through ad hoc or even routine meetings.

Trainer’s Notes

Module 17: PLAN FOR PROJECT ADMINISTRATION, MONITORING AND UTILISATION OF RESULTS

Introduction and discussion

• Give a brief overview of the topics that will be covered in the presentation.
• Stress that the team leader is not necessarily the most senior group member, but should be the best organiser.
• Give a brief introductory presentation on project administration and monitoring and its importance. Highlight administrative activities that should be undertaken by the team leader before, during and at the end of the research project.
• It is important to discuss how a smooth flow of project funds can be guaranteed. These procedures should have been agreed upon with the relevant authorities in the Ministry of Health and with possible external donors immediately after the workshop.
• Introduce and discuss the importance of drafting a plan for the dissemination, communication and utilisation of research results and what such a plan should contain.

Group work

Ask the participants to meet in their working groups and develop a plan for project administration, monitoring and utilisation of results. A brief summary should be made for presentation in plenary and for inclusion in the research proposal.

Plenary

Have each group present its plan for project administration, monitoring and utilisation of results, followed by discussion.

Document(s) 23 of 27