Introduction

The Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) Review is a structured evaluation process conducted by the 3 levels of the organization to assess WHO’s contribution to and influence on South Africa’s national health development agenda over the 2016-2020 Country Cooperation Strategy cycle. The evaluation will provide information on the relevance of strategic priorities jointly agreed by the Government of South Africa and WHO Secretariat. It will also assess the achievement of the results that were planned to ensure accountability and reinforce organizational learning, to inform the content of the new CCS 2021-2025.

Objectives

General objective

To assess achievements, challenges and lessons learnt during implementation of CCS 2016-2020 for guiding the process of development, implementation and M&E of the 2021- 2025 CCS

Specific objectives

1. What have been the key contributions of WHO to the CCS strategic priorities and focus areas towards improving the health and health systems in South Africa?
2. How well did the WHO Secretariat operationalize the implementation of the CCS as envisaged in the strategy document?
3. What are the lessons learnt that could be used for improved delivery of results against the identified strategic priorities during the implementation of next CCS?
4. What are the potential priorities for WHO collaboration over the next CCS 2021-25?

Expected outputs

External evaluation report of the current CCS 2016-2020 demonstrating WHO’s contributions in the CCS priority areas towards improving the health and health systems in South Africa; identify challenges and missed opportunities encountered during the implementation of the CCS; and have recommendations for the new CCS.

Beneficiaries of the evaluation

Key consumers of this evaluation would be WHO at the three level of the organization and the National Department of Health. The other evaluation users are the UN Resident coordinator, other UN agencies, the Government of the Country, bilateral partners involved in the health sector, academia, civil society organization, and WHO implementing partners.

Methodology

A participatory evaluation will be conducted using qualitative and quantitative methods to assess WHO’s contribution to and influence on national health development agenda over the Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) cycle. Draft tools for each of the evaluation questions are ready. A local consultant will be procured for the evaluation. The consultant will work in close liaison with the CCS Working Group (WG). The consultant will collect data using predefined tools and questionnaire from existing reports, GSM information, additional inputs from WCO staff on agreed templates, and interviewing both WCO staff and external stakeholders. The consultant will produce a draft report with a set of recommendations which will be first validated by the WG and then later discussed in a consultative forum with the government and other stakeholders. The consultant will then finalize the CCS evaluation report in discussion with the WG. The final evaluation report will be shared with the Ministry of Health, UN and other partners.

Data collection and analysis

The CCS evaluation consultant under guidance of the WG will use qualitative and quantitative data collection methods:

• A desk review of relevant WHO, national and partners documents and reports collected before the field mission to assess WHO’s key contributions and achievements in the CCS priority areas;
• Workplan implementation information from the GSM (to be facilitated by WHO staff) to understand operationalization of the CCS in the WCO;
• Qualitative data collections by interviews of and focus group discussions with the key beneficiaries and other stakeholders (within and outside WHO) involved in the implementation of the CCS priority interventions;
• Feedback sessions with Senior National Health authorities and other authorities involved in the implementation of the health sector priority interventions.

Stakeholders involvement

The evaluation is participatory. The following stakeholders will be engaged in the process, from the inception to the validation of the report: i) national health authorities, ii) organizations of the UN system, iii) WHO Regional Office and Headquarters.

Evaluation period

The evaluation will be conducted from 01 June – 31 July 2021.

Evaluation team

The WR in South Africa is the commissioner of the evaluation. Under his guidance, the CCS WG will ensure oversight of the evaluation. The CCS WG for evaluation will be composed of representatives from the Ministry of Health, WHO Country Office, WHO AFRO and HQ, and UN RCO.

Evaluation consultant’s qualification and experience

• Degree in medical sciences or a health-related field, development or management information systems, plus an advanced degree in public health. Other relevant training in M&E would be an advantage.
• Knowledge of the UN/WHO work in South Africa and strong understanding of National Development Plan, National Health Strategy Plan, UNSDCF (erstwhile UNDAF) and WHO Country Cooperation Strategy in South Africa.
• Expertise in evaluating implementation of public health strategies and programmes;
• At least five years’ experience of evaluating implementation of health strategies and programmes;
• Demonstrated expertise in document review (technical and financial), and quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods
• Previous experience interviewing senior government officials
• Excellent written, analytical and reporting skills;
• Fluency in spoken and written English.

Timelines and Commitment

• The consultancy will be conducted between 1^st June – 31^st July 2021.
• The level of effort expected is be approximately 2 months.

Remuneration

The consultant will be paid at the NOC level of the WHO national consultancy rates, with the exact NO level will be determined by the education and experience of the candidate as defined in the South Africa National Consultancy remuneration scale.

Deliverables

1. First draft CCS evaluation report for WHO feedback – by 1^st week of July 2021

2. Final CCS evaluation report by 4th week of July 2021

Evaluation report

The evaluation report must provide clear answers to the evaluation questions. it includes inter alia:

• WHO Contribution to the national health development agenda including achievement of the SDGs, other National indicators and AFRO KPIs
• Influence and positive impact of WHO’s leadership, convening, norms and standards setting and their implementation, policy support, technical support and institutional capacity, and M&E support;
• Areas where WHO influence was required but not sufficiently present;
• Areas where WHO should focus in the future;
• Actions to be taken to improve the partnership between the secretariat and the Member State and other stakeholders;
• The critical success factors and impediments; and Identify the lessons to be applied to the future cycles.

The evaluation report also clearly defines management responses and outlines the evidences that’s lead to its conclusions, lessons learned and recommendations.

Communication of evaluation outcomes

A debriefing of CCS WG will be organized at the completion of draft report to ensure that important points to be included in the report are captured and to discuss nuanced findings and areas to be included in later evaluations. The evaluation report approved by the WG will be presented by the WR to the NDoH, RCO and other key stakeholders. The report will be printed and distributed to the stakeholders involved in the evaluation and other beneficiaries identified by the WCO. In accordance with WHO disclosure policy, the evaluation report and management responses will be published on WHO website. Confidentiality The consultant will sign a confidentiality form at the time of signing of the contract.

Annex 1

Preparation Discussion within WCO (Identification of Focal Peson, WCO WG for CCS, Finalization of concept note including budget and timeline, TORs for WG and consultant) Wk 4 of March Establishment of CCS working group and appointment of consultant Wk 4 of March CCS WG meetings for finalization of CCS evaluation and development work plan, budget and tools (CCS WG) April - May Memo to AFRO and HQ Wk 1 of May Selection of evaluation consultant Wk 4 of May Evaluation Preparation of programme briefs (WCO staff Wk 3-4 of May Extraction of workplan information from GSM (WCO staff) Wk 3-4 of May Review of programme briefs and GSM information by consultant Wk 1 of June Data collection by FGD, IDI and survey (consultant) Wk 2 & 3 of June Data analysis and report writing Wk 4 of June Draft evaluation report Wk 1 of July Review of evaluation report by CCS WG Wk 2 of July Finalization of evaluation report Wk 4 of July