Integrating Evaluation with Planning
"We pride ourselves in taking well-executed actions and evaluating them," says Bretta Maloff, Director, Healthy Living, Calgary. "But outcomes are equally important and we began to wonder if, sometimes, we were evaluating something that wasn't worth doing in the first place. That prompted us to take a serious look at how we could integrate planning and evaluation."
In fact, the Healthy Living Department did much more than look - they developed the Integrated Planning and Evaluation Framework (IPEF). This seven-stage process aims to ensure that work is evidence-informed and integrates evaluation into the early stage of planning.
"A lot of rigorous work has gone into the framework and it was clear that it could be used widely, not just for the Healthy Living Department," says Dr. Cathie Scott, director, Alberta Health Services in Calgary. "It was what we were looking for in terms of unifying our approach to evaluation. It is broad enough and flexible enough to be used by a diverse range of health professionals."
For the past two years, Alberta Health Services has been partnering with SEARCH Canada to develop an on-line and face-to-face course to provide the learning and skill development required to understand and implement the IPEF. Scott says the collaboration with SEARCH Canada makes a lot of sense.
"There's great value in developing the curriculum with people who are embedded in the health system. Plus, SEARCH has tremendous experience with on-line learning. It's a great opportunity to maximize the resources invested in this research."
Over the past six months, Calgary-based consultants Susanne Arnold and Elizabeth Dozois have been working closely with the Centre for Health Evidence, University of Alberta, to translate the framework into a comprehensive curriculum. The first Integrated Planning and Evaluation Course will be piloted this fall. The course will then be fine-tuned and made available for use across the Alberta health system. Maloff says it's exciting to see a local innovation gain widespread acceptance.
"People can see the benefits of IPEF because it goes beyond evaluating current programs and shifts the focus to helping make better decisions about where investments should be made. In this time of resource constraints, IPEF is an important tool that helps ensure that what we are doing is relevant and will have impact."