A GENERALISED CO-EVALUATION MODEL OF PUBLIC POLICIES

Formulating government policies involves a wide network of stakeholders and policymakers and numerous techniques and strategies. Moving from policy formulation to policy evaluation, a key challenge is to enable the effective involvement of this network in the evaluation activities that aim to ex- amine the implementation and impact of a public policy. This paper studies the process of evaluating the quality of policy formulation and the effectiveness of its implementation introduced by the Open Government Partnership, a global open government initiative, and illustrates related aspects and challenges. Building on this study, the paper proposes a generalised open and inclusive evaluation model that may be applied for assessing the effectiveness of public policy development and implementation. Although based on the domain of open government, the proposed co-evaluation model may be of wide applicability to other public policy domains thus supporting the new role of government ‘as a platform’

Embedding social justice in Ugandan adoption and legal guardianship cases

International adoptions of Ugandan children rose by 400 percent from 2010 to 2011, many under irregular and suspicious circumstances (Lumu 2014) due to a ‘legal guardianship loophole’ that allows prospective adoptive parents to take children under their guardianship out of the country even before a child’s adoptability has been determined. Ugandan courts then lose jurisdiction because such adoptions are finalized in the adoptive country. This article highlights the emerging social justice issues associated with these trends, as well as the irreversible damage of such actions on children’s growth and development. The courts play a critical role in adoption and legal guardianship cases, using their discretionary power to promote the best interests of children and ensure their safety, survival and development. Because judicial officers are more empowered than any other authority, we argue that they must exercise this discretion with social justice in mind; a fair and transparent process of judicial decision-making that recognizes human value, children’s capabilities, and wellbeing as well as treats all parties equally – regardless of their social status – is essential if children are to be protected from adoption abuses and traf

Participatory evaluation of municipal obesity prevention clubs in Tehran city: Strengths, challenges, and future direction.

Background and aim Community-based initiatives are important for obesity prevention. This study aimed to evaluate the activities of municipal obesity prevention clubs (OBCs) in Tehran, Iran, using a participatory approach. Methods The evaluation team was formed, and the members identified the OBC's strengths, and challenges and provided suggestions for change through a participatory workshop, observation, focus group discussions, reviewing relevant documents (n = 97), and 35 interviews with involved stakeholders. The MAXQDA software was used for data analysis. Results An empowerment training program for volunteers was identified as one of the strengths of OBCs. Despite the obesity prevention efforts of OBCs through public exercise sessions, healthy food festivals, and educational sessions, several challenges were identified that hinder participation in OBCs. These challenges included poor marketing strategies, poor training approaches in participatory planning, insufficient motivational support for volunteers, low perceived recognition of volunteers by the community, volunteers' low food and nutrition literacy, poor educational services in the communities, and limited funding for health promotion activities. Conclusion Weaknesses in all stages of community participation, including information, consultation, collaboration, and empowerment, in OBCs were detected. Facilitating a more enabling environment for informing and involving citizens, expanding neighborhood social capital, and involving health volunteers, academia, and all potential governmental sectors to collaborate for obesity prevention is recommended

Improving Nutrition Outcomes With Better Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene: Practical Solutions for Policies and Programmes

This publication summarizes the current evidence on the benefits of WASH for improving nutrition outcomes and describes how WASH interventions can be integrated into nutrition programmes. It provides practical suggestions targeted at nutrition programme managers and implementers on both "what" WASH interventions should be included in nutrition programmes and "how" to include them. It also seeks to help the WASH community to understand their role, both as providers of technical expertise in WASH interventions and in prioritizing longer-term improvements to WASH infrastructure in areas where undernutrition is a concern

Moving Forward : Implementing The United Nations Guidelines For The Alternative Care Of Children

The subject of constant and serious concern expressed by the Committee on the Rights of the Child over its two decades of work to monitor and promote the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This concern is not only evident from the Committee’s findings when reviewing individual States’ compliance with the treaty’s provisions, but was also manifested clearly and in global terms when it decided to devote its annual Day of General Discussion to that issue in 2005. The Committee’s preoccupations are based on a variety of factors. These include: • the large number of children coming into alternative care in many countries, too often essentially due to their family’s material poverty, the conditions under which that care is provided, and the low priority that may be afforded to responding appropriately to these children who, lacking the primary protection normally assured by parents, are particularly vulnerable. The reasons for which children find themselves in alternative care are wide-ranging, and addressing these diverse situations – preventively or reactively – similarly requires a panoply of measures to be in place. While the Convention sets out basic State obligations in that regard, it does not provide significant guidance on meeting them. This is why, from the very outset of the initiative in 2004, the Committee gave whole-hearted support to the idea of developing the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children that would gain the approval of the international community at the highest level. The acceptance of the Guidelines by the UN General Assembly in 2009 signalled all governments’ general agreement that the ‘orientations for policy and practice’ they set out are both well-founded and desirable. Since that time, the Committee has been making full use of the principles and objectives established in the Guidelines when examining the reports of States Parties to the Convention and in formulating its observations and recommendations to them. As with all internationally agreed standards and principles, however, the real test lies in determining how they can be made a reality throughout the world for those that they target – in this case, children who are without, or are at risk of losing, parental care. Identifying those measures means, first of all, understanding the implications of the ‘policy orientations’ proposed in the Guidelines, and then devising the most effective and ‘do-able’ ways of meeting their requirements. Importantly, moreover, the Guidelines are by no means addressed to States alone: they are to be taken into account by everyone, at every level, who is involved in some manner with issues and programmes concerning alternative care provision for children. This is where the Moving Forward handbook steps in. As its title suggests, it seeks precisely to assist all concerned to advance along the road to implementation, by explaining the key thrusts of the Guidelines, outlining the kind of policy responses required, and describing ‘promising’ examples of efforts already made to apply them in diverse communities, countries, regions and cultures. I congratulate all the organisations and individuals that have contributed to bringing the Moving Forward project to fruition. This handbook is clearly an important tool for informing and inspiring practitioners, organisations and governments across the globe who are seeking to provide the best possible rights-based solutions and care for their children

General Practice and Pandemic Influenza: A Framework for Planning and Comparison of Plans in Five Countries

BACKGROUND: Although primary health care, and in particular, general practice will be at the frontline in the response to pandemic influenza, there are no frameworks to guide systematic planning for this task or to appraise available plans for their relevance to general practice. We aimed to develop a framework that will facilitate planning for general practice, and used it to appraise pandemic plans from Australia, England, USA, New Zealand and Canada. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We adapted the Haddon matrix to develop the framework, populating its cells through a multi-method study that incorporated the peer-reviewed and grey literature, interviews with general practitioners, practice nurses and senior decision-makers, and desktop simulation exercises. We used the framework to analyse 89 publicly-available jurisdictional plans at similar managerial levels in the five countries. The framework identifies four functional domains: clinical care for influenza and other needs, public health responsibilities, the internal environment and the macro-environment of general practice. No plan addressed all four domains. Most plans either ignored or were sketchy about non-influenza clinical needs, and about the contribution of general practice to public health beyond surveillance. Collaborations between general practices were addressed in few plans, and inter-relationships with the broader health system, even less frequently. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to provide a framework to guide general practice planning for pandemic influenza. The framework helped identify critical shortcomings in available plans. Engaging general practice effectively in planning is challenging, particularly where governance structures for primary health care are weak. We identify implications for practice and for research

Culture matters - Working with communities and faith-based organizations: Case studies from country programmes

This publication is a compilation of case studies describing how a cultural analysis can substantially influence development programmes.   It reports on efforts by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)’s to develop culturally sensitive programming in the area of gender equity and equality, and reproductive health and rights. In particular, it examines the more inclusive programming approaches that encompass culture and religion and the roles played by local power structures and institutions in mobilising communities to become active partners in development. Separate..

Girls Count: A Global Investment & Action Agenda

Explains how girls' welfare affects overall economic and social outcomes. Outlines steps to disaggregate health, education, and other data by age and gender; invest strategically in girls' programs; and ensure equitable benefits for girls in all sectors