GHSP: Failure of decision support intervention in Nepal - Could this have been avoided by pre-field criterion-based assessment? (2)

21 January, 2025

Well said (and well spotted) Neil! [re: https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/ghsp-failure-decision-support-intervent... ]

Some decision-support interventions do not need field-testing to see that they are most unlikely to succeed. Preliminary, rapid, systematic, assessment of their characteristics, to see how likely they are to meet key criteria (e.g. reliability, relevance, accessibility), could help avoid a lot of unsuccessful and wasteful effort.

Rapid assessment approaches will not generally be a substitute for more thorough and rigorous evaluation, but can ensure such evaluative efforts are focused on key uncertainties, are not wasted on unpromising interventions, and make the most of what is

already known.

Rapid, criterion-based assessment could also support other useful pre-field testing work such as theory of change and logic modelling, and could usefully be deployed at earlier, intervention design, stages .

If anyone wants to see the full paper about rapid, pre-field, criteria-based assessment, it can be found at

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318221780_Rapid_Methods_to_Asse...

Geoff

HIFA profile: Geoff Royston is an independent health analyst and researcher, former Head of Strategic Analysis and Operational Research in the Department of Health for England, and Past President of the UK Operational Research Society. His work has focused on informing the design, implementation and evaluation of policies and programmes in health and social care, and on fostering the capabilities of others to work in these areas. Associated activities have included modelling for understanding the performance of complex systems, analysis and communication of risk, and horizon scanning and futures thinking. He has also worked on information and communication technology in the health sector, notably in leading the design and national launch of the telephone and online health information and advice service NHS Direct, and has been an adviser to OFCOM. He has served on both scientific and medical UK Research Council panels, and as an impact assessor for the UK higher education Research Excellence Framework. He has been a consultant for the World Health Organisation, and is a long-standing member of the EURO Working Group on Operational Research Applied to Health Services. He is a member of the HIFA Steering Group, and of the mHIFA and the HIFA evaluation Working Groups. geoff.royston AT gmail.com