LESSONS LEARNED25 years of evaluation at the

Federal Office of Public Health

Kerralie Oeuvray

Taking stock 25 years on…

Objective

• Given the complexity of the programmes and the diversity of the approaches used, what lessons can be drawn from the evaluation reports conducted during the last 25 years?

Methodology

• 120 reports• 276 lessons drawn from evaluators’ findings,

conclusions and recommendations• Focus on the implementation process• Lessons classified and grouped into clusters• Generalisations formulated in terms of 5 key

dimensions

Methodology

Limits• Desk-based analysis restricted to written

reports – no validation with evaluators themselves

• No follow up about how particular lessons were used or further developed

Focus on implementation processes

• Types of challenges faced by a wide diversity of actors when implementing programmes and projects in complex federalist settings

• Encompasses key criteria such as efficiency, effectiveness, relevance, sustainability

• Covers large scope of issues irrespective of frequency

• Allows looking at lessons from time perspective

Accumulated knowledge: 5 dimensions

Coordinating & collaborating in

a federalist setting

Adopting an evaluation

culture

Relying on a personified

OFPH

Developing & clarifying theories

Promoting public health

values

Accumulated knowledge: 5 dimensions

1. Coordinating & collaborating in a federalist

setting

Adopting an evaluation

culture

3. Relying on a personified

OFPH

2. Developing & clarifying theories

Promoting public health

values

1. Coordinating & collaborating in a federalist setting

• Adoption of programmes/projects by partners

• Appropriate ways of collaborating & coordinating

• Assuring sustainability

Challenges

• Networking over & beyond usual boundaries

• Investing in intermediate structures to assure top-down & bottom-up processes

• Producing & disseminating quality info

Key skills

2. Developing & clarifying theories

• Coherence between theory & practice in a multidisciplinary setting

• Challenging established theories with practice based knowledge

Challenges

• Consolidating knowledge from experience

• Multiplying knowledge sources

• Developing consensus amongst key actorsKey skills

3. Relying on a personified FOPH

• Assuring on-going FOPH leadership & commitment

• Assuring accessibility between FOPH & its partners

Challenges

• Exploiting FOPH prestige to further policy development at local & regional levels

• Interacting meaningfully with FOPH personnel

Key skills

Lessons surfacing time and time again

• Links between socio-economic status and health issues

• Conditions for developing consensus amongst stakeholders

• Conditions for effective networking practices

Lessons learned from lessons drawn

• Accumulated know-how concerns:– knowledge– skills– contacts with stakeholders

• Expanding and sharing knowledge base between stakeholders, both internally (employees) and externally (key groups) is vital

Lessons learned from lessons drawn

• The FOPH relies on “others” for the implementation of public health programmes and projects

• Effective implementation practices depend on the cultural sensitivity and political acumen of all the key actors

Value added of research

• Creates a synthesis of key lessons drawn from 25 yrs of evaluations in one document

• Interprets lessons over time thus identifying lessons which resurface time and time again

• In line with an emerging trend to document, classify and maintain a register of ‘lessons learned’

• Contributes to the history of public health in Switzerland