Evaluation Manual

You might also like

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 32

Evaluation

Manual

www.ifmsa.org 1
Evaluation Manual

IFMSA
The International Federation of Medical
Contributors: Students’ Associations (IFMSA) is a non-profit,
Saniya Sahasrabudhe non-governmental organization representing
Program Support Assistant 2017/18
associations of medical students worldwide. IFMSA
Pablo Estrella Porter
SCOME Director 2017/18
was founded in 1951 and currently maintains 140
Hana Lučev
National Member Organizations from over 129
Vice-President for Activities 2017/18 countries across six continents, representing a
Matteo Cavagnacchi network of 1.3 million medical students.
SCOME General Assistant 2017/18

Alaa Abu Sufyan


IFMSA envisions a world in which medical
SCOME Regional Assistant for Africa students unite for global health and are equipped
2017/18
with the knowledge, skills and values to take on
health leadership roles locally and globally, so to
Layout shape a sustainable and healthy future.
Mustafa Hushyar (IFMSA-Kurdistan)
IFMSA is recognized as a nongovernmental
The cover was designed using resources from freepik
organization within the United Nations’ system
and the World Health Organization; and works in
collaboration with the World Medical Association.
Publisher
International Federation of
Medical Students’ Associations
(IFMSA)
International Secretariat: This is an IFMSA Publication Notice
c/o IMCC, Norre Allé 14, © 2020 - Only portions of this publication All reasonable precautions have
2200 Kobenhavn N., Denmark may be reproduced for non political and been taken by the IFMSA to
non profit purposes, provided mentioning verify the information contained
Email: gs@ifmsa.org the source. in this publication. However,
the published material is being
Homepage: www.ifmsa.org Disclaimer
distributed without warranty of
This publication contains the collective
any kind, either expressed or
views of different contributors, the opinions
implied. The responsibility for
expressed in this publication are those of
the interpretation and use of the
the authors and do not necessarily reflect
material herein lies with the reader.
the position of IFMSA.
Some of the photos and graphics
The mention of specific companies
used in this publication are the
or of certain manufacturers’ products
Contact Us does not imply that they are endorsed or
property of their respective
vpprc@ifmsa.org recommended by the IFMSA in preference
authors. We have taken every
consideration not to violate their
to others of a similar nature that are not
rights.
mentioned.

2
Index 1. Basic Concepts and Terms
2. Activity/ Project Cycle
Pg. 4
Pg. 7
3. Why evaluate your Activity? Pg. 11
4. When to start planning the evaluation? Pg. 12
5. Tools for Activity evaluation Pg. 13
f. Baseline Assessment
b. Backwards Mapping
c. Evaluation Methodology
□□ Qualitative
■■ Asking People (individual/ group
discussions)
o Structured Interviews
●● Open-Ended Questions.
(Qualitative value)
●● Close-Ended Questions
(Quantitative value)
o Semi-structured interviews
o Questionnaires
o Evaluation stories
www.ifmsa.org

■■ Physical Methods
o Photographic Records
o Direct measurements
o Participant Observation
□□ Quantitative
■■ Progress and calculation of the
data from/ by using the indica-
tors
■■ Grouping of data
■■ Statistical modalities.
o Mean
o Standard Deviation
d. SWOT Analysis
e. TWOS Matrix
f. Stakeholder Mapping
6. What to do after evaluation? Pg. 30

www.ifmsa.org 3
Evaluation Manual

“ IF YOU CAN MEASURE IT,


YOU CAN MANAGE IT!

Basic concepts and terms

Activity:
In IFMSA an activity is defined as A unique set of planned interventions designed and
implemented to achieve certain specific objectives – within a given budget and a speci-
fied period of time. This definition corresponds to the definition of a project.

●● Activity evaluation: “Rigorous analysis of completed or ongoing activities


that determine or support management accountability, effectiveness, and
efficiency.”

□□ It means that different audiences may assign a different value to the same infor-
mation.

□□ An activity evaluation can be used for evaluating the efficiency of the activity
management structure, human resources, technical resources, financial re-
sources etc.

■■ Generally speaking, the efficiency of an activity relates to how productive/


fruitful the implementation of the activity was. In simple terms it refers to
resourcefulness (good use of the resources, including workforce, time, etc) of
the project and the efficacy of the implementation systems.

■■ Effectiveness:- The extent to which the project or activity achieves the in-
tended objectives (outputs).

□□ Summative (done at the end of the activity)

□□ Formative (done before or during the activity)

4
●●Activity monitoring

Monitoring refers to collecting data and observing trends during the life of the activ-
ity further leading to Activity Evaluation and/or Impact Assessment.

●●Activity assessment

Assessment is defined as a methodical way of acquiring, reviewing and using infor-


mation about an activity or its participants, to make improvements where necessary.

□□ Outcomes

Measures the change in behavior, resources or the acquirement of new skills and
knowledge. Used in relation to the goals and objectives of the project. Outcomes
are usually considered in terms of their expected timeframe:

■■ Short–term (or immediate)

■■ Intermediate

■■ Long-term

□□ Impact

Refers to the measures of change that result from the activity/intervention be-
ing completed, such as responses to surveys, requests for further information,
or number of products taken up (e.g. number of trainer participants; changes in
the pre and post evaluation for knowledge-based interventions; changes in the
attitude of people participating in workshop, etc.).

Indicators of success and the monitoring of the progress helps immensely in a)


measuring the impact of the activity and b) increasing the efficiency of the ac-
tivity.

www.ifmsa.org 5
Evaluation Manual

●●Difference between evaluation and assessment

Whenever you are making an activity, it is important to know when you are assess-
ing or evaluating it. Both can be used at different times of the activity cycle.

Assessment Evaluation

Definition The process of collecting, reviewing The act of assigning value and comparing
and using data, to improve the cur- on the basis of a set of standards.
rent performance of the activity.

Purpose Diagnostic: it aims to identify areas Judgemental: it aims at providing an overall


of improvement. grade/conclusion.

Orientation Process Oriented. Product Oriented.

What does it Provides feedback on performance Determines the extent to which objectives
do? and areas of improvement. are achieved.

Modified from Surbhi, S. 2016.1

1
Surbhi, S. (2016). Difference Between Assessment and Evaluation. Key differences.

6

“ LIFE IS ACTIVITY MANAGEMENT

Activity/ Project Cycle:

Activity Planning (Activity Management/ Activity Design) → Activity Implemen-


tation → Activity Monitoring → Activity Evaluation → Revisiting the Activity Design
(Backwards mapping)

Activity management is the most important part of the activity planning stage in the
development of an activity. It is also known as activity design.

In order to have a well structured activity plan, and the evaluation according to the goals
we are planning to reach, it’s important to fulfill all the steps in the activity management.

www.ifmsa.org 7
Evaluation Manual

Recap → Activity design and activity management basics

●● Vision/ Goal:- long-term desired change, describes why the activity is being done.

●● Objectives (SMART):- How the activity is being done? The long-term goal is broken
down into SMART objectives so that the methodology of implementing the activity
and division of the resources are further concrete.

Specific – target a specific area for improvement.

Measurable – quantify -or at least suggest- an indicator of progress.

Assignable – specify who will do it.

(Achievable - it is realistic that the objectives will be fulfilled)

Realistic – state what results can realistically be achieved, giving the available
resources.

Time-related – specify when the result(s) can/will be achieved.

*sometimes there are differences in specific words in SMART acronym, we can


use either assignable or achievable.

For example, if your goal is to improve the knowledge on mental health in the
universities, a SMART objective can be to deliver X lectures on the most prevalent
mental health issues during one year to university students in your city.

●● Output:- What the activity achieves or brings about?

The outputs are the direct products of the activity that help achieve the immediate
outcome. Outputs need to be precise and verifiable.

Sometimes, we mistake outputs with outcomes, because both present results from
the activity.

For example, if you have an activity working on peer education, an output would be
that you’ve trained X people during Y number of classes. The outcome would be the
change in their behaviour/attitude/knowledge on the given topic.

●● Indicators

Indicators provide the basis for monitoring and evaluation of your activity. They in-
dicate the extent to which the objectives are achieved or are ways to measure the
progress of the objectives.

8
They need to be concrete, which means they have to be a percentage, a number
(quantitative) and not just words indicating progress/ regress like “more, less, in-
crease, decrease” etc. (qualitative)

Common examples of indicators include: participation rates, change in attitudes,


individual behaviors, incidence and prevalence of a disease etc. The indicators you
select should answer your evaluation questions and help you determine whether or
not your objectives have been achieved.

That means that all your indicators should be related to one or more objectives. Ide-
ally each objective should have at least one indicator.

As we mentioned the example of mental health lectures, in this case the indica-
tor would be: 80% of students attending the lectures have an increase of knowl-
edge on mental health topic done during the lecture.

■■ Indicators should be:

□□ Specific

Provides a clear description of what you want to measure, i.e. “In-school


adolescents aged 13–18 who test positive for Chlamydia” Instead of “youth
who have an STD”

□□ Observable

Focuses on an action or change, i.e. “The proportion of school-clinic staff


who can list two risk factors for Chlamydia” Instead of “the proportion of
school-clinic staff who can identify the risk factors for Chlamydia”

□□ Measurable

Quantifies change and generally reported in numerical terms, such as


counts, percentages, proportions or ratios (2)

■■ Indicators can be:

□□ Raw Numbers (number of new members).

□□ Progress (percentage of how much of an objective is complete).

□□ Change (percentage of increase in knowledge).

The lagging indicator means that it occurred, it is an outcome (percent-


age of increase in members). A leading indicator tells whether you are

www.ifmsa.org 9
Evaluation Manual

approaching or going to hit that increase, and it also tells you whether
you are on track or not, so it can serve as a monitoring tool.

■■ Indicators can be broadly classified into two categories in relation to the spe-
cific objectives of the activity:

□□ GENERAL: Number of events, Number of participants, Number of peo-


ple screened, Number of beneficiaries reached, Number of the cities the
event has been conducted in etc

□□ SPECIFIC: Specific to measure the progress of a particular objective

To summarize:

Indicators provide useful information that can measure processes and outcomes. They
should be related to the evaluation questions.

They should be feasible in terms of data availability and timely data collection, and are
adequate to capture the information you need.

You may need to develop more than one indicator, but avoid creating too many indica-
tors because they can detract from the evaluation goals.

If you want to know more in detail about the activity management


step by step process, please refer to our Activity Management toolkit:
https://issuu.com/ifmsa/docs/from_idea_to_impact_-_manual_on_act

10
Why evaluate your activity?

Benefits of evaluation:

Evaluation projects and actions are undertaken for a number of reasons:

●● to gather data on the effectiveness and efficiency of the intervention/project/


activity

●● to be accountable to those who are funding the activity

●● as a debrief to the group on the completion of an activity

●● to develop the skills and understanding of people involved in a project by enabling


them to reflect on, and learn from their experiences

●● to provide information for planning future activities

●● to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of an activity; ie: whether the impact
achieved is worth the time and resources invested.

●● to justify and promote a management action to the wider community

●● to create a historical record of management success over time

●● to see if the work is contributing to the objectives

●● to determine whether the project objectives have been met.

www.ifmsa.org 11
Evaluation Manual

When to start planning the evaluation?

The best time to start developing your evaluation plan is when you are
building your activity. Planning and evaluation go hand-in-hand together.

In order to have the evaluation done according to the goals of the activity,
it should be implemented every step of the way when planning the activity.

The results are then reflected on after the activity and used for further
improvement and sharing with stakeholders.

12
Tools for Activity Evaluation

1. Baseline Assessment

2. Backwards Mapping

3. Timeline and Resources

4. Evaluation Methodology

5. SWOT Analysis

6. TOWS matrix

7. Stakeholder Analysis

www.ifmsa.org 13
Evaluation Manual

1. Baseline Assessment
Simply put, a baseline assessment is an analysis of where you are now, your com-
petitive advantages and disadvantages, what resources or sources do you have
at your disposal. Anything that helps you find out your current state is a baseline
assessment tool.

Baseline assessment should be conducted before the activity implementation


phase.

This is a very helpful process that is important for prioritization and defining the
focus of your actions. It also helps you to utilize your resources in order to dictate
the framework of your organization and decide on your next move.

When talking about activities, baseline assessment is a useful tool as a part of a


research of the topic you’re working on.

Not all the topics that are worked on in IFMSA are relevant for all the countries,
regions etc, so in order to understand why you are doing this activity, it’s useful
to have a baseline assessment of the problem you are tackling.

For example, if you are starting to work on the topic of STIs in your communi-
ty, it would be good to check how big of a problem it is, how much work has
already been done and what kind of interventions are already done on your
target group.

14
2. Backwards mapping (revising the activity design)
Backwards mapping is a tool we use in order to break down the process of activi-
ty on smaller steps and try to see what are the changes that will need to be made
in order to reach the final envisioned goal.

Baseline assessment (1)

Defining the problem statement (2)

Activity planning (3)

Implementation + monitoring (4)

Evaluation (5)

Reflection on the results and necessary improvements (6)

Go back to implementation! (7)

Backwards mapping is a tool which is connected to the Theory of Change, a


theory upon which IFMSA Programs were made, and which reflects how a long
term measurable change can be achieved throughout the process if we plan our
activities well.

Theory of Change is a model that assumes that if all the outcomes are achieved
at each step of the process, they will ultimately lead to achieving the final goal.
This is why the theory is based on the assumptions how each of the steps will
impact the target group and lead to the change.

www.ifmsa.org 15
Evaluation Manual

The outcomes are arranged based on their timeline in short term, intermediate
and long term outcomes, based on the steps that need to be fulfilled before the
other can take place.

For example, if our ultimate goal is to provide equal access to healthcare


to immigrants in our country, we would need to start with making an as-
sessment (1) to know what is the current situation of immigrants at that
moment. With that information, we will clearly set our problem statement
(2) with evidence based information, and start the activity planning (3), in-
cluding setting the objectives, the strategy/methodology, the search of main
stakeholders, etc.

The next step will be to implement the project (4), where we will create a
set of lectures/workshops for medical students in which the lack of access
to healthcare will be discussed. During these workshops, we will ask partic-
ipants to fill an input form, where we will be able to monitor (4) the project,
and improve it if necessary for the following lectures/workshops. When the
project is over, we will make a final evaluation (5) to our participants, to know
the impact we had with the intervention.

Finally with those results, we will reflect (6) and analyze what was done right,
what can be improved, and make changes for similar events in the future (7).

16
Review (step-by-step) activity management and activity evaluation map.

Context PROBLEM Problem Statement



Activity ACTIVITY Goal


Effectiveness
↓ ↓

Each goal should have


multiple
SMART objectives
Activity SHORT TERM OUT- Each objective has an
Efficiency COMES outcome.
↓ The outcome can be
short-term, intermedi-
ate, or long-term.
INTERMEDIATE OUT-

COMES

Each outcome needs
to have one or more
LONG TERM OUT- indicators.
COMES

(indicators need to be
(Problem effectively specific, measurable
solved with help of and
the activity / goal
observable)
achieved)

(the outcomes need


(each step of the
to have defined target
process has different
population)
outcomes that we
check based on the
assumptions that we
have)

www.ifmsa.org 17
Evaluation Manual

3. Timeline mapping
It is a process of arranging important outputs (events, grants, actions, achieve-
ments and other milestones) of the activity in a chronological order and observ-
ing them in temporal relationship to one another. The outputs are based on the
outcomes we are trying to achieve and we are also taking into account the key
contextual factors (social, economic, political, cultural events and trends).

Timeline mapping helps in backwards mapping, better utilisation of human and


material resources, helps identify how external factors influence the progress
of the activity and puts a group’s progress and challenges into the frame of a
broader context.

A basic timeline map is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled
with dates/activity schedule/deadlines and the to-do output of every objective
of the activity. A Gantt chart is a form of timeline used in activity management.

Gantt Chart can be modified to simultaneously show progress (linear bar shad-
ed in proportion to the degree of the output completion). Further each liner bar
can be connected to another to represent the dependency of the tasks.

18
4. Evaluation methodology
Evaluation can be generally divided into 2 different types: qualitative and quan-
titative. Qualitative evaluation is mostly relying on questions or interviews which
give us more information about the process/activity/results; while the quantita-
tive evaluation is focusing on numbers, concrete results and measurable change
which is or isn’t achieved.

Below you can find some examples of both types of the evaluation methodol-
ogies. Sometimes it’s hard to draw a line between qualitative and quantitative
analysis. You can always combine multiple methodologies in order to achieve
your goal.

Choosing one or another is mostly based on the objectives that you’re set up on
your activity and the indicators which show the success of it.

For example, if your activity is based on knowledge evaluation, which is some-


thing that can be evaluated with the pre and post evaluation, it’s logical that
you would use one of the quantitative types of the evaluation.

On the other hand, if your objective would be that the experience for the
people participating has been good or that their comments or suggestions
would be one of the outcomes of the activity, then the qualitative evaluation
would be suitable.

OUTLINE

□□ Qualitative

■■ Asking People (individual/ group discussions)

o Structured Interviews

●● Open-Ended Questions. (Qualitative value)

●● Close-Ended Questions (Quantitative value)

o Semi-structured interviews

o Questionnaires

o Evaluation stories

www.ifmsa.org 19
Evaluation Manual

■■ Physical Methods

o Photographic Records

o Direct measurements

o Participant Observation

□□ Quantitative

■■ Progress and calculation of the data from the indicators

■■ Grouping of data

■■ Statistical modalities.

o Mean

o Standard Deviation

DETAILS

□□ Qualitative

■■ Asking People (individual/ group discussions)

o Structured Interviews

Interview questions must be selected carefully, as there is no


room to change the questions once the process has commenced.

●● Open-Ended Questions. (Qualitative value)

Open ended questions are often used to gather expert review, or


understand personal experience or opinion in detail. For example
the knowledge on an individual over a certain topic or for exam-
ple the degree of satisfaction on a service or a product. These
questions are of a little significance when one is doing conclusive
large-scale research requiring a numerical output.

●● Close-Ended Questions (Quantitative value)

You would want to use these questions when you know for sure
that you have all the options possible included, for example if you

20
wanted to see how many people ordered food at a restaurant
that only serves 3 meals (Pancakes - Spaghetti - Steak). Another
example is when you have a positive or negative result, for exam-
ple if you want to know how many students passed their Biology
exams you’d have two options (Passed - Did not pass).

Close-ended questions usually produce quantitative data for a


conclusive result and are best when used in large groups, demo-
graphic studies or prevalence; while open-ended questions are
used for more qualitative data and smaller groups and for more
genuine opinions.

o Semi-structured interviews

These are informally guided. Some questions are predetermined


and new questions are developed from the discussion. Questions
are mainly open, providing an opportunity for the respondent to
provide an opinion. Semi-structured interviews are used to un-
derstand an interviewee’s experiences and impressions.

o Questionnaires

Questionnaires can be conducted in person, by telephone, or by


mail. They are used to quickly obtain information from a wide
variety of people.

o Evaluation stories

Evaluation stories are based on collecting and reviewing stories


of significant change associated with the activity or action being
evaluated. Stories are collected from those most directly involved
in the project.

Example questions before the project: What is the proposed proj-


ect area like at the moment? How could the project area be im-
proved?

Example questions after the project: What was the project area
like before the project was undertaken? How do you believe it
has changed?

www.ifmsa.org 21
Evaluation Manual

■■ Physical Methods

o Photographic Records:- Photographs of the activities, outcomes, ob-


servations etc.

o Direct measurements:- If the outcome is any particular product and


has measurable dimensions/ measurements.

o Participant Observation:- Detailed observation of the activity and


outcomes by the participants/ volunteers.

□□ Quantitative

■■ Progress and calculation of the data by using indicators

o Fixing the benchmark of performance: Means setting a reference


to compare with from the best competitors or the ideal results you
were expecting.

o Measurement of performance: It is done through many methods


like financial statements, impact assessment, data analysis, etc.

o Analyzing variance: when comparing the actual performance and


the standard performance (the benchmark) you will get a degree of
variance which you have to analyze and see what went wrong. If you
are over-performing or underperforming, why are you under-perform-
ing in a certain area, and if the degree of variance is large or small.

■■ Grouping of data

Aggregation of individual observations of each question (open


ended or close ended collected through pre and post event event
surveys etc) into groups, so that the frequency distribution of these
groups serves as a convenient means of summarizing the outcomes
or analysing the data

■■ Statistical modalities.

1. Mean
The arithmetic mean, more commonly known as “the average,” is the
sum of a list of numbers divided by the number of items on the list.
The mean is used in determining the overall trend of a data set or
providing a rapid snapshot of your data. Another advantage of the
mean is that it’s very easy and quick to calculate.

22
Pitfall:
Taken alone, the mean is a dangerous tool. Iin a data set with a high
number of outliers or a skewed distribution, the mean simply doesn’t
provide the accuracy you need for a nuanced decision.

2. Standard Deviation
The standard deviation, often represented with the Greek letter sig-
ma, is the measure of a spread of data around the mean. A high stan-
dard deviation signifies that data is spread more widely from the
mean, where a low standard deviation signals that more data align
with the mean. The standard deviation is useful for quickly determin-
ing dispersion of data points.

Pitfall:
Just like the mean, the standard deviation is deceptive if taken alone.
For example, if the data have a very strange pattern such as a non-nor-
mal curve or a large amount of outliers, then the standard deviation
won’t give you all the information you need.

www.ifmsa.org 23
Evaluation Manual

5. SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis simply stands for (Strengths - Weaknesses - Opportunities -


Threats). It is a simple but effective way in order to perform an analysis of your
current status, frame up a picture of where you are now and prepare for your
next moves. SWOT analysis is plotted in a Table.

Positive Negative

Internal Strengths Weaknesses

External Opportunities Threats

Each side presents a perspective, the upper rows (Strengths and Weaknesses)
presents your internal aspect and the lower rows (Opportunities and Threats)
presents you external aspect.

You should know that you can impact and have a direct influence on your inter-
nal aspects, but when it comes to your external ones you can only have some
influence but not a direct impact.

Data sources are the sources you use to fill your SWOT analysis with information
about the 4 categories (strengths - weaknesses - opportunities - threats) in or-
der to find out what are you dealing with from each category. The data sources
themselves can also be categorized into:

a) Internal (Executive Boards, Officials, Members, your own Key Performance


Indicators).

b) External (Mega Trends*, Industry or field of work, Communities, Other orga-


nizations).

*Mega Trends: They are global, sustained and macro-economic forces of de-
velopment that impact economy, business, society, cultures and personal lives,
thereby defining our future world and its increasing pace of change. Phenome-
na that affect our lives like women empowerment, virtual reality, wireless intelli-
gence, renewable power, veganism, artificial intelligence,

There should always be more weaknesses than threats as a general rule of thumb.

24
6. TOWS Matrix

By doing a SWOT analysis you have identified internal and external factors that
influence your activity in advantageous and disadvantageous ways. But how do
you move on from here? How do you utilize your new knowledge? Answer is
TOWS

The TOWS Matrix is a relatively simple tool for generating strategic options.

By using it, take the best advantage of the opportunities open to you, minimize
the impact of weaknesses and protect against external threats.

Used after detailed analysis of your threats, opportunities, strengths and weak-
nesses, it helps you consider how to use the external environment to your stra-
tegic advantage, and so identify some of the strategic options available for you.

Threats, Opportunities (in the environment) Weaknesses, Strengths (of the ac-
tivity) should be analyzed in the order.

Steps of TOWS analysis

1. Identification of the activity profile (goals, objectives, problems, theory of


change, needs/ resources etc)

2. Identification of the external factors like political, economic, social, legal,


technical, cultural, ethical

3. Anticipate possible changes of environment and its influence on organi-


zation (scenario analysis, trends, perspectives)

4. Audit and assess internal resources of the organization to identify weak-


nesses and strengths

5. Arrange elements in the TOWS matrix

6. Analyse interaction matrix between TOWS factors, and indicating best


alternative strategies

7. Test internal consistency for every strategy (main or alternate)

8. Preparation of contingency plans in case of failure of the undertaken ac-


tions.

www.ifmsa.org 25
Evaluation Manual

An activity should avoid threats,

An activity should exploit opportunities,

An activity should strengthen its weaknesses,

An activity should base important activities on its strengths.

( Strength + Opportunity) SO-Actions: Maximise the efficiency of these actions


and get maximum effectiveness/impact.

(Weakness + Opportunities) WO–Actions: As the weakness is internal, either im-


prove the framework or partner/ collaborate with some external/ partner who is
strong in these aspects.

( Strength + Threat) ST–Actions: These are the risk management actions, where
the organization finds a way to use its internal strengths to eliminate threats.
The threat is external and cannot be controlled.

(Internal Weakness + External Threat) WT–Actions: These are more monitoring


actions, in which the organization makes sure that its internal weaknesses do
not create any external threats to them or the activity.

Again it is important to state that since TOWS is based on SWOT, it is context


specific. Whenever the SWOT changes, so does the TOWS.

26
Strengths Weaknesses
(S) (W)

Opportunities Threats
(O) (T)

(A step forward of SWOT is TOWS)

(Internal Factors and Origins)


(External Weakness (W) Strengths (S)
Factors and
Opportunities W-O S-O
Origins)
(O)
As the weakness is internal, ei- Maximise the efficiency of
ther improve the framework or these actions and get max-
partner/ collaborate with some imum effectiveness/impact
external/ partner who is strong
in these aspects
Threats (T) W-T S -T

These are more monitoring These are the risk manage-


actions, in which the organiza- ment actions, where the
tion makes sure that its internal organization finds a way to
weaknesses do not create any use its internal strengths
external threats to them or the to eliminate threats. The
activity. threat is external and can-
not be controlled.

www.ifmsa.org 27
Evaluation Manual

7. Stakeholder Mapping

Stakeholder mapping is a process that you perform in order to identify possi-


ble partners and opportunities and determine how to approach them. Before
getting into the topic of stakeholders mapping let us first talk about what is a
stakeholder? A “Stakeholder” is a person or an organization that either has an
interest in your organization and its work or has a certain degree of influence on
or is influenced by your flow of work, profit, processes or decisions.

Due to the different nature of stakeholders, different interests and different ben-
efits gained from the organization, you’ll find out sometimes that there is what
is called a “stakeholder conflict” which means that a decision that you make or
an action that you take as an organization may sometimes be supported by a
certain stakeholder and opposed or not supported by another.

So as an organization, the trick is that you have to draw the interest of people
or organizations that support and believe in your cause and try to satisfy them
while not creating opposers who’d want to stop your action.

Now- Stakeholder Mapping is a simple process that depends on two simple con-
cepts:

a) Stakeholders vary in their degree of interest towards your organization.

b) Stakeholders vary in their degree of power over your organization.

High level of Stakeholder inter- Low level of Stakeholder


est Interest
High level of Stakeholder Key players, take notice of them Keep them satisfied
power and engage them directly. You
should usually spend most of your
time and efforts working with
(High interest - Low power
them
Stakeholders)
(High interest - High power
Stakeholders)
Low level of Stakeholder Communicate regularly with Communicate with them
power them when necessary

(Low interest - High power (Low interest - Low power


Stakeholders) Stakeholders)

28
As you can see stakeholders are plotted or categorized into 4 different categories
by cross-matching. And you deal with each one depending on their respective
category as demonstrated by the table.

●● High interest - High power Stakeholders.

●● High interest - low power Stakeholders.

●● Low interest - High power Stakeholders.

●● Low interest - Low power Stakeholders.

This is how you perform a stakeholder analysis, and the map that results can be
used as a tool of assessment in order to know when, how and why to approach
and deal with each stakeholder.

www.ifmsa.org 29
Evaluation Manual

What to do after the evaluation?

Remember when we were discussing the SMART objectives?

There is also a more complex version of it - SMARTER. The SMART letters are the same,
but with addition of Evaluate and Reflect.

Since this manual is all about evaluation, after it comes the reflection on the results
you’ve achieved.

As mentioned in the Activity Circle, after you’ve gathered your evaluation results, now is
time to focus on what to do with them. Here are some options:

●● Reflect on the results in order to improve your activity, whether in its methodology,
reach or objectives.

●● Present the data to your stakeholders (this is why it’s important to do the stakehold-
er mapping - to see who would be interested in your results)

●● Use the data for the advocating on the issue. If you have a good data, you can always
achieve more. Think big and try to imagine what would your activity do if imple-
mented on a larger scale.

There are a couple of more important things that we would like to mention:

●● Don’t forget about the ethical implications of your activity. Think about the conse-
quences that it can cause and how to prevent them.

●● Don’t forget about the privacy of the data you are collecting. Especially in Europe
with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), all the personal information col-
lected needs to have specific permissions in order to collect them. Get informed
about them!

If you’d like to get inspired by more examples than the ones mentioned in this manual,
check the IFMSA Activities Database at https://ifmsa.org/activities/.

To finalize, we have gathered some further reading materials from which we’ve
extracted our materials, check them in the annex.

30
Further reading and resources

1. Evaluation Planning Checklist

2. https://www.cdc.gov/std/Program/pupestd/Developing%20Evaluation%20Indicators.
pdf

3. http://devinfolive.info/impact_evaluation/img/downloads/Theory_of_Change_ENG.
pdf

4. https://ceopedia.org/index.php/TOWS_analysis

5. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/evaluation.html

6. Activity management manual

7. Strategy - Europe

8. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5JqiqOUqcG6OUFkQnFjR0liaUE

9. https: //www.bigskyassociates.com/blog/bid/356764/5-Most-Important-Meth-
ods-For-Statistical-Data-Analysis

10. Gantt Chart image source:- https://www.free-power-point-templates.com/articles/


free-gantt-chart-excel-template/

11. https://brungerblog.wordpress.com/2016/03/20/tows-matrix-for-marketing-brain-
storming/

12. https://www.pm4ngos.org/download/project-management-for-development-pro-
fessionals-guide-pmd-pro-guide-english/

13. https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/sites/devco/f iles/methodology-aid-delivery-meth-


ods-project-cycle-management-200403_en_2.pdf

www.ifmsa.org 31
Evaluation Manual

Afghanistan (RMSA Dominica) Kuwait (KuMSA) Republic of Tatarstan


Afghanistan) Dominican Republic (ODEM) Kyrgyz Republic (AMSA-KG) (TaMSA)
Albania (ACMS Albania) Ecuador (AEMPPI) Latvia (LaMSA) Rwanda (MEDSAR)
Algerwia (Le Souk) Egypt (IFMSA-Egypt) Lebanon (LeMSIC) Senegal (FNESS)
Argentina (IFMSA-Argentina) El Salvador (IFMSA-El Lithuania (LiMSA) Serbia (IFMSA-Serbia)
Armenia (AMSP) Salvador) Luxembourg (ALEM) Sierra Leone (SLEMSA)
Aruba (IFMSA-Aruba) Estonia (EstMSA) Malawi (MSA) Singapore (SiMSA)
Australia (AMSA) Ethiopia (EMSA) Malaysia (SMMAMS) Slovakia (SloMSA)
Austria (AMSA) Finland (FiMSIC) Mali (APS) Slovenia (SloMSIC)
Azerbaijan (AzerMDS) France (ANEMF) Malta (MMSA) South Africa (IFMSA-SA)
Bangladesh (BMSS) Gambia (GaMSA) Mauritania (AFMM) Spain (IFMSA-Spain)
Belgium (BeMSA) Georgia (GMSA) Mexico (AMMEF-Mexico) Sudan (MedSIN)
Bolivia (IFMSA-Bolivia) Germany (bvmd) Montenegro (MoMSIC) Sweden (IFMSA-Sweden)
Bosnia & Herzegovina Ghana (FGMSA) Morocco (IFMSA-Morocco) Switzerland (swimsa)
(BoHeMSA) Greece (HelMSIC) Namibia (AMSNA) Syrian Arab Republic (SMSA)
Bosnia & Herzegovina – Grenada (IFMSA-Grenada) Nepal (NMSS) Taiwan - China (FMS)
Republic of Srpska (SaMSIC) Guatemala (IFMSA- The Netherlands Tajikistan (TJMSA)
Brazil (DENEM) Guatemala) (IFMSA NL) Thailand (IFMSA-Thailand)
Brazil (IFMSA-Brazil) Guinea (AEM) Niger (AESS) Tanzania (TaMSA)
Bulgaria (AMSB) Haiti (AHEM) Nigeria (NiMSA) Togo (AEMP)
Burkina Faso (AEM) Honduras (IFMSA-Honduras) Northern Cyprus, Cyprus Trinidad and Tobago
Burundi (ABEM) Hungary (HuMSIRC) (MSANC) (TTMSA)
Cameroon (CAMSA) Iceland (IMSA) Norway (NMSA) Tunisia (Associa-Med)
Canada (CFMS) India (MSAI) Oman (MedSCo) Turkey (TurkMSIC)
Canada – Québec Indonesia Palestine (PMSA) Turkey – Northern Cyprus
(IFMSA-Québec) (CIMSA Indonesia) Pakistan (IFMSA-Pakistan) (MSANC)
Catalonia - Spain (AECS) Iran (IMSA) Panama (IFMSA-Panama) Uganda (FUMSA)
Chile (IFMSA-Chile) Iraq (IFMSA-Iraq) Paraguay (IFMSA-Paraguay) Ukraine (UMSA)
China (IFMSA-China) Iraq – Kurdistan (IFMSA- Peru (IFMSA-Peru) United Arab Emirates
China – Hong Kong Kurdistan) Peru (APEMH) (EMSS)
(AMSAHK) Ireland (AMSI) Philippines (AMSA- United Kingdom of Great
Colombia (ASCEMCOL) Israel (FIMS) Philippines) Britain and Northern Ireland
Costa Rica (ACEM) Italy (SISM) Poland (IFMSA-Poland) (SfGH)
Croatia (CroMSIC) Ivory Coast (NOHSS) Portugal (ANEM) United States of America
Cyprus (CyMSA) Jamaica (JAMSA) Qatar (QMSA) (AMSA-USA)
Czech Republic Japan (IFMSA-Japan) Republic of Moldova (ASRM) Uruguay
(IFMSA-CZ) Jordan (IFMSA-Jo) Republic of North (IFMSA-Uruguay)
Democratic Republic of the Kazakhstan (KazMSA) Macedonia (MMSA) Uzbekistan (Phenomenon)
Congo (MSA-DRC) Kenya (MSAKE) Romania (FASMR) Venezuela (FEVESOCEM)
Denmark (IMCC) Korea (KMSA) Russian Federation (HCCM) Yemen (NAMS)
Dominica (IFMSA Kosovo - Serbia (KOMS) Russian Federation – Zambia (ZaMSA)
Commonwealth of Zimbabwe (ZIMSA)

www.ifmsa.org
medical students worldwide
32

You might also like