Performance assessment – objective and quantified results rapidly and ready when you need them

Managers and clients need information on how programs are functioning - beyond that which is available from monitoring and information systems. Even with committed parties, an evaluation can be burdensome for both the client and program. It takes time to develop and implement the evaluation, and getting timely and useful results afterward often lags. Performance Assessment (PA) fills the need for rapid and objective information. We developed a standards-based PA to deliver objective and quantified results available immediately. In South Africa, we implemented a multi-module PA tool (PAT) with a unifying conceptual framework for assessing technical areas. This brought uniformity in assessing what may seem to be very diverse public health programs that a single organization implements. Whether assessing one or many programs within an organization, the results are a comprehensive picture of each program and not just focused on service delivery. A more comprehensive organizational assessment can be done when the PA is broadened to include the modules for assessing cross-cutting areas. The Excel-based PAT automatically produces quantitative performance scores on the functional areas and locations assessed as soon as data is entered -- in Stoplight Scoring Tables (by location-assessed and module subsections) and in Bar Graphs of overall performance (across module subsections). These identify at a glance the areas of program strengths and weaknesses. With standards-based results, clients have immediate information for focusing remediation and performance improvement (PI) interventions. The PA results from assessing more than 30 organizations have shown the flexibility for assessing programs in very diverse organizations while ensuring objectivity in measurement. These results are important to funders; concomitantly, the organizations themselves have identified the usefulness of the standards-based tool and have requested this for their internal PI efforts. Since this PA approach is standards-based, it is readily adaptable to a variety of programs and organizations.