Using iSIKHNAS for Budget Advocacy 2.3 Using performance indicators for budget advocacy

Review of Day 1 Budget advocacy – discussion – Results of budget advocacy activities? What are performance indicators? Calculating and comparing performance indicators Questions and clarification

Objective for this session At the end of this session you should be able to: – Use performance indicators to support budget requests

Using performance indicators 2 main ways to use performance indicators: – Monitor performance over time or – Monitor performance against targets

Monitor performance over time Monitor within a district or province – Over multiple time periods – There may be a goal (target value) set, but not always – Time period for analysis may vary depending on the purpose and type of indicator – weeks, months, years – Used to identify when performance goes down (or up) and reasons for changes – Observed changes can be used to argue for budget increases or changes to operational procedures to overcome times of poor performance.

Monitor performance against targets Monitor within a district or province – Over single or multiple time periods – Performance compared against a set goal – Time period for analysis usually longer – months, quarters, years – Used to determine whether you are meeting your goals or not – Observed changes investigated to determine reasons and argue for increased budget or operational changes to rectify immediately.

Example 1 The graph shows % response for priority disease reports over a 26-week period – For the first 8 weeks, % response is more than 90% – For next 8 weeks % response is between 60 and about 75% and – For last 10 weeks % response is between about 80 and 100%

Example 2 The graph below shows % response for priority disease reports over 6 months, with a monthly goal of 95% response in 48 hours – For the first 4 months the goal is exceeded, although the response rate is slowly decreasing – For the 5 th month the response rate is just below the goal and might be enough to at least notify staff that their response rate has fallen below the goal and consider possible action to rectify – For the 6 th month the response rate has fallen to 85% and something is obviously wrong – At this point, the reasons for the decrease need to be investigated and steps taken to fix the problem. This could include a case for additional funding for extra staff, equipment or resources

Using budget advocacy to address poor performance Identify the problem – what has happened? Summarise the investigation Identify the causes for poor performance Identify what is required to fix the problem Estimate additional funding required to resolve the problem(s) Suggest possible sources for the funding

Discussion and questions?

Exercise In groups of 4-5 (20 minutes): List 5 reasons why you think the performance indicators in the last 2 examples are failing to achieve their targets For each reason, outline a proposal to fix the problem, using budget advocacy

Discussion Groups report back – 5-10 minutes each – What are possible reasons for the decline? – How might you use budget advocacy to respond? – What are the key elements of your proposal?

Further Discussion Possible reasons – What could you do to rectify? – Staff holidays or sickness – Other priorities for example priority disease outbreaks, emergencies – Natural disasters or some other factor preventing response – Vehicle or communications breakdowns – Lack of credit for SMS – Lack of understanding of iSIKHNAS

Session summary 2 main ways to use performance indicators: – Monitor performance over time or – Monitor performance against targets Using budget advocacy to address poor performance: – Identify the problem – what has happened? – Summarise the investigation – Identify the causes for poor performance – Identify what is required to fix the problem – Estimate additional funding required to resolve the problem(s) – Suggest possible sources for the funding