Module
3 | Design
Overview
Design answers the question:
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By the time you get to program design, you have already begun to identify key elements of the program being developed. In Module 1: Assessment, you profiled the HIV/AIDS situation and its determinants and identified important gaps in the response. In Module 2: Strategic Planning, you defined and prioritized the objectives the organization will pursue, and defined the target audiences and geographical focus of activities. By defining SMART objectives [I-LINK to SMART Objectives: Module 2, Stage 2, Step 3] and an evaluation framework, you identified some of the measures that can document progress and success.
Now it is time to get more specific by identifying the resources and activities or interventions needed to accomplish your objectives, and to tailor and organize them into an implementation plan.
- Modules 1 and 2 guided users through the first two components necessary to creating successful HIV/AIDS programs.
- Module 1-ASSESSMENT- Programmers should have gained a good understanding of the HIV/AIDS problem and what is necessary to solving or improving it.
- Module 2-STRATEGIC PLANNING-Programmers should have defined clear, SMART objectives that represent the organization's best contribution to solving the problems associated with HIV/AIDS.
- Success in both of these planning phases
relied on stakeholder participation
and their support for the decisions that were made, and their readiness to contribute to the program.
[TOOL] How
to Perform a Stakeholder Analysis, DFID 1995.
[TOOL]
Notes on Enhancing Stakeholder Participation in Aid Activities,DFID
1995.
This module will guide users through the steps necessary for good program design. To design successfully, program managers must ensure that programs contain the following features:
- Focused data collection and analysis
- Scale of action that suits the objectives and resources
- The right mix of activities or interventions
- An appropriate monitoring and evaluation system
- A clear and feasible implementation plan
- Supportive and sustainable management systems
Accordingly, Module 3:
- Defines and explains the features of successful programs
- Offers a rationale for incorporating these features into program design
- Leads to resources that will help program planners make decisions
- Provides tools that will help you include these features in the program
The end product of this process is a program unique and specific to the situation for which it is designed.
It is important to remember that program design is an ongoing process. Even programs with superb design must be refined based on information gathered from assessments, which are also ongoing. Gathering and reviewing information about a project's performance—that is, monitoring and evaluating—should be factored into program design. Thus, our guide to implementation planning is linked with monitoring. Similarly, program design is key to a program's outcome and impact. We examine this connection more closely in the section, "designing a monitoring and evaluation plan". We also devote an entire module to evaluation.
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An Explanation of Program Design
Program design is the process that identifies the interventions and determines how to manage them. A good design ensures that interventions are ethically sound, technically up-to-date, relevant to the program setting, and acceptable to or endorsed by the beneficiary populations.
An HIV/AIDS program may have a number of interventions or only one, depending on the scope (how many different objectives and target populations) and scale (what coverage or quantity of services) defined in the strategic planning process. Because the needs and opportunities to intervene almost always outstrip available resources, a good design helps program managers stay focused. It is anchored by measurable objectives, and coordinated with and sanctioned by stakeholders and partners.
Design issues are rarely resolved completely before implementation begins. In fact, projects need flexibility in order to accept change while still ensuring that their objectives are met. A good monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system will help a manager stay aware of how things are going so that mid-course corrections can be identified. Thus planning a program's M&E system is an essential component of program management and design.
Steps 1 and 2 in Stage 1 of this module will thoroughly answer this question. But briefly stated, successful programming requires the participation of numerous stakeholders, including people living with HIV/AIDS, and of people with a range of expertise (e.g., communication, delivery of palliative care, program management, etc.). The process of program design depends on an interactive, participatory, and iterative analysis of what intervention or combination of interventions will be successful in the context of your specific situation.
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