Introduction to OR/IR: purpose and definitions

1. Introduction to OR/IR: purpose and definitions Jane Kengeya-Kayondo, WHO/TDR

2. Scope of the presentation • The value of IR/OR • Definition of IR/OR • 2 activities -one completed -one ongoing

3. Value of IR/OR "Money plus technology is 5 percent of the solution; the other 95 percent is delivery and implementation"(William Easterly, Washington Post of Sunday July 2, 2006)

4. Value of IR/OR "Too often, investments worth many millions of dollars are being made in the absence of good data, and too often we fail to learn from and share all our experience…"(Michel Kazatchkine, the executive Director of the Global Fund, AIDS conference 2008)

5. Value of IR/OR • For many diseases and conditions, tools, strategies, interventions and policies exist • Financial resources are becoming increasingly available (Global Fund, PEPFAR, GAVI etc.) • What is lacking is evidence-based implementation knowledge and know-how • IR/OR address this gap.

6. OR/IR can accomplish thefollowing: • to learn about management, administrative, cultural, social, behavioral, economic and other factors that exist as bottlenecks to effective implementation • test new, more effective approaches to programming • identify and solve program problems in a timely manner • help policy-makers and program managers make evidence-based program decisions • improve program quality and performance using scientifically valid methods • help program managers and staff understand how their programs work and how to make them work better

7. IR/OR defined broadly Any research producing practically-usable knowledge (evidence, findings, information, etc) which can improve program implementation (e.g., effectiveness, efficiency, quality, access, scale-up, sustainability) regardless of the type of research (design, methodology, approach) falls within the boundaries of Implementation/operations research.

8. Research Domain Health system Implementation Operational Research Users Health care providers Programme managers Health system managers / Policy makers Research Utility Local Broad IR/OR Defined in the context of Research to improve health systems and programmes

9. Scope of IR/OR within Health System Research

10. IR/OR defined as a Science • Implementation science is the scientific study of methods to promote the systematic uptake of research findings and other evidence-based practices into routine practice in clinical, community and policy contexts, and, hence, to improve the quality and effectiveness of health services and care • addresses the level to which health interventions can fit within real-world public health and clinical service systems

11. IR/OR defined in terms of what it can achieve • Action-oriented • Respond to operational problem and challenges • Work towards developing targeted solutions • Knowledge translation (KT)

12. IR/OR – what it is not • Does not test the efficacy of a potential intervention, but rather seeks to improve the effectiveness of a proven strategy or treatment • may need to use study designs that will not always allow for strict control all variables, which, in turn, may affect the generalizability of results

13. Framework for Operations and Implementation Research in Health and Disease Programs (Logos show Partners)

14. Developing a core curriculum for IR Research Institutions Control Programmes Academic Institutions Healthcare Providers IR country teams Policy makers CURRICULA TO EMBED IR TRAINING INTO MASTERS PROGRAMMES CURRICULA TO TRAIN IR TEAMS CURRICULA TO TRAIN IR USERS Partners – USAID, PEPFAR, IR Platform, others

15. Mentorship Proposal Development Statistical Analysis Community Of Practice Fundamentals of IR Reporting Dissemination Publication Utilization Building IR country teams: the modular cyclic concept

16. Thank You www.who.int/tdr