Plan
Learn
Analyze
Share
Act
A private sector assessment combines quantitative and qualitative methods to increase knowledge about the private health sector. In the analytic phase, the team organizes and examines information amassed to develop a clear understanding of the role of the private health sector. Following this step, the team undertakes further analysis to identify key issues, constraints, and potential solutions. The findings inform recommendations that balance opportunities for increased private sector engagement with the realities of context, political will, and available funding. The steps in this phase culminate in producing a draft report, which undergoes a quality assurance review before becoming the “master draft” that is sent to external reviewers and local stakeholders for validation and feedback.
Step 1: Analyze Data
In the learning phase, the preliminary analysis step lays the foundation for fieldwork. In this step, further analysis is made possible by additional information gathered during fieldwork. New information contributes to and validates—and in some cases challenges—what is known about the role of the private health sector. Triangulation, or examining data from various sources and viewpoints, underpins the process, and ensures the validity of the findings. This step culminates in analyzing available qualitative and quantitative data, and merging the results to derive key findings.
Step 2: Formulate Findings and Recommendations
The next step involves proposing solutions to address constraints or opportunities uncovered during analysis. Keep in mind that you’re constructing an argument—a narrative that nudges key stakeholders toward a set of proposed recommendations. Your argument will be vetted and challenged and it’s likely that choices will have to be made regarding which recommendations can be implemented. That said, it’s important to remember that you’re providing data for decisionmaking and proposing changes, so you’ll need to back up your advice with good reasoning.
Step 3: Draft Report
The report is the primary output of the assessment—and may be the only public document of your work. All team members contribute to writing the report, which typically includes the following sections:
- Executive Summary—This is a concise overview of main findings and recommendations.
- Introduction—This consists of country context, and an overview of the health system, with an emphasis on the private health sector, health expenditures, and donor environment/summary of development partners and their contributions.
- Approach—This is an overview of the assessment objectives and the methodology used to collect and analyze data.
- Findings—Results of the analysis typically begin with a description of the private health sector, followed by findings according to the agreed-upon framework (such as the core elements SHOPS uses). The outline may have evolved, depending on the findings and “story” that emerges from the assessment.
- Recommendations—These are proposed strategies to mobilize the private health sector to meet priority health needs. They highlight investment opportunities and options for decisionmakers charged with designing programs and allocating public or donor resources.
- Appendices—These contain additional information such as the scope of work, workshop reports, case studies, references, and a list of stakeholders interviewed.
Outputs
- “Master” Draft Assessment Report
Phase 3 Team Roles and Responsibilities