|
In order to gain consensus on exactly what is desired in terms of performance,
you will work with the stakeholder group to state desired performance in results-based,
measurable terms. This focus will help every other step of the PI process (including
evaluation) become more precise, clear and targeted. Indeed, without a careful
definition of desired performance, the rest of the process carries little meaning.
To paraphrase the March Hare, if you don’t know your destination, any path
will do.
Note that desired performance and ideal performance are not necessarily the
same. Desired performance reflects the expectations of the stakeholder group
and may change over time. At the beginning of what must be viewed as an ongoing
process, undue emphasis on ideal performance might set seemingly unreachable
standards that could tend to discourage, rather than encourage, improvement.
The stakeholder group will define desired performance and set performance targets.
Desired performance statements may contain any of the following measures:
- Quality, or how well the performance meets a specification or standard.
For example: how closely do FP/RH services follow national guidelines?
- Quantity, or how much of the performance should occur. For example:
what percentage of eligible women should receive family planning counseling?
- Time, or when performance should occur. For example: how long do
clients have to wait before they see a provider?
- Cost, or how much material or labor is used to produce a given performance.
Ultimately, the desired performance of the target group should relate to the
expected results for clients at the primary care level. As stated in “Consider
Institutional Context,” the desired performance should support organizational
goals whenever possible. The team should make sure that the desired performance
of the target group is as clearly defined as possible before proceeding to the
next step.
|
