MEASURE Evaluation is a cooperative agreement awarded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and five partner organizations: ICF International, John Snow Inc., Management Sciences for Health, Palladium, and Tulane University.
[1] MEASURE Evaluation works closely with USAID, its country missions, and counterparts to improve the collection, analysis, and presentation of data to promote better use of data in planning, policy-making, managing, monitoring, and evaluating population, health, and nutrition programs.
There is an urgent need to strengthen the performance of HIS and M&E systems at all levels, improve measurement in areas in which measurement methods are weak, increase evidence on the effectiveness of global health programs, and strengthen the use of information beyond meeting reporting requirements to inform program decision-making.
M&E is the process by which data are collected and analyzed to provide information to policy-makers and others for use in program planning and project management.
It also ensures the most effective and efficient use of resources, helps determine the success or failure of a program, and assists in meeting organizational requirements such as reporting.
[5] MEASURE Evaluation has worked in this arena for over 20 years, assisting countries in the systematic collection and analysis of evidence about health program performance and impact.
Under optimum conditions, public health relies upon a network of facilities staffed with competent providers, a ready supply of essential medicines, and a governance structure supported by managers who understand the health issues of the population and are equipped to make good policy and program decisions based on evidence.
MEASURE Evaluation works in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to strengthen health information systems.
MEASURE Evaluation works in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and Eurasia, implementing research and building capacity for rigorous evaluation and health information system strengthening in about 40 countries at any one time.