Sharing lessons learnt from MA Delta - PSI/India

[Kiran Thejaswi]

Dear all,

This email records key lessons learnt from the recently completed MA Delta - Pharmacists, workshop in India. Monica and I facilitated the 3-day DELTA, from 24th - 26th of August 2011. The participants were senior, middle and field staff of the WHP program. This was the first DELTA for both of us after attending the DELTA ToT in Bangkok earlier in the year.

The lessons learnt are as follows:

What worked well?

1. All the key sections of the MPLAN were covered as planned during the 3 days.
2. Having representation from all levels of the program staff, especially from the field enriched the discussions.
3. The various adult facilitation techniques learnt during the Bangkok ToT helped in maintaining the energy levels of the participants through out the workshop.
4. The Delta Companion and discussion with Sanjay was very helpful for guiding the discussions in the right direction.
5. Showing the final output (the 1 page Summary) to the participants at the end of day 3. The participants were thrilled to see it.
6. We identified key people at the Head Office and State Offices' who will be responsible for owning and implementing the MPLAN.

Areas of improvement

1. We could not do the work plan as planned. Needed to manage time better.
2. Although Monica and I had discussed the session plan over mail and phone, we couldn't meet before the workshop and go through the session plan together. It led to some gaps while coordinating a couple of sessions. So, it would be better for facilitators to meet during the preparation.
3. Many of the participants did not attend the workshop completely. This included key people from marketing, research and senior program staff. So there were certain information gaps during discussions.
4. Should have had recent research (the last one on Pharmacists was in Jan 2010) to arrive at better decisions. MA has not been a focus area for PSI/India and hence field staff did not have a good understanding of current situation.

Thanks and regards
Kiran

[Alex]

Hi Kiran,

Thank you very much for sharing your perspectives from the recent Delta.
Lawan and I will be conducting a Delta for our transgender program next
month and will take your lessons learnt into consideration as we do our own
planning. I will be happy to share our experience after the Delta is
completed.

Have any other platforms conducted a Delta since the training earlier this
year, and have experiences they would like to share?

Cheers,
Alex.

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01:35:00

[Kiran Thejaswi]

Hi Alex, 

Good to hear from you. 

DELTA has also been completed in Nepal (Medical Abortion) and Pakistan (Long Term Methods) also. Here are the lessons from both the countries. 

Nepal

What Worked Well:
 

• 1.     Good enthusiasm by Bandana and Yogesh to carry out their plan to do the DELTA as planned. This sounds obvious, but we know that very often the best laid out plans (made in workshops) is not often translated into action. Developing a detailed action plan in Bangkok was reported as being very useful in making this happen.  

2.     The facilitator guidebook for each session of the DELTA was actively used and appreciated as B and Y went about planning for the workshop. 

3.     In the preparation period consultation with James was helpful in clarifying doubts.

4.     Having the research team participate in the entire workshop was much appreciated and found.

5.     At the end of each workshop day, Jen & James were consulted on problematic issues and their suggestions were very helpful for the next day. Clearly the remote support worked well here.

Areas of Improvement: These were discussed and generally agreed upon. 

•  Time Management: B and Y had planned for a three day workshop but found themselves quite short of time at the end of day two. Hence, they had to hurry thought the 'meaty' section of the plan where key decisions are made. For instance, the 4P discussions were not as focused as they should have been and still needs to be polished. In retrospect they would have planned for four days. Also the inadequacy of the scheduled 3 days was in part the inability to maintain discipline in terms of time and discussion. When doing a workshop as an internal facilitator, the tendency to stray from the topic is very high and this greatly determines the quality and output of the training. 
2.     Preparation: The Situation Analysis section could have been more thorough. More information on other MA products should have been included. Having an external support person (Jen, James, Mary or Sanjay) to review this and provide inputs is recommended for the future. Pakistan used these resources well in this manner. 

3.     Important to get the right participants for this workshop. Would have been better if from folks from the sector (field) offices were included to gain their important perspective and get their buy in.

One final comment: Upon probing, Yogesh and Bandana felt that for future DELTA MP development, they would like to have a slightly different approach. They would with a slightly smaller group (8 compared to 11) and also focus less on educating people on the DELTA process, but more on using the group to make some key decisions. In this approach, the thinking (strategy development) would be led by a smaller group rather than in a workshop setting. 

Pakistan

What Worked Well: 

1. Good lead and action from Humair. Humair was enthusiastic and diligently went through the process after the Bangkok training.
2. In particular, the systematic preparatory work he did including developing a detailed agenda in terms of timing each activity of the workshop was very useful. 
3. He brought in David Reene, James/Jen (GSMD) and Sanjay (Regional) as needed to support him before, during and after the workshop. Special kudos to James for providing excellent and very quick email support providing valuable guidance to Humair. 
4. Good job in being able to bring participants together for four days. Given busy schedules, this itself is a big achievement. 
5. Facilitating a group consisting of many senior GS marketing staff was a challenge, but seemed to be handled well by Humair. 

Areas of Improvement for GS and other platforms: These were discussed and generally agreed upon. 

1. Important to get the right participants for this workshop. Folks from the marketing team were mainly included for this workshop. It is important to get others who are involved in project management as part of any DELTA process. For instance, the Program Support Unit which is an important owner of donor deliverables should be brought in. 
2. Having a single and clear owner of the deliverables of the marketing plan is key. In this case, various staff were tasked with leading distinct tasks, but it was unclear who the single owner of this exercise is. Humair thought that he should see the process through. Sanjay recommended that the ideal owner should be the IUD product manager or someone else whose job it is to implement the marketing plan. Humair will discuss this with senior management. 
3. Senior management involvement is key to this process: Getting CR/CFO to sign off and ensure follow up is key.

Wish you all the best for your Delta. 

Thanks and regards

Kiran 

[Sanjay Rao Chaganti]

Hi Alex, 

In response to your question about lessons learned from conducting other DELTAs, here are lessons learnt from  Nepal and Pakistan. Best wishes for your Delta. Please do contact James, Jen or me on any help we can provide before, during or after the workshop.  Happy to discuss these lessons and any other issues with you on skype/email as well. 

Regards

Sanjay

LESSONS FROM DELTA IN NEPAL

This email captures some key lessons learnt (and next steps) from the recently completed MA DELTA workshop in Nepal. This email has been drafted to help PSI/N, GSM and Regional TAs understand and share lessons learnt.

As you are aware, in March this year, the GSMD conducted a training on DELTA facilitation for staff from the various Asia/EE platforms. The objective of this workshop was to build the DELTA facilitation capacity at the platform level thereby reducing the demands for in-country external TA. Nepal is the one of the first countries (Pakistan being the other) to have followed up and implemented a DELTA. Bandana with support from Yogesh admirably took up this charge. Earlier this week, Kiran and Sanjay spoke to them to get their feedback. Andrew/Victor: Would appreciate your getting the feedback of others who participated and sharing. Maybe at Bangkok? 

What Worked Well:

 

1. 1.     Good enthusiasm by Bandana and Yogesh to carry out their plan to do the DELTA as planned. This sounds obvious, but we know that very often the best laid out plans (made in workshops) is not often translated into action. Developing a detailed action plan in Bangkok was reported as being very useful in making this happen.  

   2.     The facilitator guidebook for each session of the DELTA was actively used and appreciated as B and Y went about planning for the workshop. 

   3.     In the preparation period consultation with James was helpful in clarifying doubts.

   4.     Having the research team participate in the entire workshop was much appreciated and found.

   5.     At the end of each workshop day, Jen & James were consulted on problematic issues and their suggestions were very helpful for the next day. Clearly the remote support worked well here.

   
   

Areas of Improvement: These were discussed and generally agreed upon. 

1.  Time Management: B and Y had planned for a three day workshop but found themselves quite short of time at the end of day two. Hence, they had to hurry thought the 'meaty' section of the plan where key decisions are made. For instance, the 4P discussions were not as focused as they should have been and still needs to be polished. In retrospect they would have planned for four days. Also the inadequacy of the scheduled 3 days was in part the inability to maintain discipline in terms of time and discussion. When doing a workshop as an internal facilitator, the tendency to stray from the topic is very high and this greatly determines the quality and output of the training. 

   2.     Preparation: The Situation Analysis section could have been more thorough. More information on other MA products should have been included. Having an external support person (Jen, James, Mary or Sanjay) to review this and provide inputs is recommended for the future. Pakistan used these resources well in this manner. 

   3.     Important to get the right participants for this workshop. Would have been better if from folks from the sector (field) offices were included to gain their important perspective and get their buy in.

Key Next Steps: 

1. Bandana to complete the one pager, workplan and background documents by June 30 and send to James, Jen and Sanjay for comments. Finalize documents by July 20 after feedback.  

   2.     Bandana/Yogesh to present plan to Andrew and Victor. 

   3.     Commit to monitor the implementation of the plan. Monthly/3 month review, maybe? Sanjay happy to support. 

One final comment: Upon probing, Yogesh and Bandana felt that for future DELTA MP development, they would like to have a slightly different approach. They would with a slightly smaller group (8 compared to 11) and also focus less on educating people on the DELTA process, but more on using the group to make some key decisions. In this approach, the thinking (strategy development) would be led by a smaller group rather than in a workshop setting. 

LESSONS FROM DELTA IN PAKISTAN

As you are aware, in March this year, the GSMD conducted a training on DELTA facilitation for staff from the various Asia/EE platforms. The objective of this workshop was to build the DELTA facilitation capacity at the platform level thereby reducing the demands for in-country external TA. Pakistan is the one of the first countries (Nepal being the other) to have followed up and implemented a DELTA. Humair from GS admirably took up this charge. On Friday, I spoke to Humair to get his feedback. Shirine participated in the call as well. Chris, would appreciate your checking in with others who attended as well and providing feedback. Maybe we can discuss at the retreat? 

What Worked Well: 

1. Good lead and action from Humair. Humair was enthusiastic and diligently went through the process after the Bangkok training.
2. In particular, the systematic preparatory work he did including developing a detailed agenda in terms of timing each activity of the workshop was very useful. 
3. He brought in David Reene, James/Jen (GSMD) and Sanjay (Regional) as needed to support him before, during and after the workshop. Special kudos to James for providing excellent and very quick email support providing valuable guidance to Humair. 
4. Good job in being able to bring participants together for four days. Given busy schedules, this itself is a big achievement. 
5. Facilitating a group consisting of many senior GS marketing staff was a challenge, but seemed to be handled well by Humair. 

Areas of Improvement for GS and other platforms: These were discussed and generally agreed upon. 

1. Important to get the right participants for this workshop. Folks from the marketing team were mainly included for this workshop. It is important to get others who are involved in project management as part of any DELTA process. For instance, the Program Support Unit which is an important owner of donor deliverables should be brought in. 
2. Having a single and clear owner of the deliverables of the marketing plan is key. In this case, various staff were tasked with leading distinct tasks, but it was unclear who the single owner of this exercise is. Humair thought that he should see the process through. Sanjay recommended that the ideal owner should be the IUD product manager or someone else whose job it is to implement the marketing plan. Humair will discuss this with senior management. 
3. Senior management involvement is key to this process: Getting CR/CFO to sign off and ensure follow up is key. 

Key Next Steps: 

1. Humair to send revised one pager to David Reene, Sanjay, James and Jen for final comments. 
2. Humair to present plan to senior management (CR, CFO etc), get buy in and also decide on who the owner should be, 
3. Develop a plan to monitor the implementation of the plan. 3 month review, maybe?