Data as a moving target: How one M&E team is meeting the data challenges of war head-on

What happens when a development program’s ultimate long-term goal is tested under fire before it has even begun? What happens when population-based health data sources previously relied upon for programmatic data-based decision making become entirely irrelevant? How does a M&E system adapt to such massive shifts before it is even up-and-running?
This presentation will tell the story of “data as a moving target” from the perspective of M&E leads on Pact Ukraine’s USAID-funded Public Health System Recovery and Resilience (PHS R&R) project. PHS R&R is a five-year program with a timely goal of strengthening the capacity of Ukraine’s public health system to prevent, detect and respond to public health threats and sustain critical health services during a crisis. PHS R&R began just two months after the start of the Russian invasion. Panelists will share the challenges they are still facing in adapting the M&E system to constantly shifting implementation priorities in response to the rapidly changing context of war. They will shed light on how mass migration and an IDP crisis have resulted in a perplexing numbers game whereby performance targets and results must be interpreted with a new mindset and indicator numerators and denominators no longer “behave” the way they should. Participants will learn how PHS R&R has successfully implemented practical adaptations to overcome an abundance of data challenges while juggling multiplying data demands from different stakeholders, demonstrating true resilience in the face of conflict.