Implementation Plan Guidance Note

Implementation Plan Guidance Note: Innovating for
Maternal and Child Health in Africa (IMCHA) Initiative

As an Implementation Research Team

within the Innovating for Maternal and Child Health in Africa (IMCHA)

initiative, an implementation plan (IP) is the first expected deliverable. Each

will be required to submit this imple-

mentation plan within three to four months of the grant commencement date.

What is an implementation plan?

An implementation plan provides further detail and clarification on certain aspects of the research proposal. Moreo-
ver, it should indicate how different elements and activities of the research project will be operationalized in relation
to the project research questions. Guidance for the implementation plan builds on feedback from the external re-
viewers and discussions during the April 2015 inception workshop in Nairobi. The implementation plan will serve to
i) strengthen and focus the research question(s), project objectives and expected outcomes, ii) address any related
theoretical and methodological changes and/or refinements and iii) provide initial strategies and proposed activities
to maximize the impact of the project and iv) to enable preparation for maximum use of research results.

The implementation plan is the first concrete project monitoring output for the research teams and for

pro-

gram staff. The plan will therefore provide opportunities for maximizing technical support, engagement and in-

formed action for the individual project, also across all

and Health Policy Research Organizations (HPROs). In

addition, the implementation plan will feed into monitoring against performance measurements of IMCHA, jointly
funded by Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD), The Canadian Institutes of Health Research
and International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The overall IMCHA performance measurements will
be detailed in the coming months.

Why an implementation plan?

This implementation planning process provides the opportunity, at a crucial early stage of the project, to consolidate
technical input (received both from the reviewers and during the inception workshop) and to strengthen research
design, planning and implementation of project activities. During the inception workshop, several areas were high-

lighted to further strengthen each of the

research projects in the context of the broader

initiative - in-

cluding health systems strengthening, implementation research, knowledge translation, gender and equity, ethics
and innovations (reference material attached as PDF)1. Building on the original proposal, this implementation plan
provides a mechanism for consolidating and further refining several of these areas of focus. IDRC program officers
(in consultation with relevant technical experts) will be available to support this process, as required.

What does an implementation plan include?

The outline below provides a guide for the elements of the implementation plan. This outline includes several spe-
cific headings, some guiding questions, and recommends a suggested length. It is anticipated that the full IRT team
will work collaboratively to develop this plan, with periodic support from the responsible IDRC program staff. We
expect the principal investigator to lead this process with appropriate engagement of all research team members.

shared prior to and during the inception workshop provide guidance against each of these conceptual areas. Further, reviewer
back has been shared with each team.

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Your IDRC program officer can provide clarification and technical support during the development of the implemen-
tation plan. IDRC can also link you to relevant technical support as required.

It is important not to address the reviewer's comments in isolation but to reflect on their relevance and application
to the project as a whole as well as on the issues raised during the inception workshop. Following this review, there
may be a need for budgetary re-alignment following the development of the implementation plan. The six-month
and twelve-month financial reports (as part of the grant agreement timelines), allow for budgetary changes to be

addressed. As some degree of budgetary alignment may require

to the grant, IRTs are requested to

explore these changes in close consultation with IDRC program staff. The total amount of the grant remains as per
the grant agreement.

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Outline for Project Implementation Plan

Project Implementation Plan (IMCHA)

GRANT REFERENCE NUMBER

Submitted by [Name and Institution of PI & co-PI(s)]:

Date:

1.

Demand and Context (up to 1 page)

Guiding questions:

Describe the changes in the local or national

and political contexts that influence the nature and/or

course of the research, since the inception of the project? Describe the current need for and level of demand for
this research? How is the research relevant to countries' priorities?
How does the project fit into existing policy frameworks, for example laws, regulations, or policy processes? How
does it fit into the existing governance of the primary health care system?

2.
2.1

Implementation Research Project
Research Objectives and Outcomes (I page)

Guiding questions:

In light of the changes in context or demand (or based on technical reviewers' feedback and inception workshop

discussions), what are the refined research questions, objectives and outcomes?

2.2

Methodology (2 to 4 pages)

Guiding questions:

Concepts: How will the research incorporate some of the concepts underpinning

- health systems strength-

ening and integration, implementation research, gender and equity dimensions and costing elements?

Health systems Integration: How are you integrating health systems thinking into your research, for example, how
is your research examining barriers to effective MNCH program design and implementation? How are you inte-
grating health systems thinking into your research to minimize fragmentation and duplication and to address barri-
ers to effective MNCH program design and implementation?2
Gender and equity dimensions3: What are the differential power relations within the context of the implementation
of the project? Who might be affected and how? How does the design and implementation of the project address
the power imbalances amongst social groups; between health providers and community? What are some of the
potential biases or unintended consequences that may result in relation to the research?

systems integration would include identifying barriers/facilitators to services at various levels (household/community, health service
delivery, health systems governance, health sector policy/strategic management, and public policies across sectors or environmental/
contextual). It would also identify which of these barriers are most amenable be overcome because of this intervention.

in the process of strengthening equitable health systems is the recognition that discrimination and inequity take place on the basis of
gender, ethnicity, age, religion, ability, physicality, sexuality, education and wealth. Discrimination on the basis of sex or gender, however, cuts
through all these factors whether it takes place within families, communities or countries. In addition, the explicit use of the term of social and
gendered analysis (SAGA) stems from the understanding that analysing gender in isolation does not capture the root of inequities. While
gender is inherent in the equity principle with a strong recognition that gender involves an analytical approach to examine and address both
gender and social inequities. Integral to this analysis is a focus on understanding and addressing the interconnected and systemic problems of a

dysfunctional health system."

2011-2016 6EHS Prospectus

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Costing: What is your

in the

to cost out the 'intervention' that you

trying to

up?

Analysis: Are there any changes in the analysis plan for this project? Who will be involved in doing the analysis?
Where will it be done? How will you ensure that the capacity for analysis is strengthened within the African institu-

2.3

Capacity Strengthening and Leadership Development (1 page)

Guiding questions:

What are the capacity strengthening needs of the project (please specify if these are institution, stakeholder or re-
searcher based) and how will these be addressed?

How are students working within this project being engaged in Africa and in Canada? How their research is linked to
the project objectives? What mentoring plans do you have in place?

Describe how you plan to strengthen the institutional capacity of Institutions or groups you are working with.

Describe the capacities within the team to support effective communication and knowledge translation activities?
Are there any gaps? If so what are your plans to address these capacity gaps?

2.4

Innovating and Scaling up (1/2 to 1 page)

Guiding questions:

Innovation: How does the research define and contribute to innovation? What will be the

outcome(s)?

Scale: What

the mechanisms in place to support scale up? What does scale up mean? How would you measure

it? What mechanisms need to be engaged or created in order to support scale-up (this should include an analysis of
key actors at all levels who need to be engaged from an early stage of the project)?

What are system-wide challenges that would impede or facilitate scale up or innovation and how will these be ad-
dressed during the project implementation?

2.5

Project Workplan (2 to 4 pages)

Guiding questions:

How are the project's workplan objectives, activities, timelines, roles and responsibilities being realigned with the
changes (detailed above)? What are the risks in achieving objectives and outcomes? What are the mitigation strat-
egies?

2.6

Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (1 to 2 pages)

Guiding questions:

How will the implementation of the research process be monitored and evaluated? This would allow for a refine-
ment and realignment of indicators, targets and means of verification to any changes in the research objectives and
outcomes4.

and evaluation may be further developed once performance management indicators of IMCHA are revised and
cussed at the IMCHA inception workshop.

as dis-

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2.7

Plan for Engagement of Stakeholders/Decision-Makers Including Communication Plan (1 to 2 pages)

Guiding questions:

How would engagement of stakeholders, use of platforms/technical structures, and dissemination and communica-
tion plans facilitate your efforts to influence decision makers to invest in the results and recommendations of your
research?

To what extent does the research have buy-in from decision-makers and other relevant stakeholders within and
outside of the health sector? What would be concrete steps to maximize this engagement? How will you monitor
and assess/evaluate this engagement?

What is the evidence of clear need and demand for research with clear links to existing policy processes? Is there
clear leadership that could drive this process in a way that it is linked to the above?

3.

Risks and Mitigation Strategies (1 page)

Guiding questions:

What are the main risks that might impede the successful implementation of this project that you foresee and the
potential mitigation strategies for each risk?

4.

Governance and Coordination Structures

(1 to 2 pages)

Guiding questions:

What are the mechanisms for coordination and governance for this research at an operational level and within the

country/region of focus (as appropriate, you can use an

a list of roles and responsibilities and/or a

terms of reference)?

How would you link with decision-makers, other IMCHA teams and the HPROs?

5.

Other Noteworthy Considerations (as required)

This can capture any unique features that have not been accounted for. It may also outline other initiatives, funding
or efforts aligned with this project.

Innovating for Maternal and Child Health in Africa

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