User Guide
USER GUIDE: How to navigate the Acceleration Plan and optimize its use
1. Assessment
The assessment phase asks, "Where do I stand and what is my country context?" The UNFPA Country Office will need to gather data on the country's family planning context and current programme. This work begins the planning process and ensures that it is contextually appropriate.
Identify structural barriers to family planning
Use available, reliable data to update or develop an assessment of the socioeconomic and political context for family planning.
Make use of available tools to support an in-depth assessment.
Start with the Track20 In-Depth Analysis of Contraceptive Use Dynamics, including Contextualizing mCPR Growth, Exploring Opportunities for Growth, and other relevant assessment options.
Identify and describe current approaches
List the current/recent approaches used in programmes for family planning by UNFPA as well as partners such as government health services, private services and international and local NGOs.
List the current/recent approaches included in national policies/guidelines for family planning.
Critically assess the status and effectiveness of each of these intervention approaches, noting where gaps exist.
Identify gaps and opportunities
Use the available checklist to review all areas where critical action is needed for your context and identify implementation gaps.
Combine information from the assessment of context and exploration of interventions.
Convene with your team to:
—Recognize areas where further investment is required
—Consider the need for shifts and expansion of approaches
—Assess the areas where UNFPA should lead, and where collaboration and partnership will be sought
Summarize all programme intervention areas where UNFPA will lead (include both old and new programme areas), and those where UNFPA will partner or leverage collaborations to ensure the programmatic areas are addressed.
2. Acceleration
The acceleration section asks, "What can I do to accelerate progress for family planning?" The team reflects on their family planning programme context, needs and gaps. The team looks at the priority actions, which are essential to ensuring effective delivery of family planning, and considers whether or not they are appropriate to the country context. The team seeks to determine if all of the priority actions are being addressed either by UNFPA or by partners. For guidance on HOW to address the priority actions, the team reviews the programmatic options. To search and cross-reference ideas, use the Menu Tool of Programmatic Options.
Prioritize actions in the acceleration plan
Review the priority actions included in the Acceleration Plan.
Compare gaps and opportunities against the priority actions.
Select priority actions that respond best to the findings from the context analysis, gaps and opportunities identified
Identify programmatic options
Review the programmatic options under each selected priority action (phase II).
Use the Menu of Programmatic Options (attached as a Google Sheet) for assessing and selecting from a comprehensive list of evidence-based programmatic options.
3. Considerations
This section seeks to ensure the programme chosen is implementable in the UNFPA Country Office context. Key considerations related to capacities, finances, partnerships and risks are to be considered. Once programmatic activities have been selected, a clear accountability plan, informed by validated indicators need to be established in the programme results framework.
Refine selection of POs based on programming considerations
Select the programmatic options considering context appropriateness, feasibility of implementation (e.g. resources available, funding, expertise, etc.) and alignment with national priorities.
Consider which programmatic options UNFPA will lead on, and which ones partners can lead or be encouraged to take the lead.
Review risk and mitigation strategies associated with the approaches chosen.
4. Accountability
The new Acceleration Plan for the country will need close monitoring and evaluation for accountability. Include, when possible, indicators suggested for each priority action in the Results Framework of the country programme. For examples, see the Suggested Indicators for Measurement.
Select indicators for the programmatic options (monitoring and evaluation)
Include, when possible, indicators suggested for the programmatic option (see Menu Tool of Programmatic Options) in the Results Framework of the country programme.
Take into consideration the availability of data and whether it is regularly collected by the health management information system in the country.
Check alignment of the new M&E plan with existing measurement frameworks for the Country Programme Document to ensure complementarity and to avoid duplication.
5. Resources
All phases of the process are informed by the reference tools and materials listed in Section 5.