Assignment Reports
HEART is a consortium of leading organisations offering short-term technical support, including reviews and evaluations, strategy think-pieces, specialist reports and programme design. Wherever possible, we make assignment reports available on our website.
Please email consultancy@heart-resources.org for more information on how to access these services or if you are a consultant and would like to add your CV to our database.
This Narrative Report has been written to accompany the 2016 Annual Review of the Working to Improve Nutrition in Northern Nigeria (WINNN) programme. The WINNN programme aims to deliver evidence-based, cost effective interventions in five northern states in Nigeria: Zamfara, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, and Yobe, while improving government capacity, leadership, and financial commitment in relation… Read more
The Working to Improve Nutrition in Northern Nigeria (WINNN) programme continues to be successful achieving most of its objectives, is well managed and year on year is improving its effectiveness and increasing its reach. This summary sheet captures the headlines on programme performance, agreed actions and learning over the course of the review period. Summary… Read more
Improving student learning outcomes is one of the top priorities for the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology & Sports (MOESTS). Valid and reliable measures of the quality and distribution of student learning outcomes are essential components in the drive for improved education quality. However, improved learning achievement depends not only on the resources invested in… Read more
Research focusing on the links between education, development and social change has a long history; this includes research on higher education investment in low-income countries by external and international development agencies. Analysis of the impact on society of higher education in developing countries emerged alongside post-colonial discourses and modernisation theories. Research generally focused on how… Read more
This briefing outlines findings from operations research to support the refinement of the infant and young child feeding (IYCF) strategy implemented by the Working to Improve Nutrition in Northern Nigeria (WINNN) programme. Key research findings include: The concept of food groups, the unique benefits of feeding foods from each food group and the classification of foods into specific food groups is… Read more
This paper reviews the evidence on the impact of learning assessments on education policy and teaching practice across East Africa. The study focuses principally on Uganda, and then considers the experience in Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda to highlight common issues and suggest examples of best practice. It particularly examines national examinations at primary and secondary… Read more
In March 2016, researchers from the University of Jos were awarded a grant for a new research project to study long-term outcomes following treatment in a Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) programme in Jigawa State. The grant was awarded by ORIE (Operations Research and Impact Evaluation). Every year about one million children under five years of age die in Nigeria. Malnutrition contributes to… Read more
This study presents results of a census of non-state schools in two low-income areas of Maputo, Mozambique. Non-state schools include purely private, community, and church mission-supported schools some of which receive government support in the form of deployment of civil service teachers. The study finds that the only notable growth of the private sector is… Read more
In January 2016, a team led by Dr Garba M. Ashir of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital received a grant for new research to understand the demand-side barriers which prevent mothers with young children from accessing nutritional services. The grant was awarded by Operations Research and Impact Evaluation (ORIE), a DFID-funded consortium of UK and Nigerian organisations. The project will generate valuable research findings… Read more
On 1st and 2nd March 2016, over 150 stakeholders met in Abuja to discuss how to tackle undernutrition in Northern Nigeria, including staff from State and Federal Government, international development partners, civil society organisations and academic institutions. The meeting was convened in Abuja in partnership with the Federal Ministry for Budget and National Planning, the… Read more
This briefing is based on the 2014 evaluation of nutrition work supported by Working to Improve Nutrition in Northern Nigeria (WINNN) in Zamfara, as well as ORIE research in 2015. Interviewees included political leaders and government officials, development partners, health workers, community volunteers, traditional leaders, civil society and community members. Key evaluation findings include: The community management of acute malnutrition… Read more