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 [email protected] 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.
In 2010, the Free Health Care Initiative (FHCI) abolished health user fees for pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under five. This was a response to very high mortality and morbidity levels among mothers and children and reports that financial costs were a major barrier to health service uptake and use by these groups. This… Read more
In 2010, the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) took steps towards establishing the Free Health Care Initiative (FHCI). At its core, this was the removal of user fees (on drugs and consultations) for pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under five. This brief is based on an independent review of FHCI completed in 2016, which looked… Read more
Assessment in education in Uganda takes many forms: for example, the Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) and Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations, the National Assessment of Progress in Education (NAPE) and other system-wide tests, practice examinations used in schools, formal and informal classroom assessment. Uganda’s assessment system is a complex and interconnected web of all… Read more
A school’s success in promoting learning is often measured in terms of the examination results of the students. Value added measures are designed to account for the ability of a school’s intake to provide a fairer and more accurate indication of performance. They are being increasingly used to provide more accurate data about the quality… Read more
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