Procurement plans and coordination among suppliers/donors are monitored/managed by the program

Procurement plans and coordination among suppliers/donors are monitored/managed by the program

Procurement plans and coordination among suppliers/donors are monitored/managed by the program

The family planning/reproductive health (FP/RH) program that is being evaluated takes an active role in monitoring and/or managing the coordination of procurement plans for contraceptives and other RH commodities among donors and in-country counterparts. Procurement plans should be monitored on a regular basis and can include contraceptive quantities, timelines, budgets, geographical scope/target areas, etc.

Data Requirement(s):

Evidence of active monitoring and/or management, such as procurement planning and monitoring reports, coordination meetings that manage and monitor procurement, project work plans including procurement monitoring, etc.

Survey or interviews with key informants; management audits and review of the procurement planning process; administrative records (e.g. meeting notes and agendas)

This indicator measures whether FP/RH programs are actively monitoring and managing the procurement planning process among various suppliers/donors to ensure FP/RH commodity security. Theoretically, if a program is actively monitoring this process, it will improve the accuracy and timeliness of procurements, thereby: enabling the continuous availability of high-quality contraceptives; averting impending contraceptive shortages and stockouts; reducing duplication of efforts; and decreasing inefficiencies. Furthermore, it affords in-country stakeholders a mechanism to communicate important contraceptive security issues to decision-makers.

This indicator does not measure the timeliness of the program’s monitoring/management, nor does it measure the level of thoroughness and/or sophistication of the monitoring/managing process. As a result, it is difficult to compare this indicator across countries. Furthermore, this indicator does not measure the level at which the program monitors/manages procurement plans. Finally, this indicator does not reveal information about the quality of the procurement plans: for example, whether the quantity of contraceptives in the system was (accurately) documented, what shipments were previously scheduled, and whether the number of stockouts by method were taken into account when developing the forecast/supply plan.

health system strengthening (HSS), management, commodity

USAID | DELIVER PROJECT, Task Order 1. 2009. Logistics System Assessment Tool (LSAT). Arlington, Va.: USAID | DELIVER PROJECT, Task Order 1.