Lhss Covid-19 Learning Activity Consultant, Peru

Background

The USAID Local Health System Sustainability Project (LHSS) project helps low
- and middle-income countries transition to sustainable, self-financed health systems as a means to support universal health coverage. Led by Abt Associates, the five-year, $209 million project works with partner countries and local stakeholders to reduce financial barriers to care and treatment, ensure equitable access to essential health services for all people, and improve the quality of health services.

USAID's Office of Health Systems (OHS) and Bureau for Policy, Planning, and Learning (PPL), with other USAID partners, are spearheading learning activities across multiple countries implementing USAID-funded COVID-19 response efforts. In line with that work, LHSS will design and implement a learning activity to understand:

- The extent to which COVID-19 supplemental funding has been leveraged to strengthen core health system functions inclusive of public health response and preparedness
- The role USAID plays in supporting capacity development of local actors (e.g., government and community leaders) to strengthen systems in preparation for future shocks or stressors
- The effect of taking the approach of integrating COVID-19 responses into HSS on both COVID-19 response metrics and broader health system dynamics and outcomes

The learning activities will include USAID-funded COVID-19 response activities in five countries. LHSS is seeking a consultant in Peru to support this learning activity, partnering with in-country teams implmeneting USAID funded projects.

Aim of the Consultancy

A local consultant is needed to support the implementation of the learning activity in Peru. The specific assignment of the local consultant is listed below:
Phase 1: Context Analysis

The consultant will review the learning activity workplan and research protocol together with the learning activity team. Based on the discussion and review, the consultant will develop detailed implementation plan with timeline in line with the expected tasks and develiverables. Supported by the LHSS learning activity activity team, the consultant will identify relevant documentation for desk review such as activity workplans, reports, capacity-strengthening assessments and tools, and implementation research products. The consultant will report on these findings to the LHSS team and provide a written summary report.

The consultant will also explore local IRB requirements. If local IRB submission is needed, the consultant will work with the learning activity team to tailor an umbrella protocol to local context (eg. facilitate translation of IRB packages and completion of local IRB forms), submit IRB for local review board, and follow approval processes.

Phase 2: Document Outcome Descriptions

The consultant, in reviewing the relevant documentation, will conduct the desk review and document change stories of interest identified by the learning activity team. The consultant and the learning activity team will plan for the collection of supplementary data that can identify additional potential change stories, describe the context and what changes were achieved, address gaps in data, describe which interventions contributed to which change and the significance of the change.

Phase 3: Supplemental Data Collection

The consultant will coordinate closely with the LHSS team to address logistics and resource needs for leading meetings with local stakeholders (including activity implementers and others involved in the implementation of COVID-19 response, such as local government representatives) to collect supplemental data as planned. These data collection efforts will contribute to refining and validating change stories developed during the design workshop, documentation review, as well as ensure interventions contributed to changes.

Additional meetings will be convened with independent stakeholders that were influenced by the change, know about the role of USAID but were not directly involved in COVID-19 response, such as other government counterparts and civil society organizations' representatives. These independent stakeholders can substantiate implementers' observations and can also identify ripple effects and unanticipated changes as a result of interventions. The local consultant will '‹develop a detailed'‹ implementation plan and timeline for these meetings with stakeholders based on local context and existing options for in-person and virtual convenings. In addition, the consultant will prepare transcripts as well as summary report from the interviews of stakeholders interviewed.

Phase 4: Analysis and Interpretation of Results

After documentation review and supplemental data collection, the consultant will support the finalization of the learning activity process, through facilitating wokshops, data analysis, interpretation of results, and developing recommendations and action plans. The consultant will be reposnsible for draft final results