WASHINGTON, D.C. — Results for Development and its partners have launched a new e-learning module, “Designing & Facilitating Effective Processes,” as part of The Coaching Approach. This is the second module in a series, The Coaching Approach: Building Capacity for Sustainable Systems Change, which is now hosted on the LearnWorlds interactive e-learning platform. The e-learning modules seek to explain The Coaching Approach — a transformative approach to technical assistance — and encourage others to adopt it.
The Coaching Approach is different from traditional approaches to technical assistance because of who provides the technical support and how it is delivered. Drawing mainly on experts from the countries and regions that are requesting technical assistance who are supported by global experts as needed, it emphasizes experience and evidence that are adapted to suit the country context. The Coaching Approach also emphasizes working side-by-side with country partners — through existing institutions and processes — to support country-led change. This approach requires strong skills in stakeholder engagement, process facilitation, knowledge translation and communication, in addition to technical expertise. The Coaching Approach e-learning series was designed to help experts build these skills.
The first e-learning modules provide an orientation and introduction to The Coaching Approach and what it means to be a coach or a mentor — how coaches and mentors can help strengthen country processes and build lasting capacity.
The newest module focuses on the important role of process facilitation to support country change processes, noting that a skilled facilitator can act as a legitimate broker to guide an inclusive process that is more likely to gain stakeholder buy-in and lead to solutions tailored to the context.
The host of the module is Aditia Nugroho, a health financing expert in Indonesia. He explains, “Effective facilitators can add value and help to improve country processes to more effectively engage the right stakeholders, bring in evidence that is relevant and contextualized and transparently build toward solutions that are technically valid, feasible in the current context and have buy-in and ownership of those who will be part of implementing them.”
This module covers four topics:
- What is process facilitation?
- Designing and facilitating a process
- Examples of facilitated processes in Indonesia and Uganda
- Tips for effective process facilitation
The Coaching Approach e-learning modules are part of a broader initiative to put country expertise at the center of health system strengthening efforts in low- and middle-income countries. It does so by working to elevating the profiles of experts in countries requesting technical support — through the Experts Database. And, through The Coaching Approach learning modules, it works to prepare experts who are interested in serving as coaches and mentors by sharing principles, approaches and tips for playing these roles effectively and exchanging lessons learned. The Approach also works to facilitate joint learning among this community of coaches and mentors; this joint learning process is currently taking shape regionally through a group known as “The Force,” a community of practice and body of knowledge for health financing technical experts in Africa.
Francis Ayomoh, a senior medical officer for Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health and a member of “The Force,” said: “The Coaching and Mentoring module was truly an eye-opener as it exposed me to key concepts of the coaching approach and enlightened me about a contextually appropriate approach to in-country technical assistance. I wholeheartedly recommend the course for anyone who wants to learn about a result-oriented approach to technical assistance that fosters hand-in-hand collaboration with in-country partners.”
To access The Coaching Approach training modules, visit: https://coaching-approach.learnworlds.com.
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This Coaching Approach is an initiative of Results for Development in partnership with the Strategic Purchasing Africa Resource Center with support from the USAID African Collaborative for Health Financing Solutions and the USAID Health Systems Strengthening Accelerator. For more information on the coaching approach, visit r4d.org/thecoachingapproach.
