"Jamaica PATH Program"

Analyze the case study "Jamaica PATH Program" and submit a policy brief concisely covering each of the 14 questions below (Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3). In addition, you should attach one-page single-spaced memo to the policy brief (see question 8). Attached

Questions:
PART 1

1. What is the Jamaican government trying to accomplish with this change in the way the social safety net is structured?
2. What is the essence of Jamaica’s newly designed PATH Program? What is its underlying theory of change? Theories of change?
3. In designing a process/implementation evaluation, it is useful to construct a flow chart of the program you are evaluating. Starting with appendix E, sketch your flow chart of the PATH Program. As you do, think about the paths along which three key elements will flow: people, money and data/information. Where might you find challenges to efficient flows of people, money and data/information? In other words, where in the process might problems arise?
4. If you were in charge the PATH Program, what would your biggest concerns about effectively implementingthis program be? What information would you want to gather to identify problems early in the process of setting up the new program?
5. Once the program was operating, what would you want to monitor to quickly identify emerging challenges? At what points in this flow chart do you see the biggest challenges to effective on-going implementation? What are the challenges? Why is each of these potentially a problem?
6. Based on your answers to questions 2 and 3, what are the most important questions to address in a process evaluation? What does that suggest for a potential research design? What should you be capturing in your on-going performance metrics?
   PART 2
7. Imagine yourself in the role of the Director of the Social and Manpower Planning Division. Create a table or list in which you assess the strengths and weaknesses of each design. This table can be written in a technical language. Be sure to consider:
   A. The scientific quality of the design, i.e. its ability to estimate the true impact of PATH on the key outcomes of interest.
   B. The political feasibility of implementing the design
   C. The logistical implications of the design, in terms of ensuring that findings from the evaluation are available in a timely manner for policymakers
   D. The financial implications of the design, in particular if it involves more resources than those already budgeted.
8. Write a one-page single-spaced memo to the Minister of Labour and Social Security recommending which design should be selected to evaluate PATH. Justify your recommendation using the strengths and weaknesses you identified above, but write the memo in non-technical language. Attach your table of strengths and weaknesses to the memo.
   PART 3
   The Manager's Challenge:
   As a manager tasked with getting a major program like PATH up and running, you will likely never have enough time to plan ahead and pretest every step of the process before officially launching the program. Rather, you will likely find yourself setting a start date that meets “political” needs, adjusting the program “as you go,” trouble-shooting problems and addressing questions raised by the public, the press, and politicians. How do you, as a manager, use the analytic tools we have been discussing in class to both identify and address operational problems “on the fly,” continuously re-evaluate your theory of change, and assess overall impact? With limited time, money and political good will, how do you think about where to invest in gathering information?
9. What do you think is Question Zero for Jamaica’s PATH program?
10. What do you think is the Theory of Change behind Jamaica’s PATH program?
    Note: It might be useful to think about answering this question from the perspective of several key players. What is the overall Theory of Change? What is the Theory of Change for the local MLSS office? The national office?
    Every manager knows that just because you can think through a Theory of Change doesn’t mean you can implement it with fidelity. That’s why process or implementation evaluations are so important. You might want to begin by asking:
11. What are the key questions you would like the process evaluation to answer?
12. What are the key questions you would like the impact evaluation to answer?
13. How would you integrate the findings of the process and impact evaluations?
14. How do you think the findings of a process evaluation can enrich the findings of an impact evaluation and vice-versa?

Sample Solution