Sourcing and Managing Consultants: TSF

HDA has developed efficient systems and networks to source and manage consultants for HIV/AIDS work across Africa. In 2004 HDA, contracted by UNAIDS, established the Technical Support Facility Southern Africa (TSF). This facility, serving 14 Southern African countries, was created to improve access to timely, high quality short-term technical assistance for scaling up national HIV/AIDS responses. The TSF is an innovative means for connecting primarily African-based consultants to government and United Nations agencies, development organisations, and other clients in need of technical HIV programme support. The programme provides access to short-term consultants through its database and quality assures the work done by the consultants, through active management by technical panel experts. It also provides a professional development programme for African consultants and a capacity development programme for HIV/AIDS programme and project managers. The TSF draws on the expertise of its consortium partners, working with a network of national and international collaborating agencies, including the Health Systems Trust, and Crown Agents Southern Africa.

Also in collaboration with UNAIDS, HDA manages the HIV Prevention Database of Consultants. This searchable online database provides access to HIV prevention consultants across the Region. Consultants can be contracted directly from the site or through the TSF system.

HDA is a member of a consortium led by the European Consulting Organisation that sources and manages consultants for the EuropeanAid/ 119860 Framework Lot 8 (Health).

Research and Technical Support to HIV/AIDS Programmes

HDA conducts high quality research and monitoring and evaluation of interventions. Monitoring and evaluation support is provided to complex multi-sectoral national programmes and to smaller scale projects undertaken by the private sector or civil society organisations. Our research services include systematic literature reviews and synthesis of complex information into user-friendly formats targeting policy-makers and planners, as well as design, management and analysis of quantitative and qualitative studies. We work with our clients to refine their research questions and to design and conduct studies that best meet their needs. HDA brings HIV/AIDS specialist knowledge, strategic planning experience and policy development expertise to the design, interpretation and dissemination of the research that we undertake.

Development and Support of Sustainable Interventions for Orphans and Vulnerable Children

Our work in this area encompasses the development and analysis of OVC policies, assessment of impacts of orphaning and other vulnerabilities on children's rights, design and evaluation of interventions and capacity development to support communities in implementing OVC interventions. We have developed, piloted and currently implement community based models of OVC support in several ongoing projects. HDA developed and uses the “Circles of Support” model. In this approach, communities are capacitated to identify and use existing resources to support OVC living in the community, with the school as the central supporting structure.

Behaviour Change Communication

We provide technical assistance to the design and implementation of strategic health communication programmes which influence individual behaviour and collective action. We conduct formative research to guide message development and execution, pre-test materials and media, evaluate the effectiveness of communication on intended outcomes and provide strategic input for the modification and improvement of communication interventions. Analytic methods we use include propensity score matching and other multivariate techniques to measure programme impact. We provide behaviour change communication services to complex programmes with national coverage and community-specific communication interventions.

Capacity Building and Implementation

We conduct training and on-the-job mentoring, develop and disseminate tools and materials and provide implementation support in order to strengthen responses to HIV/AIDS and other development challenges. Our capacity development work specialises designing programmes that are aligned to national priorities and building the capacity of community structures to implement these programmes. We work with stakeholders to embed our capacity development interventions within existing systems and structures in order to ensure sustainability beyond the life of the project.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Recent work ranges from evaluating the impact of national media campaigns to assisting in the development of strategies to monitor and evaluate the impact of HIV/AIDS and the effect of interventions. We are able to monitor and evaluate at all levels – from national and regional programmes right through to the local level, for example at schools, clinics or workplaces.