PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Teslim Aminu
AU  - Onajite Otokpen
AU  - Ijeoma Mmirikwe
AU  - Oluwasegun Adetunde
AU  - Ibidun Ajuwon
AU  - Adesina Adelakun
AU  - Abdulateef Salisu
AU  - Faisal Shuaib
AU  - Uchenna Igbokwe
AU  - Muyi Aina
TI  - Improving Program Outcomes Through Responsive Feedback: A Case Study of a Leadership Development Academy in Nigeria
AID  - 10.9745/GHSP-D-22-00121
DP  - 2023 May 16
TA  - Global Health: Science and Practice
4099  - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/early/2023/05/16/GHSP-D-22-00121.short
4100  - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/early/2023/05/16/GHSP-D-22-00121.full
AB  - Key FindingsThe National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) established a leadership development academy (LDA) to build core leadership, management, and basic functional skills in cohorts of 25–30 NPHCDA staff over 6-month cycles to coordinate and provide technical assistance interventions to all state primary health care boards.Capacity-building can lead to skill development if well aligned with clearly defined organizational functions and based on clear theories of change and action that must be developed together with the critical stakeholders within the organization.Program design must be suited to change and adaptation based on evidence generated from the key stakeholders involved, and changes driven by evidence from program data analysis can potentially increase the desired outcomes.Key ImplicationsPublic-sector organizations have the opportunity to incorporate responsive feedback (RF) in the design and implementation of capacity-building interventions to ensure the desired outcomes are achieved with mutual ownership.NPHCDA should leverage the learnings from the adoption of RF mechanisms in its LDA program design and implementation to improve other program outcomes.Background:In 2018, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), under the Nigeria Federal Ministry of Health, recognized that inadequate personnel competencies limited its ability to provide technical assistance to state primary health care development boards (SPHCBs). In response, NPHCDA instituted a cohort-based leadership development academy (LDA) to develop its staff’s leadership and management skills.NPHCDA Leadership Development Academy Program:A baseline assessment identified critical gaps in leadership and management competencies. Agency leaders and midlevel staff aligned on the gaps and approaches to bridge them. Participants in the LDA were selected across headquarters and zones to ensure equitable spread. The NPHCDA adopted a mix of capacity-building approaches that prioritized 6 core leadership and management skills with the application of the 70–20–10 learning philosophy to ensure participants learn and apply skills. Responsive feedback (RF) mechanisms were key in program design and implementation. NPHCDA collaborated with development partners through an iterative cocreation process to design and revise for implementation. The program embraced information and communication technology to collate qualitative and quantitative data across activities in real-time and used insights to drive continuous improvement.Results:Incorporating feedback from the first cohort led to an increase in the proportion of trainees acquiring intermediate to advanced competencies in target skill areas from 41% to 57% in the second cohort. The trainees have taken on more challenging roles at NPHCDA, delivering technical assistance to SPHCBs and bolstering the agency’s ability to independently execute activities such as the COVID-19 vaccine introduction. The agency continues to adopt RF mechanisms in the coordination and delivery of advanced technical training for staff and institution of a capacity-building and acculturation program for new hires.Conclusion:RF has demonstrated that identifying and engaging key stakeholders to participate in continuous learning and adaptation is critical to achieving program effectiveness and sustainability.