A Center for Disease Control-funded HIV comprehensive care and treatment program with offices in the United States and Cote d'Ivoire needed an evaluation. At the end of its first year, the program wanted to evaluate its organizational structure and staffing to make mid-course corrections necessary for a strong and healthy program. The evaluation took place at the beginning of Year Two during a period of both internal project transition and external political upheaval in Cote d'Ivoire.

Working closely with the US headquarters and field based administrative staff, we utilized an evaluation model which views evaluation and project management as interwoven. It highlights applying findings toward project improvement. We considered contextual factors such as staffing plans and functional job descriptions, language and culture as well as organizational culture. Finally, we presented the results in a format for easy application to mid-course corrections.

• Internal document review
• Key informant interviews in English and French with US headquarters personnel, CI national office administrative staff, liaison and regional offices staff, CDC personnel

• Confirmed excellent program model which allows for productive relationships between project staff and Ministry of Health staff in country
• Revealed gap between job descriptions and day to day staff duties
• Identified areas of improvement for the reporting structure
• Developed easily-implemented recommendations for improvement of team meetings and e-mail correspondence
• Developed table of more immediate, short-term recommendations and more complex, longer-term recommendations to prioritize, begin and/or complete in Year Two of the project.