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A Proposal for

Building Resilient Capacity

for

Procurement and Supply Chain Health Professionals

Submitted by

Date: 27 September 2017

Board Member of People that Deliver Administering the IAPHL India Chapter Member of CILT India

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Contact Details

Primary Contact Name Prof. Paul Lalvani

Director Correspondence Address

Empower School of Health LLP Suite 325-327, 3rd Floor, Raheja Mall, Sector 47, Sohna Road, Gurgaon, 122018

Mobile +91 99.71.27.61.11 E-mail paul.lalvani@empowerschoolofhealth.org Website www.empowerschoolofhealth.org Secondary Contact Name Swati R Dutt

Sr. Executive Business Development & Partnerships Correspondence Address

Empower School of Health LLP Suite 325-327, 3rd Floor, Raheja Mall, Sector 47, Sohna Road, Gurgaon, 122018

Mobile +91 99.99.80.58.51 E-mail partnerships@empowerschoolofhealth.org Website www.empowerschoolofhealth.org

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I. Background

Empower School of Health has been conducting capacity building in Procurement and Supply Chain Management (PSM) since December 2012. More than 3000 participants have attended the certificate course representing more than 50 countries across the globe.

Empower has expertise in content development and providing end-to-end training solutions in the areas related to procurement and supply chain management. Empower starts with the gap/needs assessment of the client, and based on this analysis, designs a curriculum which is focused on the client needs. The training is imparted by accredited and trained faculty (CILT & CIPS certified, PhDs, medical doctors, graduates of leading universities). Over the years, Empower has been funded by various donors and UN agencies namely UNDP, UNAIDS, WHO and Department of International Development (DfID – UK) to provide training, education and continuous support in the technical areas, conduct policy research; advocacy based research, audits & assessments and provide advisory services.

II. Approach and Methodology

Effective supply chains not only help ensure commodity security, they also help determine the success or failure of any public health program. Efficient PSM is paramount to addressing the long-held goals of universal access to healthcare through the provision of reliably available, quality assured medicines. A well trained PSM workforce is needed not only at national level, but also at state and district level.

There is a need for training of PSM professionals on various aspects of supply chain management. Empower proposes to build resilient capacity for procurement and supply chain health professionals. Our aim is to strengthen the human resource development and management capacity within the supply chain through the framework given below:

1. Conduct competency assessment

2. Develop customised capacity building plan

3. Establish PSM peer-to-peer ecosystem

4. Provide technical assistance and

mentorship

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Educational Qualifications

Work Experience

Soft Skills PSM Profile

Domain

Competency

1. Competency assessment

Empower has been working closely in PSM HR assessments with People that Deliver (as board member) and co-developed a technical competency assessment tool for large scale deployment based on the PtD framework on HR Capacity Development in Public Health SCM. The tool has already been deployed in five countries (India, Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan and Zambia), with plans to roll out in other countries. This tool serves as a digital platform to conduct the PSM competency assessment for PSM professionals globally to measure capacity and competency at multiple levels—central, provincial and district; in different programs HIV, TB, malaria and other diseases.

This proposal is written for countries wherein, the PSM competency assessment exercise for professionals working in the Health Supply Chain Management programs will be conducted to identify the key gaps for targeting performance deficits, and supporting the teams in developing a strong capacity building plan and strengthening the systems.

The assessment determines the PSM profile of the assesse by asking a series of questions as depicted in the graphic:

2. Customized Capacity Building Plan

Given the findings from the competency assessment, an impactful, integrated, and inclusive Capacity Building Plan can be developed by Empower. It is recommended that the first step should be to assess the needs of the PSM personnel working in the center, provinces and at the local government level. This will help to identify the needs and then based on these findings, priorities can be established for each group of professionals.

To achieve the optimum results, it is suggested that this Capacity Building Plan be integrated into the departments to ensure sustainability of the project and will increase access of employees to structured training designed to enhance their performance in their respective areas, particularly in the field of PSM.

Empower proposes the following leaning modalities to achieve the objectives of the Capacity Building Plan:

Competency Assessment Tool & Self Analysis

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a. Face-to- face training programs

Empower conducts classroom based training programs on the agreed curriculum and design for the concerned staff. The training programs underline the key issues and challenges surrounding PSM and the overall management of the supply chain.

All the participants are evaluated twice during the training, based on the questions covering all the relevant topics of the training content. The pre-training assessment is held before the commencement of the training, to assess what level the users are at as a group as well as individually and it helps the trainers prepare for the training accordingly. After the successful completion of the training, post-training assessment is conducted to assess the effectiveness of the training and to what degree additional support may be needed.

b. Online courses

i) Empower School of Health offers online Post-Graduate Diploma in Global Health Procurement and Supply Chain Management, in technical collaboration with Kent State University, USA. The course is designed to prepare health professionals for challenges that deal extensively with the Procurement and Supply Chain Management functions, and introduces them to various aspects of management and leadership in the global health context. The course systematically explores the subject areas of Product Selection of Health Commodities, Quantification Methods, Procurement, Inventory Management, Storage and Distribution, Effective and Rational Use of Medicines and Quality Assurance of Pharmaceuticals, besides an overview of MIS, Organizational Management and Staffing.

ii) Empower also offers self-paced online certificate courses that focus on specific PSM functions and could be completed over a period of two months. These courses help the participants to specialize in specific areas of Procurement and Supply Chain and organizations in focusing on the most relevant topics for the respective departments and programs.

iii) Empower has been contracted by UNDP Global Fund Team, Geneva to manage and develop online courses in Procurement and Supply Chain Management. Under this assignment, Empower has developed and is managing a Moodle based open source Learning Management System, where courses on Supply Chain are uploaded in English, French and Russian. Empower is further mandated to develop more modules under this umbrella and translate the course in other languages like Spanish. The aim of the course is to describe the importance of PSM in ensuring the uninterrupted supply of life-saving

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medicines and other health products. c. Blended learning

With organizations becoming geographically diversified, training programs have to be more dynamic to provide a wholesome learning experience. Empower offers a learning platform that combines online digital courses with traditional classroom training programs.

The integration of online and face-to-face environment is the most cost-effective approach for building capacity of professionals spread across locations, programs and competency domains. It maximizes efficacy by matching the best medium to produce an optimal learning goal.

A blended learning model offered by Empower comprises instructor-delivered content, e-learning, webinars, conference calls, live or online sessions with instructors, among others.

3. PSM peer-to-peer ecosystem

Empower offers to establish an ecosystem that allows for peer-to-peer learning and professional engagement. This platform also allows managers to identify health professionals based on their geography, competency area, strength or weakness and accordingly to inform, educate and mobilize them as per the needs of the health system.

A similar platform for can be established for any country

MyPlatform

Includes: Calendar Meetings Announcements Chats Forums

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4. Technical Assistance and Mentorship

This platform delivers continuous on-the-job technical assistance on an as-needed basis. The support is designed to be a mix of automated ‘artificial intelligence’ support with predictive responses to frequently asked questions (FAQs), supplemented with access to PSM experts who speak various languages. This platform helps meet a continuous need for mentorship and support of health staff. The national partners will be trained to provide some of the ongoing support.

On-The-JobTechnicalAssistance

HowcanIhelpyou?

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III. Project Design Framework

Empower will follow the project design framework given below to achieve the tasks outlined above:

# Area of support Description Timelines Estimated Budget

1 Conduct competency assessment

Deploying digital competency assessment tool jointly developed by Empower and PtD for the entire PSM staff; providing customized report for each staff/department outlining key strengths and weaknesses

30 days Free for 50 staff. Thereafter, USD 20

per person in bundles of 100s

professionals

2 Develop customized

capacity building plan

• Conducting face-to-face training on procurement and supply chain topics, including leadership, management, and more (refer to appendix 3)

5 days USD 25,000 per batch (up to 25-30

participants per batch)

• Offering Post Graduate Diploma in Global Health Procurement and Supply Chain course (refer to appendix 4)

1 year USD 2,500 per participant

• Offering short online certificate courses

1-2 months USD 400 per participant

• Offering online UNDP PSM course 1 month Free

3 Establish PSM peer-to-peer ecosystem

Allows managers to reach the PSM community; and allows PSM colleagues to reach each other based on their geography, competency area, and accordingly to inform, educate and mobilize them as per the needs of the health system

1 month Free for 500 professionals;

thereafter USD 5/person/month

4 Offer technical assistance and

mentorship

Continuous on-the-job technical assistance on an as-needed basis with access to PSM experts

1 year To be discussed. Budget will be based

on the support needed

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About Empower School of Health

Empower is a global health research and consulting institute with expertise in Procurement and supply chain management and Access to Medicines, specifically in the following core areas:

► Classroom Capacity building programs ► On-line and blended learning capacity building ► PSM assessments and strategy development ► Supply chain operations consulting ► Sourcing of pharmaceuticals ► Regulatory sciences

Within these areas, our activities include research, analysis, learning and development, highlighting risk management, identifying needs and providing solutions. Empower focuses its research activities to help developing countries in Africa, Asia (including CIS countries) and the Pacific.

Areas of Expertise

► Capacity building (online and classroom) in procurement and supply chain management and public health across the global. The company has been conducting training programs of mid to senior officials from various countries (including India) with the support of various donors like UNDP, The Global Fund, UNFPA, USAID, USP, Roll Back Malaria and Stop TB Partnership (GDF)

► Conducting assessment and operational research projects in various areas including quality assurance, regulatory affairs, procurement and supply chain management, access to medicines and pharmacovigilance funded by various donors and UN agencies namely UNDP, UNAIDS, World Bank, Department of International Development (DfID – UK) and others

► Developing Supply Chain strategies for health programs thereby, improving health commodities availability by strengthening supply chain processes, practices and performance

Empower’s Vision- Empowering lives by promoting universal access to health and education.

Empower’s clients- Empower has a strong rapport with UN organizations and we have completed (or have in progress) various projects funded by UN organizations like UNDP, World Bank, UNRWA, UNFPA, UNOPS, UNAIDS etc. Empower has also worked for donor agencies including Gates Foundation, Department for International Development (DfID), UKAID and USAID. Empower has supported various Ministries of Health across the globe (Nigeria, Sudan, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ethiopia, Philippines, India etc.) and International NGOs such as Red Cross, Care International among others.

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Some examples of implementing similar assignments

# Name of project Client Period of activity Status or Date Completed

1. Modernization, development & management of the UNDP online Procurement & Supply Management (PSM) course

UNDP Copenhagen

Mar 2015-

Dec 2017

Ongoing

2. Introduction to Procurement and Supply Chain for Pharmaceutical to build capacity of staff in Philippines DOH and UNDP Country Office

UNDP / DOH Philippines

Apr 2017 Completed

3. Competency assessment of HR in Procurement and Supply Chain Management

UNAIDS RST Apr – Dec 2015

Completed

4. Capacity Development- Warehousing and Supply Chain Management of Pharmaceutical and Health Products

UNDP Zambia, MSL Zambia

Nov 2015- Jan 2016 Completed

5. Certificate course in Ensuring Product Quality in Procurement and Supply Chain Management

MoH

Zambia

Oct-Nov 2014 Completed

6. Certificate Course in Ensuring Product Quality in Procurement & Supply Chain of Health Commodities (Hyderabad)

Various: UNDP (Sudan, Zimbabwe), UNFPA (Yemen), CHAI, USAID, Ministries of Health

17-22 Feb T Completed

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Appendix 1- Key Advisors and Trainers

Appendix 2 – Empowers’ PSM Framework for Assessments & Capacity Building

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Appendix 3- Face-to face PSM training programs focus on the following areas:

• Product Selection of Health Commodities • Concept of Essential Medicines • Forecasting and Quantification • Procurement • Quality Assurance • Storage & Warehousing • Inventory Management • Distribution of Health Commodities • Effective & Rational Use of Medicines • Overview of MIS • Global Health Leadership • Organizational Management and Staffing • Financial impact of PSM & Basic Regulatory Concepts

Appendix 4- Empower ePGD course

Ever since the course was launched in 2015, we have received encouraging participation from various UN agencies, Ministries of Health and International public, private and civil society organizations from over 50 countries. We have now also been included in UNDP's annual capacity development budget wherein we get a minimum of 15 participants across all levels every year, funded by UNDP.

50+ORGANISATIONS

SUPPORTED

46COUNTRIESREACHED

2600+STUDENTSEMPOWERED