Selecting Key Indicators for Male Engagement in Family Planning: Forum Report

Author(s): Brittany Iskarpatyoti, Bridgit Adamou

Year: 2018

Abstract:

Although male engagement is becoming more common in family planning strategies and interventions, effective monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of this approach lags. MEASURE Evaluation—funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)—conducted a review: “Male Engagement in Family Planning: Gaps in Monitoring and Evaluation” (Adamou, Iskarpatyoti, Agala, & Mejia, 2017). The report identifies gaps in the M&E of male engagement in FP (MEFP) and makes recommendations to address them. One recommendation was to identify strong, high-quality indicators to monitor and evaluate MEFP interventions. 

To achieve consensus on key indicators for MEFP, MEASURE Evaluation conducted an online forum to discuss a set of proposed indicators with experts in the field. Forty-two people joined the online forum, hosted by Google Groups, over a period of four weeks. We asked forum participants to share their experiences with and reactions to the proposed indicators, explore potential missing key indicators and share solutions to reach consensus on key indicators for measuring MEFP. 

This report summarizes those discussions and the recommendations that emerged.