The INFO Project Blog

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Jane Bertrand about building monitoring and evaluation into family planning programs. Dr. Bertrand, who is the director of the Center for Communication Programs, home of the INFO Project, pointed to Colombia’s pioneering PROFAMILIA family planning program, an IPPF affiliate that is the largest not-for-profit FP provider in the country.

In terms of organizations that have done M&E well, let me go back to a pioneer in this area, PROFAMILIA in Colombia in the 60s and 70s. They were way ahead of the competition, and their executive director, Miguel Trias, said at one point, “A day without data is like a minute without oxygen.”

In her interview, Dr. Jane Bertrand also advises program managers to use existing resources, to start monitoring and evaluation at the beginning of a program, and to be practical with planning and implementation of M&E strategy.

We conducted her interview and some 30 others for the Elements of Successful Family Planning Web site. We would appreciate any comments on the interview pages (login to post), or in a forum.

Plus, since it’s a social networking site, you can navigate through to see who the newest members are from around the world–there are about 230 members and visitors from 47 countries and territories.