My black folder (Delhi summer illness 1)

Since I have lost much of the two months to an extended illness -- and since my original reason for getting into public health was unsatisfactory doctor-patient relationships and inadequate assistance helping patients navigate hospital and health systems -- it seems to make sense to write about observations and frustrations I had seeking treatment inContinue reading "My black folder (Delhi summer illness 1)"

With great equipoise comes great responsibility?

I had the pleasure of giving two talks through a 3ie seminar series over the past few weeks, in London (chaired by the wonderful Daniel Philips) and in Delhi (chaired by the great Stuti Tripathi and ably discussed by the always-exciting Colin Bangay). I was also able to present at the London School of HygieneContinue reading "With great equipoise comes great responsibility?"

On reporting processes and details

This is a joint post with Urmy Shukla. . In this blog, we advocate the importance of in-depth reporting on implementation processes, evaluation processes, and relevant contextual details of interventions and linked evaluations. This will facilitate research transparency, as well as assessments of both learning and the potential for generalizability beyond the original study settingContinue reading "On reporting processes and details"

Thinking through funnels of attrition

When first introduced to the idea of a funnel of attrition (my early attempt at a slightly more nuanced and symmetric -- but still generic -- version is here), I largely thought of it as a useful heuristic for thinking about sample size calculations, by being forced to think about issues of awareness and take-upContinue reading "Thinking through funnels of attrition"

For theories of change and study planning, assumptions don’t make an ass of u & me

Two nice posts came out yesterday that relate directly or tangentially to building theories of change. David Evans wrote about, inter alia, what lies behind a null finding, here. Marcus Jenal wrote here about how complexity shouldn't stop us from building theories of change, up front, so long as we stand ready to adapt (parts*)Continue reading "For theories of change and study planning, assumptions don’t make an ass of u & me"

I feel like an #oddeven party pooper (reducing and working are not the same)

There are two nice, evidence-informed op-ed pieces out today on Delhi's odd-even scheme to try to reduce air pollution (here and here). The results are heartening because I didn't have a good sense of whether a two-week window of implementing a policy -- to which there were many exceptions -- was long enough to potentiallyContinue reading "I feel like an #oddeven party pooper (reducing and working are not the same)"

Delhi’s #oddeven plan had a significant effect on pollution

Agree that this is a potentially good sign about individual citizens being willing to engage in collective action - note also that many were most excited about lessened traffic, which is a good reason to think about inspiring collective action in ways that bring about both a public good and a private gain, allowing theContinue reading "Delhi’s #oddeven plan had a significant effect on pollution"

Gratitude.

Though it feels far less monumental than perhaps it should, I have done the electronic submission of my thesis, which is a big milestone in calling the thing done... or, more accurately, me degree-ed, regardless of how much more work there is to do. . I am sure I have forgotten many people but justContinue reading "Gratitude."

Strategy testing: a start

Thanks to Craig Valters, I was recently pointed towards a new case study In the Asia foundation's working politically in practice series, focused on a 'new' approach called strategy testing. Overall, I am sympathetic to much of the approach, though since I believe it has much in common with prototyping, product design and refinement, reasonableContinue reading "Strategy testing: a start"

More from #evalcon: program planning

Disclaimer: I always get quite frustrated when people seem to be reinventing the wheel, especially when at least the contours of the wheel could be found with a reasonable literature review that was somewhat cross-disciplinary (I am pretty sure this is still a reasonable expectation... perhaps part of the problem is that literature is insufficientlyContinue reading "More from #evalcon: program planning"