The IFGH 2013 Evaluation Report

The IFGH’s network of members brings together individuals at home and abroad from NGOs, healthcare organisations, academia, private sector, and more, who are all united by their commitment to health and development across the globe, particularly in low-income countries.

It is important to us that the work we do to support our user base of over 700 members is carried out in the most transparent and effective manner, and it is therefore critical that our work can be subject to objective and independent evaluation. Completed in November 2013, and comprising desk research, expert interviews and member questionnaires, the IFGH external evaluation report has been a crucial step in helping us to identify flaws, discover what we’re doing right, and most importantly, set our direction for the future of the IFGH.

Below are links to this important data:

1. If you’re short on time, there is the Executive Summary (PDF) of the evaluation.
2. Alternatively, to get a more in-depth look, download the full IFGH Evaluation Report 2013(PDF).
3. Finally, the IFGH’s management team has composed a Management Response (PDF) to the report, which highlights the next steps for the forum.

The evaluation highlighted a number of key areas where we met or exceeded expectations in our work. Examples of these included:

• The value created by the IFGH’s electronic communications in helping build capacity for our Irish members to engage in global health issues

• The catalyst role we have played in building collaboration and driving increased funding towards Irish academic research in global health

• Our ability to respond to the national global health policy agenda.

Nonetheless, challenges still remain – notably, whilst the IFGH is currently operating as efficiently as possible within the scope of its limited resources, expansion of our activities will not be possible in the absence of improved funding.

The IFGH could not have grown over the past ten years into the organisation that it is today without the tireless efforts of its executive committee and operations staff, as well as the valued input of its Irish and international members. It is our duty to ensure that we keep improving on the level of support which we can give to our network, and through good monitoring and evaluation, as well as responding to our members’ needs, we hope to continue to excel as a resource for the global health community.