Interested individuals are strongly encouraged to apply for all three modules by 18 August 2017.Successful applicants will be notified by 27 August 2017 via e-mail.
Please check your Spam or Junk mail folders and ensure that messages that contain the words “Vaccination Coverage Survey Scholar” are white listed, as they contain important information. If you do not receive the confirmation e-mail, please write to [email protected].
VACCINATION COVERAGE
SURVEY SCHOLARConducting high-quality and statistically
robust vaccination coverage surveysA learning initiative aimed at epidemiologists and statisticians
interested in leading or supporting vaccination coverage surveys
Schedule overview
FocusApplication
deadline Dates* DurationEstimated
learning time**
In 2017, three digital learning modules
Module A1 Design a vaccination coverage survey, with a focus on objectives, scope and sample size calculation 18 August 28 August
–6 October 6 weeks 24 hours
Module A2Review a protocol for a vaccination coverage survey, with a focus on sampling and steps to enhance data quality
24 September 9 October –17 November 6 weeks 24 hours
Module A3 Data analysis for vaccination coverage surveys 5 November 20 November –22 December 5 weeks 20 hours
In 2018, a practicum combining action learning, leadership development, field work, and a summative assessment.
Module B1 Action learning and leadership (residential)To be
announced 2018
5 days 30 hours
Module B2 Field work: Country support and engagement 5 days 30 hours
Module B3 Summative assessment (residential) 2 days 16 hours
* For the digital learning modules (A) applicants will be expected to complete orientation activities in the week preceding each module’s start date. This purpose of orientation is to familiarize each participant with the learning environment and process. Participants only need to complete orientation activities once. The exact dates of the Practicum (B modules) will be discussed with the applicants selected by WHO after successful completion of Modules A.
** The estimated learning time required should be considered a minimum amount.
This announcement is intended for limited distribution through professional
networks only. Please do not post in nonspecialist or public forums.
What is this initiative?Vaccination coverage is a crucial metric in relation to the perfor-mance of immunization programmes and the health system in general. Surveys can be helpful to monitor trends in coverage while efforts to improve routine immunization data reporting systems are ongoing. There is a need to have reliable coverage figures to provide Expanded Programmes on Immunization (EPI) with reliable data to make sound decisions.
WHO has recently revised its recommendations for conducting vaccination coverage surveys. The 2015 WHO Vaccination Cover-age Cluster Survey Reference Manual includes guidance that aims at improving the design and implementation of coverage sur-veys, reducing potential sources of bias, and improving the over-
all quality, thus improving the accuracy of survey results. Some of the recommendations may not yet be familiar to Ministries of Health or immunization practitioners. They call for new ways of working, notably through close collaboration with survey statisti-cians and National Statistical Offices.
This learning and capacity-building initiative aims: ■ to provide the technical skills beyond orientation and towards
mastery application of the recommendations included in the re-vised WHO vaccination coverage survey manual and
■ to develop the leadership skills needed to ensure rapid adoption and use of these recommendations.
Vision statement: strengthened leadership is needed for vaccination coverage surveysWHO’s Vaccination Coverage Survey Scholar initiative supports the development of both leadership and technical competencies.
This initiative will challenge you to tackle the “why” as well as the “how”. It is about keeping focus on the global effort to reduce vaccine-preventable morbidity and mortality, and to improve the lives of children and their families.
Even with highly technical work, leadership is consistently described by practitioners as essential to delivering results. Examples include how to engage with a national immunization programme team, negotiate and influence a work process, or make the case for a specific decision.
Despite their importance, such leadership competencies are often left to accrue over time, dependent on implicit mechanisms, tacit knowledge, and informal learning acquired through experience.
This is why in this initiative, you will intentionally hone and develop leadership capabilities alongside technical skills. In the digital learning modules, you will learn to communicate and collaborate with peers to give and receive feedback. The Practicum modules will require team work and include a diagnostic of leadership strengths and a dedicated mentor to support your leadership growth.
Subject matter expertsWHO Global Immunization Monitoring and Surveillance
Carolina Danovaro, Scientist
Marta Gacic-Dobo, Manager
External expertsTony Burton, systems analyst (Consultant, retired from the World Health Organization)
David Brown, epidemiologist, Brown Consulting Group International LLC
Felicity Cutts, epidemiologist (Consultant, retired from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)
Mamadou S. Diallo, UNICEF
Dove Djossaya, statistician
Augusto Llosa, epidemiologist, EPICENTRE
Chesco Nogareda, epidemiologist
Dale Rhoda, Biostat Global Consulting
John Ndegwa Wagai, consultant
Aaron Wallace, epidemiologist, US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
Kathleen Wannemuehler, US Centers for Disease Control and PreventionIn addition to the design team, additional mentors and experts will
provide targeted support to initiative participants. Other invited experts from partner agencies may also be engaging with course participants.
Who should apply?You need formal knowledge of statistics and epidemiology or expe-rience in supporting household surveys. Whether you are an epide-miologist or a statistician (or both), you are strongly encouraged to apply if:
■ you already do some type of quantitative analysis in your day-to-day work or studies, or
■ you help (or wish to help) immunization program managers make decisions supported by reliable and credible survey data.
Graduate students from public health, epidemiology, statistics, and other related fields with some prior, applicable experience may also apply.
In each Module of the initiative, you will be encouraged to engage with the skill sets that may be outside of your comfort zone or pri-or experience. Starting in Module A3, you may find collaboration to be the most effective way to deliver results. Throughout the initia-tive, we will develop a common vocabulary between immunization, household surveys, epidemiology and statistics to serve the needs of such collaboration.
Pedagogical approachThe digital learning Modules will use the Scholar Approach1, developed by the University of Illinois College of Education and the Geneva Learning Foundation to support effective learning for global health and humanitarian work. This approach combines community of practice, knowledge co-construction, and peer review to support project-based learning. It was first piloted in 2016 by WHO to support country-level action planning based on the Global Routine Immunization Strategies and Practices (GRISP) guidelines2. The Practicum will rely on action and applied learning, leadership acceleration, mentoring, and collaborative methodologies.3
CertificationFor each of the three digital learning modules, WHO will issue a certificate of participation to those who participate in peer re-view and submit a revised course project. These certificates are required to be considered for the Practicum (residential and field-based modules B1-B3). Certificate holders agree to show upon request a portfolio of their work that includes the project(s) pro-duced in the relevant module(s).
Practicum participants will need to successfully complete a summa-tive (final) assessment of both their technical and leadership skills.
Upon completion of each module in the initiative, you will receive the recognition of completion from the World Health Organization.
This is intended to recognize both the technical and leadership skills that can help countries use coverage surveys to improve quality and impact of immunization efforts.
Starting in January 2019, the World Health Organization may: ■ consider certification as an important criterion for the selection of
consultants to assist countries in carrying out vaccination cover-age surveys supported by WHO; and
■ encourage countries and their institutions to recognize the value of certification.
What is the World Health Organization 2015 Vaccination Coverage Cluster Surveys Reference Manual?
The Reference Manual is a technical document developed by WHO to provide guidance in implementing and conducting high quality vaccination coverage survey to support and guide the immunization activities. When vaccination coverage surveys are necessary, WHO trusts that the 2015 working draft manual will ensure that they are conducted to a high standard and that results are used to improve programme performance.
What is “new” in this Manual? ■ The recommended statistical methods are fully aligned with currently accepted statistical practices, including probability sampling.
■ Surveys conducted following the recommendations outlined in the 2015 manual will be more rigorous than under the previous EPI coverage survey manuals.
■ Statistical expertise will be needed to help with sample size calculations depending on survey goals, to design the sampling procedures, and to conduct weighted analyses.
This manual is intended to serve as a practical guide to modern methodological standards for vaccination coverage surveys. It aims to:
■ Encourage reflective practice from definition of survey goals to design and analysis
■ Support practitioners throughout the complex process required to ensure that data generated can usefully inform decision-making
■ Guide appropriate analysis and interpretation of results
■ Help translate results and communicate them through clear messages that align to the original goals
■ Provide guidance on how to appropriately analyze and interpret results.
1. Cope, Bill, and Mary Kalantzis. “Conceptualizing E-Learning.” Chicago: Common Ground Publishing, 2016.2. Rudi Eggers, Jhilmil Bahl, Devina Ahluwalia, Bill Cope, Reda Sadki, Catherine Russ, Adam Rusch. The Scholar Approach for immunization capacity-building: Results of a pilot cohort to include GRISP
transformative investments in country immunization planning. Poster session presented at the Teach to Reach Conference (2016).3. Fuente: Brooks, Ann and Watkins, Karen E. (eds.). (1994): The Emerging Power of Action Inquiry Technologies. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, pp. 43-55.
Download the WHO Vaccination Coverage Cluster Survey Reference Manual
Three digital learning modules The World Health Organization (WHO) invites applications for three intensive digital learning modules open to epidemiologists and statisticians involved with or interested in vaccination coverage surveys.
These digital learning modules aim to develop both the technical and the leadership competencies needed to successfully assist countries in the adoption of the 2015 WHO recommendations for conducting vaccination coverage surveys that are needed to obtain reliable data for immunization.
Successful completion of all three modules is required to be con-sidered for WHO’s first survey methods residential and field-based Practicum that will start in 2018.
The digital learning modules starts with two six-week courses, covering concept (Module A1) and protocol (Module A2) devel-opment. Module A3 is focused on data analysis for vaccination coverage surveys.
These project-based digital learning modules can be completed while working full-time. They do require commitment but are in-tended to be manageable with day-to-day work.
No travel is required. All three modules only require a weekly com-mitment and a reliable Internet connection and web browser to par-ticipate.
What you will gain in each module ■ Discover and learn to use resources and tools prepared by global
vaccination coverage survey and other immunization experts ■ Learn skills directly applicable to the development of country-spe-
cific coverage surveys using the current WHO recommendations.
■ Connect and share in small peer-review groups and as a global community to share experience and best practices in vaccination coverage surveys with fellow practitioners and global experts from WHO and its partners.
What you will do in each Module ■ Participate in community activities and dialogue by completing
all required community tasks. ■ Develop a project that models real world vaccination coverage
survey planning and implementation. ■ Participate in the weekly discussion groups to present and discuss
your project, test your new skills, hone your communication skills, and role-play real world scenarios.
■ Peer-review the draft projects of other participants to learn from and provide constructive inputs to them.
■ Receive peer-review feedback from other participants about your own draft project.
■ Revise your draft project, drawing on what you learned from dia-logue, peer-review, and other activities, in the course.
How the digital learning modules will workTechnical requirementsApplicants are responsible for ensuring that they are able to meet the following requirements.
Information technology: You will need to access the course web site on a regular basis (preferably every day). Participants need to have access to a reliable Internet connection and a standards-based browser less than two years old (Firefox, Safari, or Chrome). Inter-net Explorer and Microsoft Edge users will be asked to use a stan-dards-based browser for the course. Mobile users will need to use Mobile Chrome in desktop mode when working on their course projects. Specific guidance will be provided to those who have band-width limitations, intermittent access, or may suffer from disruption of their connection to the Internet.
Languages: The working language will be English. Participants are encouraged to schedule extra time if they are not fully proficient writing in English.
Schedule and workloadParticipants should expect:
■ dedicate at least 4 hours per week to course work for each Module ■ participate remotely in the weekly, 60-minute group discussion
that will take place online once a week. (Recordings of these ses-sions will be made available for those who are unable to attend for valid reasons.)
■ complete activities that have been divided into short daily tasks intended to be completed in 30 minutes.
Each set of course activities must be completed within a given week. Participants may schedule their work at any time during the week, except for the weekly group session which is scheduled at a fixed day and time each week. (Those unable to attend for a legitimate reason will be asked to complete a catch-up task.)
Module A1Design a vaccination coverage survey, with a focus on objectives, scope and sample size calculation
28 August – 6 October 2017
Immunization programmes may include a request to conduct a vaccination coverage survey in their annual or multi-annual plan or an application for a vaccination campaign (Supplementary Immunization Activity or SIA). Countries will often request support to design and implement these surveys. In this Module, you will develop a concept note to describe the high-level design (including a preliminary budget and timeline) for a vac-cination coverage survey in response to a country request for support.
You will learn to: ■ Analyze a country request and its context to determine if a house-
hold survey is needed. ■ Define, validate, and refine survey objectives that support the coun-
try’s immunization goals, taking into consideration the survey’s scope (including target population(s), main outcome measures, and number of strata).
■ Calculate sample size requirements for different scenarios using WHO’s new recommended coverage survey methods and tools.
■ Outline two possible survey designs (including preliminary budget and timeline) and recommend one of them.
■ Describe the characteristics of the survey team, steering commit-tee, and other stakeholders.
■ Identify broad strategies to ensure that the survey will generate credible and useful results.
■ Describe ethical considerations.
You will: ■ Receive guidance from WHO and other vaccination coverage sur-
vey experts. ■ Discover real world survey stories from these experts about both
success and failure in designing vaccination coverage surveys. ■ Develop your own concept note in response to a survey request. ■ Engage in dialogue and activities as you develop your own concept
note. ■ Peer review the draft concept notes of colleagues in the course. ■ Role play country engagement scenarios to hone the skills needed
to respond effectively to a country request (whether or not a sur-vey is needed and, if so, what survey is appropriate, learning how to manage expectations and be realistic about time and resource constraints on surveys).
■ Engage in interactive dialogue and activities to support your learn-ing journey.
Module A2Review a protocol for a vaccination coverage survey, with a focus on sampling and steps to enhance data quality
9 October – 17 November 2017
In this module, you will review and improve a vaccination coverage survey protocol prior to its presentation to the commissioning country. This will include how to:
■ Propose sampling procedures to seek representativeness while en-suring feasibility and alignment to survey objectives.
■ Improve data collection tools to strive to better ascertain vaccina-tion status and other relevant variables.
■ Revise the training and field work plan seeking to anticipate and mitigate potential biases.
■ Advise on the data analysis strategy to ensure that it responds to the survey objectives.
■ Adjust the proposed timeline and budget based on the revised pro-tocol.
■ Review questionnaires and other forms to identify areas of im-provement.
■ Review the survey monitoring plan.
You will: ■ Draft a message addressed to the immunization programme com-
missioning the survey, in which you:a. summarize your recommendations to improve the protocol; andb. provide specific advice on sampling procedures, data collection
tools, training and field work plan, data analysis strategy, and the proposed timeline and budget.
■ Engage in dialogue and activities as you develop your recommen-dations and advice.
■ Peer review the recommendations and advice on the protocol pre-pared by your peers.
■ Revise your draft message using feedback received from your peers. ■ Give oral recommendations and advice to your peers. ■ Give feedback in response to oral presentations by your peers. ■ Learn to recognize and address common strengths and shortcom-
ings found in protocols.
6 weeks24 hours 4 hours per week
6 weeks24 hours 4 hours per week
Module A3Data analysis for immunization coverage surveys
20 November – 22 December 2017
Module A3 may be taken independently of the other modules. It is focused on dialogue and collaboration between analysts and commissioners. In this module, you may opt for either the ‘Survey analyst’ or ‘Survey manager’ tracks. Participants who are frequently analyzing data using statistical software will be suitable candidates for the survey analyst track. Participants who start in the analyst track may choose to switch to the survey manager track, but not vice versa.
Survey analyst trackSurvey analysts need to perform the following tasks to deliver the re-sults needed by the coordination team:
■ Prepare databases for merging and analysis. ■ Develop strategies to check for data consistency and correctness,
particularly for dealing with dates ■ Learn how to manage missing data. ■ Manage “unknown” responses (example: caretaker is unsure if child
was vaccinated). ■ Describe the sample and conduct weighted analysis. ■ Calculate survey weights and add them to the database. ■ Construct and analyze key vaccination indicators (i.e. crude and
valid vaccination coverage, vaccination timeliness and potential missed opportunities to vaccinate) to produce the main tables for a vaccination coverage survey report.
■ Produce compelling visualizations from vaccination data. ■ Interact with a survey manager to develop the results needed by
the coordination team. ■ Develop a common vocabulary with the survey manager to facili-
tate collaboration and dialogue. ■ Develop the executive summary of a vaccination coverage survey
report (i.e. the document that stakeholders are most likely to read) to summarize their findings.
Survey analysts will use Stata and the WHO VCQI (Vaccination Cover-age Quality Indicators) tool to analyze vaccination coverage surveys.
Survey analysts will receive a Stata trial license, usable for the full du-ration of this module.
Survey manager trackSurvey managers are members of the coordination team responsible for the vaccination coverage survey. They will collaborate with the sur-vey analysts to:
■ Explain and summarize the main survey results, including their lim-itations.
■ Explain when and why weighted results are appropriate. ■ Interpretation of the results: Extract meaningful insights and trans-
late them into important recommendations for immunization pro-gramme guidance and monitoring.
■ Interact with a survey analyst to develop the results needed by the coordination team.
■ Develop a common vocabulary with the survey analyst to facilitate collaboration and dialogue.
■ Develop the executive summary of a vaccination coverage survey report (the document that stakeholders are most likely to read) to summarize their findings.
Survey managers will also be working with a sample set of VCQI out-puts (a folder with tables and figures) and other resources to explore the concepts involved.
Module B1 Residential During the five-day residential component (workshop), participants will:
■ Form multidisciplinary teams with individuals who have comple-mentary statistics and epidemiology expertise and experience
■ Participate in a mentoring exchange, during which they will receive guidance from senior immunization mentors (mentor pool) and
vaccination coverage survey experts (expert pool) who will then provide ongoing support to both individuals and teams.
■ Prepare with their team for deployment during a field visit, includ-ing preparing a presentation based on the outputs of Module A3.
Module B2 Field work: Country support and engagement Each team will demonstrate and hone their leadership skills and team work by engaging with a country to demonstrate the relevance and poten-tial impact of the new coverage survey methods by:
■ Presenting the findings of secondary data analysis, based on the presentation developed in Module B1.
■ Introducing and explaining the recommended WHO vaccination coverage survey methods to country colleagues.
Module B3 Summative assessment Following the Practicum, each participant’s portfolio (consisting of their concept note; revised protocol; data analysis executive summa-ry; and country presentation) will be reviewed by the course team to assess their performance. Selected participants will then be invited to
complete a summative (final) assessment to validate their mastery of both technical and leadership dimensions in leading change to im-prove the quality and relevance of vaccination coverage surveys for immunization programmes.
B1 B2 B3 2018
A practicum for leading change in support of high-quality vaccination coverage surveysWhat is the Practicum?The Vaccination Coverage Survey Scholar Practicum is a residential experience blending digital (online) and face-to-face activities. The Practicum’s three modules include a residential component (B1), field work (B2), and a summative assessment (B3).
Eligibility requirementSelected participants are required to have successfully completed all three digital learning modules (A) to be considered for invitation by WHO. These activities will require you to be away from work, with the consent and support of your employer.
Overall objectiveBuilding on the skills honed in the digital modules, the Practicum aims to provide
■ accelerated learning focused on a set of key behaviors and pro-cesses (focused on key aspects in a concentrated period of time, when a full survey design requires 4-6 months)
■ real world experience in multidisciplinary collaboration, engage-ment with countries, and application of the recommended vacci-nation coverage survey methods.
Research and evaluationWHO will review the course projects and may consider some of them for use in the Organization’s communication, advocacy and training efforts. If this is the case, WHO will contact you to request your agreement and, if needed, to address any sensitive issues related to its content. Learners may also be invited to participate in education research by the University of Illinois College of Education to evaluate the efficacy of this learning initiative. Participation in this research is completely voluntary, and you may stop taking part at any time. In cases where learners do not consent, no learner data will be collected. Participation or nonparticipation will have no effect on assessment of your performance in the course or your present or future relationship with WHO.
A mentoring exchange to grow your leadership strengthsThroughout the Practicum, each participant will be supported by a mentor, an experienced and trusted adviser.
Who are the mentors?Mentors are “master performers” who:
■ know the immunization landscape and its stakeholders; ■ have demonstrated experience in delivering results; ■ are willing to share their experience of problem-solving when
facing real world dilemmas and complexity; and ■ have strong listening, feedback, and other leadership skills
Mentors may or may not have specific expertise in coverage surveys. This expertise will be provided by the Expert Pool.
How will mentors be assigned? ■ Participants and their teams will be matched to a Mentor (based
on experience, context, and needs). Both mentors and partici-pants will receive guidance to ensure that this exchange will be focused and productive.
■ Participants will meet for the first time with their Mentor during the residential (Module B1) and will then meet online on a regular basis throughout the other Practicum modules (B).
What will mentors do with participants? ■ Mentors will provide guidance, support, and feedback to both
individuals and teams, as they prepare for their field work. ■ Individual participants will focus on three specific leadership be-
haviors that are pivotal to their success and growth as immuniza-tion leaders.
Growing your leadership strengthsParticipants will diagnose their leadership strengths with a certi-fied Strengthscope® facilitator. This process measures work-related strengths (what energizes them and what they are great at) that en-able people to perform at their best. With support from your men-tor, you will learn to:
■ use these strengths to collaborate with your team and engage with stakeholders
■ optimize these strengths, to reduce your performance risks, and improve your effectiveness across critical behaviors and habits essential to leadership effectiveness.
Strengthscope® is the only strengths assessment to have achieved Registered Test Status with the UK’s British Psychological Society.
An expert pool to guide and challenge participants Practicum participants will gain access to a pool of vaccination cov-erage survey experts to support and guide their technical work. This multidisciplinary pool will:
■ include public health, epidemiology, and statistical experience and expertise.
■ support the course participants to design and implement vaccination coverage surveys using the current WHO recommendations.
■ guide participants in developing skills needed to analyze, discuss, interpret, and communicate results from vaccination coverage surveys.
■ challenge participants to consider immunization goals and to hone their abilities to promote sound decision-making in immunization programmes supported by vaccination coverage survey results. Strengthscope® is the only strengths assessment to have achieved Registered Test Status with the UK’s British Psychological Society.
Please address any enquiries about this initiative to:
Dr. Carolina Danovaro, MD, MScScientist, Global Immunization Monitoring and SurveillanceExpanded Programme on Immunization (EPI)Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals (IVB)World Health Organization20 Avenue Appia1211 Geneva 27, [email protected]
