This page has been developed by M.Peyre, CIRAD-AGIRs and L.Hoinville, RVC .
| The evaluation context provides the background information that will help to make choices about how the evaluation needs to be carried out (Why? What? How?). |
What is an evaluation context?
Any evaluation is bound to a specific context (i.e. the surveillance system; the nature of the disease; the decision makers need; the cost requirements, legal requirements etc…). The choice of type, level and elements to be included in the Evaluation process will depend on the broader socio-economic context within which the evaluation is being performed.
Why is it important to define the evaluation context?
It is important to defined the most relevant question adapted to the surveillance context and user/decision maker needs. An evaluation protocol should be adapted to the specific case study context including, e.g., surveillance objective and decision maker needs.
What are the most important elements of context regarding surveillance evaluation?
Some elements of the context are essential to frame the evaluation and define the evaluation question and also to analyse and discuss te outputs of the evaluation by setting them back in their context.
Table 1 presents the elements of context which are essential in the framing of surveillance system evaluation.This table has been developed by expert opinion elicitation within the framework of the EU RISKSUR project.
Table 1. ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS of CONTEXT to FRAME the EVALUATION Process
| Context elements | Relevance |
| Surveillance objective | Impact on the selection of evaluation attributes |
| Hazard name | Provides information on the disease under evaluation which will impact the complexity of the evaluation (e.g. between animal disease and zoonotic diseases) |
| Geographical area | Provides information on the scale of evaluation |
| Legal requirements | Provides information on the need to meet an effectiveness target or not |
| Strengths and weaknesses about current approach | Provide summary information on the rational behind the decision to evaluate |
| Stakeholder concerns about current approach | Provide information on the involvement and interest of decision makers in the evaluation process |
| Alternative strategies to consider | Provides information on the type of evaluation required (based on a counterfactual or not) |
| Do you want to evaluate or change the system or some components in the system ? | Provide information on the level of evaluation |
| How many components will you include in this evaluation? | Provides information on the number of counterfactual considered |
| Are you considering risk-based options? | Relevant for the inclusion of the attribute risk-based criteria definition in the evaluation plan |
| Will you consider the costs of surveillance in your evaluation? | Provides information on the interest of economic evaluation |
| Do you know the current cost of your system and/or components? | Provides information on the data required |
| Do you have a budget constraint? | Provides information to define the economic evaluation (meeting a budget target or not) |