Benefits of Social Network Analysis for District Performance Assessment
Abstract
The district league table (DLT) as used by MOH to assess district level sector performance has generated useful insights and controversies in equal measure. Although the objective of the DLT remain noble, i.e. to inform stakeholders about decentralised service delivery, the tool does not provide sufficient information to guide stakeholders on how to support districts that are under performing. There is little information to provide plausible explanations as to why some districts make drastic climb or decline on the league table. The aim of this policy brief is to propose the adoption of social network analysis (and tools) to generate supplementary data that can better guide district and national level stakeholders to better recognize the drivers and bottlenecks of district level performance. Our study in three districts in northern Uganda demonstrates that social network analysis provides useful visual graphs and simple indices that capture the resource sharing and service delivery networks within a district. Our study findings expand the understanding of performance from the perspective of networks for district service provision, resource sharing and effectiveness of public and aid agencies at the sub-national level.
Citation
Ssengooba, F. Benefits of Social Network Analysis for District Performance Assessment. (2014) 5 pp.
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