Western Providence is a large, remote area of Papua New Guinea whose population of over 300 thousand people face numerous development challenges.  Since 2001, the Papua New Guinea Sustainable Development Program (SDP) has aimed to drive lasting benefits in Western Province through investments in education, livelihoods, and health. In 2024, as part of its strategy review process, SDP set out to develop a Measurement Framework to generate evidence that can track success and guide decisions.

IPA supported SDP’s overall strategy development with an evidence review to prioritize the key issues to address based on their importance, neglect, and solvability.  These issues were then incorporated into a Results Measurement Framework that defines pathways towards a goal for each issue, and outcomes that SDP can expect to achieve and measure along each pathway.
    
The Results Measurement Framework will be used by SDP as a tool to develop programming approaches, guide investment, and support the measurement of results.  To support the implementation of the framework, it includes suggested indicators for each result that SDP can incorporate into their data collection plans.  

An additional tracking tool was developed by IPA to provide SDP with a high-level overview of progress toward results across all issues.  Guidance was also provided by IPA for reflecting on data to capture lessons and make evidence-based adaptations to programs.  Additional advice on data management was provided to support SDP as they approach the development of a Management Information System. 

By strengthening their approach to results measurement, SDP can make evidence-based decisions that will direct resources towards the best possible outcomes for the people of Western Province in Papua New Guinea.

Implementing Partner