Table 3. Description of the Assessment Stage and Contextual Factors Relevant for Establishing Policy Support Organization .

Description of the Stage	Contextual Factors Acting as Mechanisms of Influence on Stages of Establishment	Link to the Other Stages
Monitoring and evaluation of a PSO could be conducted either regularly or at key junctures to assess the overall performance of the organization or to assess specific activities and its corresponding product(s). Several approaches to monitoring and evaluation in a PSO were identified, which include: • Convening meetings/focus groups or conducting interviews designed to solicit feedback after the initial planning of the service38,76; • Conducting surveys to evaluate the outcome of PSO activities (eg, quantitative surveys of changes in knowledge, attitudes, and practice among participants in training workshops)38,39,41; and • Engaging external experts/agencies to evaluate PSO programs and services.46,62,76	Political system – Availability of resources • Monitoring and evaluation are essential in the process of developing a PSO, and this stage is influenced by the availability of resources, particularly human and financial resources, that can be mobilized to evaluate the organization and identify any needed adjustments,39,46,50,51,68,70 and therefore identifying funding resources that are easy to mobilize and utilize is important. • The level of complexity of the administrative formalities of the hosting organization for a PSO might influence the ability to evaluate a PSO as it can make the tracking process harder and more complicated.51 It is important to have a clear organizational structure, legal mandate, resources and task descriptions for the organization to be able to efficiently evaluate its performance in a robust way. • The clarity of the hierarchical consultative and decision-making chains within the hosting organization facilitates the assessment of a PSO and enhances the ability to point to specific areas that need to be changed to improve the organization,55,56 but this also requires being fully aware of the administrative formalities of the hosting organization. Political system – Trust between researchers and policy-makers • Involvement of researchers in the policy-making process facilitates the assessment of a PSO by identifying their needs and to design, implement and evaluate activities to meet those needs.52,76 Political system – Ideas about EIPM • The openness of policy-makers to change (eg, to hear the limitations of the organization as a way to change for the better performance) can facilitate monitoring and evaluation of a PSO.19,20,39,50,51 Research system - Availability of resources • External collaboration with research institutions or similar organizations facilitates a neutral assessment processes for a PSO, and the process is stronger if these institutions share similar context or are at least familiar with the local context.46 Research system – Trust between researchers and policy-makers • No evidence identified Health system – Availability of resources • No evidence identified Health system – Trust between researchers and policy-makers • No evidence identified	Stage 2 – Development Sustainable funding • After a period of donor funding is completed, organizations need to assess their situation and performance, which represents a good opportunity to make an adjustment in the organization’s location, sources of funding, and activities.47,52,64 Capable human resources • PSOs might hire an external expert/consultant to fill particular gaps such as reviewing a brief or evaluating PSO outcomes in a neutral way.46,62,76 Strategic organizational linkage • Collaboration and networking between PSOs and other organizations (particularly external agencies) might be utilized for the purpose of monitoring and evaluation purpose.46,62,76

Abbreviations: EPIM, evidence-informed policy-making; PSO, policy support organization.