Practices: Health & Education
Equitable access to quality health and education services is a key link in fighting global poverty.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic is among the most critical challenges facing the global community. Good health, nutrition, and reproductive policies, and effective health services are critical links in the global fight against poverty. Education is central to development with its potential to empower people and build nations. Yet more than 900 million adults are not literate, mostly in developing countries, and more than 125 million children (mostly girls members of and other disadvantaged groups) who should be in school are not.
SI understands the need for comprehensive, integrated approaches to health, HIV/AIDS and education. We provide innovative, people-centered approaches to strengthen health and education sector organizations, programs, policies and services. Our approach increases equitable access to quality, cost-effective health and education focusing on the needs of women, children and other underserved groups.
Range of Services
- Strategic Planning and Program Design-participatory and results-based planning expertise to enhance performance of health and education projects, programs and policies.
- Performance Monitoring and Evaluation-design and implementation of education performance monitoring systems and evaluations so that health and education programs are better able to achieve results.
- Building Capacity-strengthening the core capacities of health and education sector organizations, networks and partnerships to achieve larger scale health and education outcomes.
- PROJECTS IN Health
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AIDS Support and Technical Assistance Resources Contract (AIDSTAR) Sector I, Technical Assistance, 2007-2011
The purpose of the AIDS Support and Technical Assistance Resources (AIDSTAR) Sector I Indefinite Quantity Contract (IQC) is to provide health technical assistance and implementation support to the U.S. Government (USG) in all countries where the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is providing HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment assistance. AIDSTAR will support USAID and the Centers for Disease Control in implementing the President's Emergency Plan and contributing to achievement of Emergency Plan goals in HIV/AIDS Technical Services. AIDSTAR provides the U.S. Government with cost-effective access to prevention, care and treatment expertise and implementation support to meet evolving HIV/AIDS needs. Social Impact is a subcontractor to Family Health International (FHI). SI supports the FHI team with services for program design, monitoring & evaluation systems and organizational capacity building.
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AIDS Support and Technical Assistance Resources Contract (AIDSTAR) Sector II, Capacity Building Assistance, 2007-2011
The purpose of the AIDS Support and Technical Assistance Resources (AIDSTAR) Sector II Indefinite Quantity Contract (IQC) is to provide organizational strengthening services to host country institutions, USAID and the Centers for Disease Control to more effectively manage scale-up and sustainability of HIV/AIDS interventions. AIDSTAR Sector II supports the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and operates in both focus and non-focus countries. AIDSTAR provides the U.S. Government with cost-effective access to capacity building expertise and implementation support to meet evolving HIV/AIDS needs. SI is a subcontractor to BearingPoint on the Sector II award and provides support in the areas of building capacity for results-based management, performance monitoring, organizational assessment, strategic planning and multi-disciplinary team work.
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TASC III: USAID, 2007-2011
For 40 years, USAID has worked to improve the quality of life for millions of people around the world through its global health programs. The purpose of the Population, Health and Nutrition Technical Assistance and Support Contract, Three (TASC III) is to establish a world-wide technical resource mechanism to support USAID Missions and Bureaus in their work to improve global health in the areas of population, health, nutrition, and infectious diseases. Based on task order requirements, Social Impact as a partner to the Emerging Markets Group may be expected to promote increased use of population, health and nutrition services through service provision at the community, district, or national levels for delivery of services at all possible levels of a country's health system. Requests also may include, but are not limited to: policy reform, behavior change, monitoring and evaluation, system strengthening, capacity building, and commodity system management and development. To learn more about acquiring Social Impact's services as part of TASC III, please contact Robert Bonardi rbonardi@socialimpact.com.
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Health Policy Initiative: USAID, 2005-2009
The Health Policy Initiative (HPI) is a five-year indefinite quantity contract issued by the Bureau for Global Health. Improving the policy environment is a critical first step for meeting many health and development goals. Policy decisions made at the national, provincial, and district levels determine which health services will be available, who can provide them and who is eligible to receive them. Through policy dialogue and implementation, HPI strives to improve the enabling environment for health&8212;especially for family planning, reproductive health, HIV and maternal health programs. As a member of the Abt Associates and RTI teams, Social Impact provides assistance in the areas of participatory planning for policy reform, gender and social analysis, partnership and capacity building, and performance monitoring and evaluation, including citizen monitoring of health services. To learn more about acquiring Social Impact's services as part of HPI, please contact Robert Bonardi rbonardi@socialimpact.com.
Rwanda-Building Capacity of Community-based Organizations working in HIV/AIDS: USAID, 2005-2009
The $40 million Rwanda HIV/AIDS cooperative agreement awarded to Cooperative Housing Foundation (CHF) aims to support the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through assistance to community-based services in HIV and AIDS prevention, care and treatment. SI is a major subcontractor responsible for developing and transferring simple monitoring and evaluation methods and reporting systems to a broad variety of community based organizations and government officials. SI provides two full-time staff in Rwanda to set up and manage the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit. SI also provides capacity building for local NGOs.
Strengthening Global Health Programs: World Bank, 2001-05
SI provided project design and technical monitoring and evaluation advisory services to Bank teams working to improve the design and implementation of health and HIV/AIDS projects and programs. The advisory services led to measurable improvements in project quality at entry (project design), a key determinant of project effectiveness. Projects include: HIV/AIDS projects for Burundi, Burkina Faso, Mali, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Zambia; Tanzania Second Health Development Program, Bahia Health (Brazil), Senegal Nutrition, Rajastan and Karnataka Health Projects (India) and Russia TB/AIDS Project.
Zambia—Participatory Design of National HIV/AIDS Program: USAID (Impact Note No. 5)
Download PDFStrengthening NGOs Working to Fight AIDS, USAID (Impact Note)
Multi-Country HIV/AIDS Program for Africa (MAP): Training to improve program quality, World Bank, 2002
The overall objective of the MAP, launched in 2000, is to dramatically increase access to HIV/AIDS prevention care and treatment programs, with emphasis on vulnerable groups. SI delivered training and provided consulting support for MAP project design teams for Mali, Senegal, Zambia, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia and Kenya. The training helped to clarify project outcomes, strengthen performance monitoring systems and better align each MAP project with country priorities and WHO indicators for national AIDS programs.
Kenya and Ethiopia—Collaborative Design of National HIV/AIDS Programs: World Bank, 2000
SI worked with the Bank's Multi-country Program on HIV/AIDS (MAP) to design its first two projects for Kenya and Ethiopia. Following initial preparatory work by the Bank, SI led participatory planning activities in each country involving over 50 representatives from MoH National HIV/AIDS program, other ministries, private sector health providers, other donors, international NGOs and people living with AIDS. SI worked with each group to develop a "Results Framework" with clear outcomes, objectives, performance indicators and assessment of risk. The Bank funded the two MAP projects with $50 million.
Dominican Republic—Participatory Design of National HIV/AIDS Program: USAID, 1999
SI led a national strategic planning process resulting in a new national HIV/AIDS/STD strategic plan for the D.R. The Ministry of Health National AIDS Control Program recognized the need for a heightened response to the AIDS pandemic and the need for community involvement and donor coordination. SI involved several hundred stakeholders, including the MOH, people living with AIDS, local and international NGOs, CBOs, churches, district health officials, private sector, community groups, USAID and other international donors in developing the national plan. The strategy document produced by the SI team was quickly adopted by USAID and the MoH.
Strengthening Health Partnerships: Pan-American Health Organization, 2004
PAHO increasingly relies on relationships with other donors, foundations and private sector groups to help support its work in Latin America. SI worked with PAHO's executive management team to create and deliver an innovative training program on Designing and Managing Public-Private Partnerships in Health. Thirty senior managers and department directors gained skills to plan, manage, monitor, evaluate and sustain health partnerships. As a result, each technical division made significant progress in building new or existing partnerships with foundations, donors, Ministries of Health and pharmaceutical companies.
- PROJECTS IN Education
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Strengthening Global Education Programs: World Bank 2001-04
SI provided project design and technical monitoring and evaluation advisory services to Bank teams working to improve the design of education programs. The advisory services led to measurable improvements in project quality at entry (project design), a key determinant of project effectiveness. Projects included: basic and primary education projects for Cameroon, Zambia, Mali, Mauritania, Indonesia and a $ 2 billion primary education program for Turkey. SI also supported secondary and vocational education projects for Zambia, Tanzania, Mali and Bulgaria. In a separate but related activity, SI reviewed and sharpened the Bank's global sector strategies for primary and secondary education.
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Jamaica—Resource Mobilization for Education NGO's, 2002
SI worked with Family Health International's Uplifting Adolescents II (UAP II) project to strengthen the fundraising skills and financial sustainability of 15 local education NGOs. SI's tailored workshops, coaching and virtual assistance ensured that the NGOs gained important skills in strategic planning for fundraising, resource diversification, budgeting, and proposal writing. As a result of the SI training and support, participants drafted stronger proposals and were able to access additional funds from new sources
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Benin—Education Management Information System (EMIS): USAID, 1999
SI worked with the USAID/Benin mission and the MoE to assess and strengthen the data collection and analysis process of USAID/Benin Basic Education Team (BET). SI assessed the integrity and usefulness of the system in providing data and analysis for the MoE and for USAID. SI recommended improvements in data collection and analysis systems including human resource requirements and specific software options. All major recommendations were used to strengthen the EMIS resulting in more timely and accurate data for decision-making.
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Bulgaria—Developing a Secondary Education Strategy: World Bank, 1998
Working with the World Bank and the Bulgarian MoE , SI led an activity to develop a twelve-year national strategic plan for education reform. SI facilitated the national strategic planning process with MoE and teachers groups, and provided training in strategic planning and team building to MOE and its partners. Based on the strategic planning inputs the World Bank prepared and approved a new Secondary Education Reform Project and MoE used the plan to secure funding for related education reform activities through USAID and EU.
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Kenya—Developing a National Strategy for Primary Education: DFID, 1998
SI worked closely with the Kenya MoE to design a national primary education program emphasizing primary education for all by 2010. Involving over fifty MoE staff and other key groups in participatory planning activities, SI helped them to create a shared vision, and a program ("Logical Framework") with clear goals, objectives, outputs, measurable indicators and assessment of risks. When MoE later presented the program design to the World Bank, DFID and USAID, each agency funded separate, clearly defined program components. The program has made marked progress in children's enrolments and quality of primary education.