Management Systems International

India/Nigeria/Mexico - Scaling-Up Successful Pilot Projects

Since 2003, MSI has been developing, implementing and documenting effective approaches for scaling up successful innovations by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the field of reproductive health. “Scaling up” can include widespread dissemination of a new technique, prototype product, or process innovation; “growing” an organization to a new level; or translating a small-scale initiative into a government policy. MSI has worked with twenty NGOs in India, Nigeria, and Mexico to help their projects have a greater impact in improving the reproductive health of the people they serve. This work has been funded by three successive grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the third of which is being co-funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

MSI first developed a methodology for scaling up based on fieldwork conducted in Mexico and Nigeria. MSI then extended its work to support the scaling up of successful pilot projects in India. MSI has also disseminated its knowledge on scaling up to others in the donor community through the publication of “Scaling Up – From Vision to Large-Scale Change” and through more than twenty public presentations, conferences, and international panels.

Specific examples of MSI’s most significant accomplishments include:

MSI trained staff from the Population Foundation of India (PFI) in the scaling up methodology. PFI is now serving as an intermediary organization transferring the methodology to local organizations. Together, MSI and PFI are assisting the scale-up of a variety of pilot programs, most of which are located in the northern states of India that have high maternal mortality rates.
The Home Based Neonatal Care (HBNC) model developed by the NGO SEARCH (Society for Education, Action, and Research in Community Health) has been approved for expansion to all of India by the government. MSI is assisting in that massive scaling up effort which is expected to train more than 500,000 health workers and have a significant effect in lowering infant mortality.
In Nigeria, MSI is supporting the scaled-up use of an Anti-Shock Garment designed to combat maternal death from hemorrhaging.
In Mexico, MSI is helping a local intermediary organization to promote the Government of Mexico’s national adoption of an innovative NGO-designed program to improve reproductive health and prevent unwanted pregnancies.

Through 2009, MSI will increase the number of NGO projects in India that receive training and assistance in implementing MSI’s scaling up methodology. At the same time, MSI will continue its efforts in Nigeria and Mexico. MSI will also produce several case studies of efforts to scale up specific projects or programs. These case studies will provide examples of what works and what does not work when attempting to take small pilot projects to a larger scale.

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