A Journey Towards Self-Reliance

Session Date: April 22, 2021

Session Description: Innovators across sectors in global development have grappled with how to bring programs to transformative scale with sustainable impact. The Challenge Initiative (TCI), funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Bayer AG, is a “business unusual” approach that empowers cities to rapidly and to sustainably scale best-practice family planning and adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health (AYSRH) solutions for the urban poor. At the heart of TCI’s philosophy is the belief that scaling global health interventions without impact is empty scale; that impact at scale without simultaneously increasing cost-efficiencies is not viable; and that cost-efficient impact at scale that is not sustained will not produce lasting change. TCI’s demand-driven model is premised on a shared mindset and commitment to having local players lead, using data to inform problem-solving and decision-making, and achieving high impact at scale. To triangulate its varied data sources and assess progress, TCI developed the Reflection and Action to Increase Self Reliance (RAISE) tool to help local governments monitor and assess the quality of their progress towards self-reliance in Family planning programming. RAISE is an innovative, real-time data tool that assesses a city’s progress and its readiness to “graduate” from TCI coaching and financial support.

Session File(s) A Journey Towards Self-Reliance PPT.pdf