Prepare To Scale Up

STEPS
BEFORE YOU SCALE UP
  1. Have a vision to scale up from the beginning of the project.
  2. Determine the effectiveness of the approach.
  3. Assess the potential to scale up.
  4. Develop an evaluation plan
  5. Build a consensus to scale up.
  6. Advocate for supportive policies.
AS YOU SCALE UP
  1. Define the roles, relationships and responsibilities of implementing partners.
  2. Secure funding and other resources.
  3. Develop the partners' capacity to implement the program.
  4. Establish and maintain a monitoring and evaluation system.
  5. Support institutional development for scale.

BEFORE YOU SCALE UP…

STEP 2: Determine the effectiveness of the approach.

It is important to establish that the technical intervention, methodology or approach that is being considered for scaling-up leads to desired results through carefully evaluated and documented research. The ever-growing demand for new and innovative approaches to involving communities in improving their health is, in some cases, leading to scaling up some approaches too quickly, without the necessary proof that the new approaches really do improve health or that they lead to other positive benefits and results. Scaling-up too quickly can waste limited, valuable resources that could be better utilized.

Documentation of a project's methods and experience is critical. It should begin at the beginning of a project and continue throughout its life. Many field workers don't have the time or don't like to write. Their experience gets lost because it has not been documented. To help field workers better document their experiences, they can try using audio cassettes or video, having regular meetings where minutes are kept, etc. Another reason field workers don't document their experience is because they may not think that it is anything special; it's simply what they do every day and they assume that others will not find what they have to say interesting or valuable. In this case, program managers can provide support by celebrating both little and big successes. Interested visitors can provide an outside perspective that helps field workers see how special their work really is.

To ensure that the approach is effective, both quantitative and qualitative evaluations should be done. Working with external evaluators is recommended because, although often more costly, they bring an outside perspective and can spot problems or positive aspects that those working on the program may not see. If evaluators are from another organization, the evaluation can be a learning experience for both organizations. The results of the evaluation will usually be received with more interest by other agencies, organizations and donors when the evaluation has been done by a respected professional who is perceived to be relatively objective.

As mentioned previously in the evaluation phase, participatory evaluation is also important because those who participate in the program know more directly what the experience has contributed to their personal lives and to the community in general. Often, they also know why certain problems arose and have good ideas about how to improve on existing methods. Community members who participate in evaluations and see the benefits of the program can be some of the best advocates for scaling up.