FOCUS, an online social and behavior change/ communication strategy planner

Summary:

Save the Children's Behavior Change & Community Health team in collaboration with the Saving Newborn Lives (SNL) project have developed FOCUS, a social and behavior change/communication (SBC/C) strategy planner. FOCUS provides step-by-step guidance on how to develop or retrofit a SBC/C strategy. The steps and tools are designed to help SBC practitioners prepare and plan for effective SBC/C interventions through a comprehensive approach. After inputting information online, the final product is a draft narrative strategy that can be downloaded and further refined. While the emphasis of FOCUS is on maternal and newborn health, the tool may be used for other health topics, in any geographic setting, or for any age group. During this presentation, participants will see a demonstration of FOCUS and be provided with an actual strategy developed using the toolfor the U.S. Agency for International Development Wadata Development Food Security Activity in Niger.

Background/Objectives

FOCUS is a tool that can be used to develop a social and behavior change/communication (SBC/C) strategy for health and development programs and serves as a capacity strengthening tool for practitioners at the same time. Save the Children's Behavior Change & Community Health team in collaboration with the Saving Newborn Lives (SNL) project developed the online tool. FOCUS provides step-by-step guidance on how to develop or retrofit a SBC/C strategy. The steps and tools are designed to help SBC practitioners prepare and plan for effective SBC/C interventions through a comprehensive approach.

Description Of Intervention And/or Methods/Design

FOCUS uses an integrated SBC/C framework, based on the Socio-Ecological Model and several sets of behavioral determinants. The tool takes users through a five-step process (i.e., assessment, behavioral focus, creative process, delivery, and evaluation) adapted from several similar processes used in SBC, such as the P-Process (Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs), C-Planning for SBCC (Communication for Change (C-Change), and the Behavior Centred Design process developed by Aunger and Curtis (2016). Each step in the process builds on previous steps and is accompanied by tools that guide the selection of behavioral drivers and the development of the SBC/C strategy. The last section includes steps on how to roll out the strategy. Additionally, there is a resource section that includes definitions, additional tools, background literature, and a case study.

Results/Lessons Learned

The FOCUS Tool was made available on Healthy Newborn Network website in in mid-April 2018. Since that time, visitors from 58 countries have viewed the tool. Additionally, various teams at Save the Children are now using FOCUS to develop their SBC/C strategies along with partners (e.g., community, government, organization level partners) to facilitate a greater community-driven approach. Moreover, the tool has enabled teams to conceptually grasp SBC principles and present detailed frameworks to guide a variety of tailored interventions at different levels. Based on feedback by users, Save the Children's Behavior Change & Community Health team is in the process of refining FOCUS to make it more streamlined and easier to use for blended learning.

Discussion/Implications For The Field

In recent years, there has been growing concern about issues for which SBC is highly relevant, including for integrated programming beyond health, service delivery and resilience. As a reflection of broader technical application and institutional interests in high capacity and technical standards, there is need to applying the latest evidence, conceptual thinking, and best practices to maximize the quality and effectiveness of SBC/C approaches used in programming. It is based on these considerations, that Save the Children has developed The FOCUS SBC/C Strategy Planner. The tool is designed to improve practitioner's ability to synthesize data and information, apply SBC/C knowledge

Abstract submitted by:

Lenette Golding - Save the Children

Antje  Becker-Benton - Save the Children