Thinking and Working Politically Through Applied Political Economy Analysis: A Guide for Practitioners

This guide provides information on how USAID can think and work in ways that are more politically aware, an approach known as “thinking and working politically” (TWP), through the use of Political Economy Analysis (PEA). PEA is a structured approach to examining power dynamics and economic and social forces that influence development. PEA can help to operationalize the process of thinking politically, while USAID’s initiative on Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA), supports the operationalization of working politically. Together, they can add significant value to a mission’s strategy, projects and activities.

Sectors

Democracy, Rights & Governance

Project Stages

Project Design

Links

SPRING Project Tools

SPRING publications curate evidence, best practices, and policies to help improve nutrition through health, agriculture, and economic development programs.

Sectors

Agriculture, Food Security & Nutrition, Family Planning & Reproductive Health, General Health (non FP/RH)

Classifications

Evidence, SBC Tools & Resources

Links

Social and Behavior Change (SBC) Program Monitoring

The SBC Program Monitoring course will provide learners with a foundation in monitoring for any type of programmatic intervention. The course is part of a comprehensive learning suite that includes a collection of resources to assist program staff to monitor their SBC programs by drawing upon proven tools and case studies. The course will equip learners to design their monitoring strategy.

Project Stages

Monitoring & Evaluation

Classifications

SBC Tools & Resources

Links

Maternal Infant and Young Child Nutrition and Family Planning (MIYCN-FP) Integration Toolkit

This toolkit is a strategic package of resources to guide program managers at implementing organizations, advocates, and decision makers through the processes of piloting, implementing, and scaling up integrated programs and advocating for policy change. These resources include: up-to-date global and country-specific background and reference materials to inform advocacy and assist with the design of evidence-based, state-of-the-art programs; job aids, curricula, and other tools to increase the effectiveness and quality of program activities and services; and, publications that detail key implementation processes and lessons learned.

Sectors

Agriculture, Food Security & Nutrition, Family Planning & Reproductive Health, General Health (non FP/RH)

Project Stages

Cross-cutting, Implementation, Monitoring & Evaluation, Project Design

Classifications

Community of Practice, SBC Tools & Resources

Links

Integrating Family Planning into Development Food Security Activities: Formative Research with the Njira Project in Malawi (FANTA)

This study investigated the demand and supply side barriers to accessing family planning that women with young children, adolescent girls and young women face. Employing a user-centered design, the research explored how the Njira project can create acceptable and feasible linkages—tailored to the needs of these priority target groups—from its project platforms to government family planning services. The study also explored community perspectives on connections between population growth, family planning, health, and food security to leverage the project’s health and non-health platforms in promoting social acceptability of family planning use.

Sectors

Agriculture, Food Security & Nutrition, Family Planning & Reproductive Health

Classifications

Evidence

Links

Global Health Learning Center: SBC for Nutrition Course

Interventions to foster changes in behaviors and social norms are an important aspect of efforts to reduce malnutrition around the world. This course aims to demystify Social and Behavior Change (SBC) design as well as share useful SBC-related resources. The course assists practitioners in understanding some SBC models that explain why people behave in certain ways, how behaviors change, and how SBC strategies apply these models in designing behavior-centered programs.

Sectors

Agriculture, Food Security & Nutrition

Classifications

SBC Tools & Resources

Links

Evidence of Effective Approaches to Social and Behavior Change Communication for Preventing and Reducing Stunting and Anemia: Findings from a Systematic Literature Review (SPRING)

SPRING conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed evidence regarding the effectiveness of Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) approaches to increase the uptake of three key nutrition behaviors: women’s dietary practices during pregnancy and lactation; breastfeeding practices; and complementary feeding practices. This review also identifies gaps in the evidence and provides recommendations for further areas of study. The SBCC interventions included in the review can be broadly categorized into three areas: interpersonal communication, use of media, and community/social mobilization.

Sectors

Agriculture, Food Security & Nutrition, General Health (non FP/RH)

Classifications

Evidence

Links

Desk Review of Programs Integrating Family Planning with Food Security and Nutrition (FANTA)

This report synthesizes learnings from 102 health and multisectoral programs, including a rich set of program examples and three case studies, to illustrate the various ways programs are integrating family planning with nutrition and food security interventions. Lessons learned, promising practices for programming, and recommendations for USAID are also provided in the report and brief.

Sectors

Agriculture, Food Security & Nutrition, Family Planning & Reproductive Health

Classifications

SBC Tools & Resources

Links

Biodiversity Results and Integrated Development Gains Enhanced Project (BRIDGE) Tools and approaches

BRIDGE is a five-year project (2015-2020) managed by USAID’s E3 Forestry and Biodiversity Office. The project advances the second goal of USAID’s Biodiversity Policy, to “integrate biodiversity as an essential component of human development.” BRIDGE collaborates with USAID missions and regional and technical bureaus to identify and promote integrated programming approaches and contribute to the evidence base for integration. The USAID BRIDGE project builds on lessons learned from decades of USAID initiatives to promote and support the integration of biodiversity conservation with other development sectors including climate change, DRG, food security, and health.

Sectors

Population, Health & Environment

Project Stages

Cross-cutting

Classifications

Evidence, SBC Tools & Resources

Links

Biodiversity Conservation Gateway Resources

The portal provides an open access communications bridge between organizations, communities, consortia, and global partners working on an integrated approach to natural resource management linking nature, energy, and human health. The portal is designed to foster the evolution of a diverse community willing to share their expertise, social and professional networks and work together across time and physical boundaries on the ground as well as inside virtual teams.

Sectors

Conservation

Classifications

Evidence

Links