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SCALING
UP
What is "scaling-up"? "Scaling-up" is
the process of reaching larger numbers
of a target audience in a broader
geographic area by institutionalizing
effective programs. While there
is no precise definition identifying
the amount of increase programming
or coverage required for scaling-up,
scaled-up programs usually reach
(or providing access for) much of
the targeted population within a
specified area.
Why is scaling-up important? In view of limited resources, and because the reproductive health needs of young people are so great, it is important to plan programs that reach as many of the targeted population as possible. The reality of HIV/AIDS has made this need even more urgent. What are the approaches to scaling-up? Adequate planning is an important component of the scaling-up process. Policy support, leadership, networks, and cost all related to the feasibility of "going to scale." Many of these factors can be identified in advance, during both initial project planning and also during the pilot phase. It is critical that all organization and "players" who will be counted on to move the program to scale must be involved from the start to best support expansion efforts. For example, many activities have been designed as pilot or demonstration projects, but have not considered the requirements of translating such activities to a broad scale. Thus ,even if such projects prove effective, a process is not in place to expand or scale-up. As a result, projects that are evaluated and show impact are often "boutique" projects — that is, they involve few participants at high costs and are unlikely candidates for effective scaling-up. The FOCUS on Young Adults Program identified four key approaches to scaling-up project activities. These included — Planned expansion — expanding the number of sites and number of people served by a particular program model once it has been pilot tested and shown to be successful. Association — expanding program size and coverage through common efforts and alliances across a network of organizations. Grafting — adding a new initiative to an existing program, such as adding sex education to academic school programs or making family planning programs originally created for adults more "youth friendly." Explosion — implementing at a large scale at once, usually with the support of high-level policy. What are the principles and lessons learned in scaling-up? Over time, a variety of principles and lessons learned have emerged that are useful for guiding scaling-up activities.
Most scaling-up within AYA will involve a combination of association and grafting, which are discussed n greater detail above. Using planned expansion for AYA scaling-up efforts would prove too costly without an infrastructure to build on and explosion would require significant financial and political commitments that are not currently feasible. AYA also faces challenges to its scaling-up efforts. Some AYA projects intended for scaling-up have not yet completed the pilot phase and as a result have not demonstrated their effectiveness and political feasibility. Moreover, in most of the AYA countries there are few nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that have the capacity to take projects to scale. As a result, in most project locations the government is most likely to be the only institution with the capability to scale-up activities in educational and health service programs. It is also important to recall that taking a project to scale benefits from changing the enabling conditions (policy support) and interventions that prepare staff before they being their professional work (for example, training teachers and healthcare providers in school that is, pre-service, rather than in-service, training). Such interventions are more efficient and help to reinforce and sustain the new intervention. |
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