Capacity Building

Increasing local capacity is a central focus of Advancing Partners & Communities (APC). Through targeted assistance, APC prepares organizations to receive USAID funds and implement successful programs. APC’s capacity-building approach includes strengthening organizations’ ability to comply with USAID regulations, identifying issues and challenges to determine innovative solutions, strengthening monitoring and evaluation systems, and supporting learning for community-based family planning and other health approaches. This level of capacity building will help ensure the sustainability and scalability of community-based approaches.

Photo credit: Arne Hoel/World Bank

Below you will find links to resources created by APC and other organizations.

APC Resources

Local Capacity Initiative Final Report
May 2019 | Report

In 2013, the U.S. Government, with funding from PEPFAR, established the Local Capacity Initiative (LCI) to strengthen sustainability of national HIV and AIDS responses through increased advocacy capacity of local NGOs. Read the final report which talks about the work done from 2014 -2018, where USAID and CDC made awards to local organizations through APC in 14 countries/regions which focused on designing and implementing local solutions to policy barriers that impede key populations’access to HIV and other health services.

Strengthening and Integrating Mental Health and Psychosocial Services in Iraq
March 2019 | Project Highlight

APC's GBV programming in Iraq focuses on creating spaces within facilities to provide services and linking them to communities and homes where women and men can feel more comfortable sharing their need for support. Community mobilizers are trained on how to make referrals, identify cases, conduct safety audits, and develop community mobilization strategies before they are deployed to the community to talk about how to prevent GBV.

Where Gender-Based Violence Meets HIV
March 2019 | Project Highlight

APC’s GBV project in Guyana multiplies the effects of PEPFAR investments by integrating GBV prevention and response into existing HIV prevention, care, and treatment programs in community-based organizations and health services. This includes supporting and developing national guidelines, strengthening coordination across sectors, and building the capacity of and linkages between clinics and community-based services in GBV prevention.

Strengthening Health Services Post-Ebola: Country Program in Review Sierra Leone
March 2019 | Report

In July 2016, the USAID-­funded APC project launched the Strengthening Health Services post-­Ebola (SHSPE) program. Implemented by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc., the program was initiated to support the Comprehensive Program for Ebola Survivors (CPES) and prevent further Ebola virus disease transmission by reducing the risks of resurgence; providing clinical services to survivors; and defining strategies to reducing stigma, discrimination, and other barriers to survivors accessing health and social services.

Country Program in Review: Haiti
March 2019 | Report

From 2014 to September 2017, APC supported 11 local organizations in Haiti whose missions range from providing health care and outreach to specific populations—such as prisoners, disabled people, and schoolchildren—to distributing medical commodities countrywide. APC built organizational and staff capacity to ensure that grantees could implement operational and technical programs in alignment with their USAID award and deliver high ­quality services. Learn more about the full program.

Responding to Ebola Survivor Needs Strengthens the Health System in Sierra Leone
February 2019 | Brief

Ebola survivors are particularly vulnerable to ongoing health, economic, and social challenges. In November 2015, the Government established the Comprehensive Program for Ebola Survivors (CPES) as part of the ‘Resilient Zero’ pillar of the president’s 10–24 month post-Ebola recovery priorities. 

Baseline Ebola Survivor Assessment in Liberia
December 2018 | Assessment

APC's ETP&SS program conducted an Ebola survivor assessment in four counties in Liberia using a mixed method of surveys and interviews. The assessment was conducted with the assistance of the National Ebola Survivors Network of Liberia and is focused on understanding survivors’ experiences when interacting with the Liberian health care system and their knowledge and perceptions of survivor representative bodies.

Community Scorecard Toolkit: Empowering Communities and Health Care Providers to Lead Change
November 2018 | Toolkit

A community scorecard toolkit was created as a part of APC’s work with The Local Capacity Initiative, which was established by the U.S. Government to strengthen the sustainability of national HIV and AIDS responses. The scorecard helps implementers of community health programs monitor and improve the quality of services at health facilities. It focuses on improving service quality and health outcomes for key populations receiving HIV services at community health care facilities.

Mentorship Assessment Tools for Guidance
July 2018 | Assessment Tool

These tools are intended to supplement the above training and be used at health centers where EVD survivors are being treated. Tools include assessments for county or district health teams and clinicians, as well as a patient exit interview template and materials checklist.

EVD Survivor Clinical Guidelines Training Curriculum and Trainer's Guide
July 2018 | Training Curriculum

This is an orientation for frontline health workers on providing appropriate and respectful care for EVD survivors; the curriculum takes three days to complete.

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Below is a list of key issues within capacity building that APC focuses on. Within each key area you will find resources related to capacity building that have been pulled from multiple sources. 

Organizational Development

Through organizational development, or building organizational capacity, an organization can become more effective, efficient, and sustainable, and ensure they are complying will all applicable USAID rules and regulations. Organizational development activities can focus on one specific aspect of an organization, or a wide range of areas such as financial management, human resources, program management, sub-grant management, and monitoring and evaluation.

Local Capacity Initiative Final Report
May 2019 | Report

In 2013, the U.S. Government, with funding from PEPFAR, established the Local Capacity Initiative (LCI) to strengthen sustainability of national HIV and AIDS responses through increased advocacy capacity of local NGOs. Read the final report which talks about the work done from 2014 -2018, where USAID and CDC made awards to local organizations through APC in 14 countries/regions which focused on designing and implementing local solutions to policy barriers that impede key populations’access to HIV and other health services.

Enhancing Organizational Performance and Impact
October 2013 | Webinar

Watch a recent series of webinars where JSI shared experiences in the growing and diverse field of capacity development. These webinars cover topics such as connecting organizational and technical capacity, developing capacity through grants, and responding to shifting demands in capacity development.

The Essential NGO Guide to Managing Your USAID Award
September 2012 | Publication

This publication is designed to assist NGOs to more effectively administer resources from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The guide aims to help USAID awardees (also referred to as grantees or recipients) clarify specific requirements, regulations, and compliance issues mandated by their agreements.

Organizational Development Toolkit
July 2012 | Toolkit

This toolkit from NPI-Connect is a compilation of sample manuals, forms, policies, and guidelines that were distributed amongst partners as guidance documents during the NPI program. The resources and tools included in this toolkit serve as examples for organizations to reference when creating organizational or project documents. These are not official templates. Organizations should adapt them according to the needs of their organization.

Technical Assistance

Technical assistance through trainings, workshops, guidance documents, and other means allow organizations to build their technical capacity in a specific technical area or areas. They also allow staff to remain up-to-date on the most recent changes to policies, service delivery guidelines, state-of-the-art practices, etc.

Improving Health Care Quality
November 2015 | E-Learning

The USAID ASSIST Project has launched an eLearning course on Improving Health Care Quality through USAID's Global Health eLearning Center. Free and open to learners from around the world, this course is the first of its kind to focus on quality improvement approaches and methodologies for low-resource settings. It is designed for anyone looking to understand how to improve health care, including health care workers and managers, government officials, donors, and implementing partners. It will help learners to demystify health care improvement, describe its underlying principles, and explain how proven interventions can be incorporated into practice for every patient. The course focuses on process improvement which has a large body of evidence in USAID-supported countries.

Peace Corps Maternal and Newborn Health Training Package
January 2015 | Training Guide

This training package, developed in partnership with Advancing Partners & Communities (APC), introduces Peace Corps Volunteers to the fundamentals of maternal and newborn health and exposes them to key concepts and global trends.  The training package highlights the latest evidence-based practices that can be implemented by Volunteers and their counterparts at the community level to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes. 

Developing Capacities of Community Health Workers in Sexual and Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health: A Mapping and Review of Training Resources
April 2014 | Journal Article

This paper aims to identify, organize and provide a synthesis of existing training resource materials for community health workers in different components of sexual and reproductive health and maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health as well as to determine gaps and opportunities and inform efforts to avoid duplication and harmonize approaches to training.

Program Design, Monitoring, and Evaluation of Family Planning Program: A Facilitator's Guide
October 2009 | Training Guide

This course provides mid- and senior-level country managers with the skills to develop project designs using a results framework. When these skills are used in the design process, project activities are more reliably linked to desired outcomes, and the elements necessary for success are more likely to be addressed.

Sustainability

In many cases the goal of building an organization’s technical or organizational capacity is sustainability of an organization or a project. Through organizational development and technical assistance, local organizations are able to increase the likelihood that their organization can adapt to a changing environment and have a long-term impact on their community.

Family Planning Sustainability Checklist
September 2012 | Toolkit

This resource is a project assessment tool for designing and monitoring sustainability of community-based family planning services. This document is designed to assist community-based family planning project planners and implementers to identify key elements to incorporate in a community family planning project to increase the likelihood of family planning services continuing beyond the project’s end.

Going the Distance: A Step-by-Step Strategy to Foster NGO Sustainability
September 2012 | Training Guide

This training guide offers practical strategies to help nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) plan and effectively navigate the ever-changing environments within which they operate.

Community Health Worker Motivation

In the face of global health worker shortages, the use of community health workers (CHWs) is an important health care delivery strategy for underserved populations. In Uganda, community-based programs often use volunteer CHWs to extend services, including family planning, in rural areas. This study examined factors related to CHW motivation and level of activity in three family planning programs in Uganda.

Support to the Policy and Regulatory Framework for Improving Community Health Systems in Sierra Leone
October 2016 | Summary

Advancing Partners & Communities has been an active partner in the Community Health Workers (CHWs) policy revision process, offering ongoing technical assistance to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MOHS) of Sierra Leone.

Expanding global impact through Community Health Workers: progress and challenges in counting CHWs
March 2016 | Webinar

On March 2, 2016, World Vision, Frontline Health Workers Coalition & One Million CHWs Campaign hosted a webinar: Expanding global impact through Community Health Workers: progress and challenges in counting CHWs. The webinar presented key findings and discussed the relevance of the journey “from fragmentation to harmonization” for the CHW community at large.

CHSS

Photo Journal - Community Engagement, Stories Of Change: Sustaining Health Facility Improvements Program
July 2019 | Photo Gallery

APC's Sustaining Health Facility Improvements (SHFI) program in Sierra Leone aims to engage communities, health service providers, and district authorities in building better systems, structures, and processes for conducting maintenance and preventive maintenance of health facilities by mobilizing community and government resources to fund it. This booklet provides stories of the work the FMCs and their communities have done, as they devote their time, resources, and energy to maintaining and improving their community PHUs.

Women Survivors Leading Post-Ebola Recovery in West Africa
March 2018 | Success Story

Women leaders of survivor organizations in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone are stepping up across the region to address challenges for Ebola survivors, while promoting gender equality in their countries.

Mental Health Nurses and Disaster Response in Sierra Leone
January 2018 | Journal Article

Advancing Partners & Communities has supported mental health nurses in responding to the mudslide disaster in Sierra Leone.

Building Capacity within the Sierra Leone Association of Ebola Survivors
January 2018 | Brief

The Ebola Transmission Prevention and Survivor Services program objective is to help the Sierra Leone Association of Ebola Survivors become an effective, autonomous institution that can serve and advocate for Ebola survivors.

Endline Infographic: Improving Community Health Services in the Post-Ebola Context
June 2017 | Infographic

This infographic summarizes APC's work in strengthening critical health services in local communities in Sierra Leone, with focus on reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health.

Technical Brief: Strengthening the Health Workforce in Sierra Leone
June 2017 | Brief

This Technical Brief provides detailed information on the capacity building work done by APC under the Post-Ebola Rebuilding Health Services project in Sierra Leone.

Controle De La Qualite Des Donnes De Planification Familiale A L'aide De L'outil RDQA Dans Les Regions Medicales De Dakar, Thies, Et St. Louis
April 2017 | Study

La présente étude se situe dans ce cadre et a pour objectif d’évaluer la qualité des données de routine dela planification familiale dans les régions médicales de Dakar, Saint Louis et Thiès au Sénégal.

Strengthening Health Services as Part of the Post-Ebola Transition in Sierra Leone: Community Engagement Implementation Toolkit
April 2017 | Toolkit

The purpose of this toolkit is to guide the community engagement process for improved community ownership of peripheral health unit quality and catchment area health outcomes in support of the project’s Community Engagement Implementation Strategy.

Life After Ebola: Mothers Return to Health Facilities in Sierra Leone
April 2017 | Photo Gallery

After the Ebola epidemic, a community health center in Sierra Leone is now able to provide improved quality health care services, including family planning.

Revue de Performance des Données de Planification Familiale au Sénégal
December 2016 | Brochure

Le projet Advancing Partners & Communities a apporté une assistance technique à la Direction de la Santé Reproductive et de la Survie de l’Enfant (DSRSE) dans le domaine du suivi-évaluation notamment dans le programme de planification familiale.

Revue de Performance des Données de Planification Familiale au Sénégal
December 2016 | Report

Pour repositionner la Planification Familiale, le Sénégal a rédigé un Plan d’Action National 2012-2015 (PANPF). Le principal objectif de ce plan est d’offrir les services de la planification familiale à 350 000 femmes additionnelles en union et d’atteindre un taux de prévalence contraceptive de 27% en 2015. 

Local People of Various Ages and Professions Trained to Promote Family Planning in Senegal
December 2016 | Summary

In Senegal, Advancing Partners and Communities designed an approach to convince non-traditional sectors and civil society organizations in regions with low contraceptive prevalence rates (CPR) and high unmet need for family planning (FP) services to support the Ministry's National Family Planning Action Plan (NFPAP).   

How Data is Strengthening Community Health Systems in Zimbabwe
December 2016 | Publication

In Zimbabwe, district health executive (DHE) teams are using community scorecard data to understand major health challenges facing local communities and taking action to reduce barriers to care. 

Understanding the Challenges of Delivering Community Maternal and Child Health Services in a Post-Ebola Context
October 2016 | Infographic

Following the Ebola epidemic, Sierra Leone faces challenges to rebuilding its community health system. This infographic helps explain the challenges of delivering community maternal and child health services in a post-Ebola context.

Program Overview: Sierra Leone, Liberia & Guinea
October 2016 | Publication

The Ebola Transmission Prevention and Survivor Services Program (ETP & SS) launched in July 2016 and is operating under the umbrella of priorities set by USAID’s Global Health Ebola Team. The program works with ministries of health and nongovernmental organizations in regions of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea that are most affected by the Ebola outbreak.

Sierra Leone: Community Engagement Implementation Strategy & Toolkit
April 2016 | Strategy

Advancing Partners & Communities has drafted a community engagement strategy for adoption and use by all implementing partners in the project’s five districts. In line with the project’s goal of strengthening health services, the strategy focuses on district- and facility-level interventions and emphasizes the role of community health workers (CHWs). The strategy complements other community-based interventions.

Advancing Partners & Communities, Sierra Leone: Program Overview and Accomplishments
March 2016 | Summary

Advancing Partners & Communities received a grant from USAID’s “Ebola Response and Preparedness” funds authorized by the United States Congress to strengthen critical non-Ebola health services, in Sierra Leone. 

Global Team for Local Initiatives (GTLI) works in southwest Ethiopia to facilitate local initiatives in enhancing long-term adaptability and resilience of indigenous communities in adapting to environmental changes. The organization implements projects in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), income generation, and education programs for adults and orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC). GTLI’s primary focus and impact measurement is behavior change.

GOAL’s health programme takes a health systems strengthening approach. This involves working with ministries of health (where they exist) to ensure the provision of appropriate, affordable, accessible and quality services to poor, and often isolated populations, with extremely limited access to such facilities. Our programmes are integrated with educational initiatives around a range of health issues, including HIV, WASH and nutrition, and we work closely with civil society and government in their implementation.

HealthRight International addresses health and social challenges aggravated by human rights violations for key populations worldwide. The organization focuses on issues related to HIV/AIDS, women’s health, malaria, tuberculosis, orphans and other vulnerable youth (OVC), and other individuals affected by human rights violations. HealthRight International’s Partnership for Maternal and Neonatal Health Plus (PMNH+) program was launched in 2012 under USAID’s Child Survival and Health Grant Program (CSHGP) to improve child survival and maternal health across Kenya.

Helen Keller International (HKI) addresses the causes and consequences of blindness and malnutrition by establishing evidence-based programs and leading research in vision, health, and nutrition. The ChildSight Program, originally created to improve the eye health of children in the U.S., has since been expanded to several provinces in Vietnam and Indonesia. Through their ChildSight Program, HKI aims to strengthen the capacity of the Ha Dong Eye Hospital’s health personnel to provide pediatric eye care services in the Quoc Oai District.

Co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, Humanity & Inclusion (the new name of Handicap International) is a 35-year-old independent and impartial organization working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. We work alongside people with disabilities and vulnerable populations, taking action and bearing witness in order to respond to their essential needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights.

We provide training and deliver emergency health care and related services to those affected by conflict, natural disaster and disease no matter where they are, no matter what the conditions. We train people in their communities, providing them the skills needed to recover, chart their own path to self-reliance and become effective First Responders themselves.

King’s will continue to focus on world-leading education, research and service, and will have an increasingly proactive role to play in a more interconnected, complex world. Students will be educated to become rounded critical thinkers, with the character and wisdom to make a difference in the world around them. Through the highest quality disciplinary research and interdisciplinary collaborations, our students and staff will develop insights and solutions for the many and diverse challenges faced around the globe.

Our mission is to provide a preferential option for the poor in health care. By establishing long-term relationships with sister organizations based in settings of poverty, Partners In Health strives to achieve two overarching goals: to bring the benefits of modern medical science to those most in need of them and to serve as an antidote to despair.

Partnerships from Every Child (P4EC) works to ensure vulnerable children who are, or risk being, separated from their family or community remain in a safe environment, free from poverty, violence, and exploitation. P4EC provides crisis care and support to protect children from abuse, discrimination, and exploitation across Moldova.

Pathfinder International is driven by the conviction that all people, regardless of where they live, have the right to decide whether and when to have children, to exist free from fear and stigma, and to lead the lives they choose. Since 1957, they have partnered with local governments, communities, and health systems in developing countries to remove barriers to critical sexual and reproductive health services. Together, they expand access to contraception, promote healthy pregnancies, save women’s lives, and stop the spread of new HIV infections, wherever the need is most urgent.

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May 02, 2018 | Blog

APC's Erchell Tibel discusses challenges and strategies to strengthening the capacity of USAID-funded Haitian organizations.

March 08, 2018 | Blog

Advancing Partners & Communities has supported the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and other partners to build the capacity of the public health system in Sierra Leone to provide evidence-based mental health services.

February 07, 2018 | Article

In order to support the mental health needs of those affected by the mudslide in Sierra Leone, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and the World Health Organization with funding from the UK Government, JSI and USAID quickly deployed Mental Health Nurses pulled from other parts of the country to provide urgent Psychological First Aid, focusing initially on psychosocial and trauma counselling.

January 19, 2018 | Article

Sorie Samura is one of less than 70 health workers who contracted Ebola and survived. He is now back in active service working as a Referral Coordinator for King’s Sierra Leone Partnership at Connaught Hospital in Freetown, the largest government hospital in Sierra Leone and its main teaching and referral hospital.

January 08, 2018 | Blog

Web-based visual story about Ebola survivors' personal experience undergoing cataract surgery.

November 27, 2017 | Announcement

During an official ceremony on October 25, 2017, the Guinean Ministry of Health (MOH) received the first of several shipments of laboratory supplies and medical equipment, donated by USAID through the Advancing Partnerships & Communities project (APC).

November 06, 2017 to November 11, 2017 | Event

Join Advancing Partners & Communities (APC) at the American Evaluation Association’s annual conference, Evaluation 2017, from November 6-11 in Washington, D.C.

October 12, 2017 | Announcement

On September 7-9, 2017, the West African Clinical Research Consortium (WAC), in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health and the Advancing Partners & Communities project, hosted over 150 West African and international scientists, clinicians, researchers, policy makers, and other stakeholders at a conference in Guinea’s capital, Conakry.

July 18, 2017 | Blog

In December 2016, ETP&SS supported the Liberia survivor association meeting and conducted interviews with five Ebola survivors and survivor association leaders.

April 10, 2017 | Announcement

From April 3-7, 2017, six staff comprising the Liberian National Ebola Survivor Secretariat visited the Program Implementation Unit (PIU) of the Sierra Leone Comprehensive Program for Ebola Survivors (CPES) to exchange ideas and learn from each other’s policies and practices.

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Check back again for related photo galleries or videos.

Ruban with his new equipment

Mykola Ruban an internally displaced person and wheelchair user from Ukraine received support from United Cerebral Palsy Wheels to pursue a new skill and give back to his community.

Sum Srey Norng is a 15 year old female who lives with her parents and 4 siblings in Bor Em Village, Rominh Commune, Koh Andeth District, Ta Keo Province, Cambodia. In April 2014, she was in a traffic accident when she crossed a road to collect lotus roots and fruit to sell.

Nam Ne is a 38 year old male living in Beung Run Village, Sombok Commune, Chet Borey District, Kratie Province, Cambodia. In October 2010, Ne had severe low back pain for unknown reasons.

Amadu Konneh and Joseph Diggs stand in the newly renovated office.

Short story of how APC helped organize the leadership of the National Ebola Survivor Network of Liberia.

Regional Health Service personnel going over the satisfaction survey with a patient in the Hospital Doctor Antonio Musa, in San Pedro de Macoris.

Key populations in the Dominican Republic have HIV prevalence rates that are six to twelve times higher than the national average of 0.8 percent. Although there are multiple players committed to tackling the concentrated HIV epidemic, large gaps in coverage and access to HIV prevention, care and treatment services remain.

Dora Dumbuya

A Survivor Advocate helped Ebola survivor Dora Dumbuya access appropriate health services—and ultimately surgery that saved her life.

In the Dominican Republic (DR), transgender (trans) persons experience stigma and discrimination in many different ways and are denied the same opportunities as other Dominicans. In recent years, more efforts have been directed at improving the quality of life for the trans community. However, these initiatives focus mainly on HIV prevention and treatment, ignoring the multiple socioeconomic and health needs of these marginalized individuals.

Sorie Samura

Sorie Samura is a referral coordinator in charge of referrals from peripheral health units and district hospitals across Sierra Leone for all Ebola survivors requiring tertiary care.

Photo of Vanessa

Nine-year-old Vanessa was diagnosed with viral meningitis after suffering from a very high fever and convulsions. Her aunt heard about the TEAM project and immediately registered her. The TEAM project is implemented through a grant awarded under APC, by World Vision, who will enable more than 1,900 people with disabilities including victims of war, especially women and girls, to attain and maintain maximum independence.

Isatu Bangura

Isatu Bangura was illiterate when she joined Advancing Partners & Communities' adult literacy program for Ebola survivors in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Now, she can read and write simple sentences and is on the path to self-reliance.

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