Dear colleagues,

Once again, we are delighted to offer you, our 4,200+ members, the latest news about SCoP activities and other exciting scaling news you have shared with us. This cover letter provides an update on some recent developments regarding the SCoP and on progress with our flagship action-research initiative on Mainstreaming Scaling in Funder Organizations.

Institutional Transition of the SCoP

As we previously informed you, we have been pursuing options for establishing the SCoP on a more formal and sustainable organizational footing than is currently the case. After having made some progress with Results for Development (R4D) in developing possible hosting arrangements, R4D’s management informed us that regrettably they were unable to proceed due to internal constraints.

With the encouragement from our Executive Committee, we are now focusing on five interlocking priorities for establishing the SCoP on a more formal, sustainable footing: (i) leadership, (ii) business model and plan; (iii) organizational platform; (iv) funding; and (v) governance. Any ideas will be much appreciated on how we can best raise critical core resources needed to continue providing the public good of an effective scaling knowledge and advocacy network.

Mainstreaming Scaling in Funder Organizations

In June 2024, we posted the Interim Synthesis Report for the Mainstreaming Initiative. It compiles and analyzes the experience from 13 collaborative case studies for a wide range of funder partners, including bilateral and multilateral official funders, foundations, challenge funds, and large international operating NGOs. In addition, we issued a Policy Brief that summarizes the key lessons for funders wishing to mainstream scaling into their operating practices. We also produced – and recently updated – a companion document on Scaling Fundamentals, which brings together different strands of the scaling literature and practice in a holistic approach to scaling that funders and their development partners can draw upon.

We are launching a series of dissemination events highlighting this work, starting with an open-enrollment hybrid event at SID on December 3rd. This open-to-the-public event will showcase findings from the Interim Synthesis Report and looks behind the veil at how the policies and practices of leading development funders support– or impede — sustainable scaling to achieve SDG and Paris Accord outcomes. The session will draw on findings from these and on-going in-depth case studies including bilateral and multilateral funders – AFD, GIZ and USAID; AfDB, IDB and the World Bank — along with a variety of research funders, vertical funds, INGOs and foundations. The 90-minute session will include significant time for Q&A with the live audience, and there will be a moderated discussion in the Chat for those participating online.

Work under the Mainstreaming Initiative will continue for another twelve months. We expect to carry out additional case studies, with a special focus on foundations and on funders supporting health sector interventions. We will complement this work with an analysis of the recipient experience, a review of the evaluation approaches of official funders, and with the preparation of a “mainstreaming tracker” tool that will allow funders to assess their mainstreaming progress. We plan to assemble the final conclusions of the Mainstreaming Initiative by June 2025 and then follow up with an aggressive dissemination and outreach program.

Annual Forum 2025

We expect to hold our next Annual Forum in the early summer of the fall of 2025. As preparations for this event proceed, we will keep you informed and seek your guidance.

With many thanks for your participation in the CoP,

Larry Cooley, MSI, and Johannes Linn, Brookings

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

From start-up to scale: pathways to #ZeroHunger – The World Food Forum brought together thousands of partners in the fight against
hunger. This hybrid at the Forum showcased the scaling journey of agrifood innovations, discussing key enablers and bottlenecks for
inclusive scaling and exploring stakeholder roles. Key outcomes included a deeper understanding of the importance of collaboration
among agrifood stakeholders, significant investment tailored to local contexts, and participatory and inclusive innovation strategies to
ensure no one is left behind. Supporting innovations with systems change involves unlocking viable funding, developing new
implementation models, and creating enabling policies and institutions. Transforming mindsets and norms that shape the behavior of
actors is at the core of systems change. The event identified the need for a strategic approach to enable innovation to scale within the
agrifood sector, promoting a more inclusive and resilient system. The insights from this event must now be translated into concrete
actions that make a real impact. Moving forward, FAO’s agenda for scaling up innovation involves leveraging its strengths and fostering a
culture of innovation and risk-taking. By continuing to build on the lessons learned and the partnerships formed, FAO and its partners can
drive meaningful change and contribute to the global effort to achieve zero hunger.

Contact Martina Miracapillo, [email protected]

International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

Scaling climate-resilient agriculture through GRAPE’s interventions – The Green Resilient Agricultural Productive Ecosystems (GRAPE)
Programme’s Field of Action 2 drives action-oriented research on innovative, climate resilient agricultural practices in Karnali and Sudurpashchim provinces of Nepal. By identifying and testing solutions across ecological zones, this initiative builds practical knowledge to strengthen resilience and
productivity. Community Learning Centres connect farmers with researchers to test and demonstrate climate-resilient solutions. Following a “seeing is believing” approach, these solutions are practically applied by community members, leading to acceptance and wider adoption. Recognizing their
effectiveness, local governments integrated Community Learning Centres into their development plans, allocating resources to scale them beyond the initial pilot sites. Further reinforcing its impact, GRAPE was invited by the Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture, and Cooperatives to finalise the Karnali Province Agriculture Development Strategy—a strategic document guiding agricultural advancement in the province. The project been instrumental in incorporating climate resilient agriculture into the curricula of Agriculture and Forestry University and Mid-West University in Nepal. The project now equips future agriculture and extension professionals with essential skills to apply climate resilient agriculture principles in their work. These scaling approaches extend GRAPE’s impact beyond the project, embedding climate resilience into educational systems, policy frameworks, and community practice.

Contact Sunayana Basnet, [email protected]

Climate Change

Results for Development Institute

Towards a just energy transition in Colombia – Political Settlement Analysis presents a framework to understand the underlying power dynamics, relationships, and agreements among key political and social actors within a specific context. Results for Development’s Governance Action Hub embraced the use of political settlement analysis, focusing on advancing a Just Energy Transition to support fossil fuel producer countries as they transition to renewables and other cleaner energies. The Governance Action Hub team started by targeting three countries: Peru, Colombia, and the Philippines. In the case of Colombia, by conducting thorough PSAs, the Governance Action Hub team has pinpointed where their efforts could make the most significant impact, particularly in addressing energy poverty. Their work goes beyond just identifying the problem—it’s about empowering local communities, aligning their needs with national initiatives, and ensuring that new energy investments lead to broader sustainable development.

Contact Supriya Sadagopan [email protected] and [email protected]

Education

Brookings Institution

Education leadership as balancing various forces, pressures, and system parts – Government decision makers in low- and middle-income countries must balance interdependent, often competing influences among global and country-level conditions, differing visions, various contextual realities, and domestic goals for improving their education systems. The analysis of this paper explores several tensions, including electoral politics and differences between a country’s national agendas and external donor priorities, homegrown innovations and externally developed innovations, cost-effectiveness and equity, and piloting and scaling. The paper introduces a practical heuristic that government decision makers might use to evaluate education innovations along three different continua: leaders’ motivation to adopt the innovation, the feasibility of implementing and scaling, and the innovation’s potential sustainability for more than a few years. The paper concludes with recommendations for new leadership roles, given the current global popularity of systems transformation in education.

Contact Molly Wyss [email protected]

Curious Learning

Scaling up early literacy via the Curious Reader app — Curious Learning is working to create a scalable, engaging, and effective approach to literacy learning. Through mobile devices and digital learning tools, they reach populations that may otherwise never have access to literacy learning capabilities. The app is a library of content available through learning games and interactive books. The newly updated version is now available in 46 languages and has already reached over 500,000 learners in 2024. The app measures literacy skills more effectively than conventional education assessments, offering an opportunity to study how digital learning tools affect learning. This collects real-time learning data, which the group uses to adjust tools for more effective and engaging learning.

Contact Creesen Naicker [email protected]

STiR Education

Enacting deep change in education — The Millions Learning team at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Universal Education, believes that sustainable education improvement could be more effective if two popular approaches – scaling impact and systems transformation – are integrated. Scaling for impact involves implementing a new innovation or initiative and expanding its influence across people and institutions to increase its effects. Systems transformation changes key parts of the educational ecosystem to influence overall interactions and dynamics. Authors present this concept, four principles for integrating the two, and six ingredients for the union to succeed. Attend the webinar on November 21st.

Contact Maya Elliott [email protected]

Oasis Initiative

Scaling the Centre for Girls’ Education Program in Nigeria — Since 2009, the Centre for Girls’ Education (CGE) in Nigeria has advanced girls’ education in Northern Nigeria by addressing cultural and socio-economic barriers. Through community-based interventions providing mentorship, scholarships, and community engagement, CGE supported over 62,000 girls aged 4-24 in accessing and completing their education. Emphasizing community involvement by collaborating with local leaders fostered a strong sense of ownership. CGE’s holistic approach integrates health, security, and socio-economic support to tackle issues like child marriage. Datadriven strategies allow CGE to adjust and report effectively on its programs, and sustainable funding efforts aim to embed initiatives within local systems through government partnerships. CGE’s adaptable model, designed for scalability, offers a framework that could transform girls’ education across Nigeria and beyond.

Contact Maryam Albashir [email protected]

Health

ExandNet

The Scaling Accelerators – Led by Dr. Haris, this ExpandNet-affiliated organization, based in Pakistan, conducts scale-up capacitybuilding with SZABIST University in Karachi and the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur. The Scaling-Up Accelerators (TSA) strengthens academic engagement to promote dissemination of the science of scaling based on the WHO/ExpandNet framework. Recently, TSA conducted specialized training at SZABIST (Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology) University in Karachi, Pakistan where faculty from multiple departments, including Public Health, Education, Management Sciences, and Biosciences, were trained as master trainers. This training empowers SZABIST faculty to embed scaling-up principles into the curricula they teach, thereby furthering students’ and colleagues’ understanding of how to ensure sustainable, impactful public health interventions. TSA also facilitated similar sessions for Master of Public Health students at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, expanding the University’s capacity to teach about scaling up health solutions regionally in Asia. These partnerships are vital in preparing a new generation of public health professionals equipped to tackle complex health challenges with scalable solutions .

Online Scaling-Up Bibliography – The ExpandNet network has been curating the growing scaling-up literature for over 20 years and makes it available to the field through a searchable Scaling-up Bibliography on the ExpandNet website. The bibliography includes publications, websites, gray literature, and reports that address scaling up across a variety of sectors and provide helpful insights relevant to scaling-up work. Materials come from of global health and development technical areas as well as the fields relevant to scale up such as management, policy and implementation sciences. The ExpandNet Secretariat seeks to support the growth of our collective knowledge and understanding of scaling up and, therefore, seeks recommendations for key resources that you and your colleagues feel may be missing from the Bibliography. We invite implementers, researchers, donors, and other key stakeholders from the scale up field to submit their recommendations for publications. To make a recommendation for inclusion, please contact [email protected].

Contact Laura Ghiron [email protected]

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Digitizing medical logistics management systems at scale in India and Indonesia – UNDP supports the use of digital platforms for scaling health logistics. In India, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with UNDP and Gavi, launched the Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) in 2015 to manage vaccine stock and temperature for 650 million doses annually across 29,000 health facilities. This evolved into CoWIN for COVID-19, which registered over 1.1 billion beneficiaries and tracked 2 billion vaccine doses, and has now expanded into UWIN for routine immunization, piloted in 65 districts with over 40 million beneficiaries. In Indonesia, the SMILE platform, developed with support from the Ministry of Health, Japan, and Gavi, has streamlined immunization supply chains, reaching millions and extending to HIV, TB, and malaria logistics. Its recent addition, ME-SMILE, digitizes healthcare waste management, tracking over 4,200 tonnes of medical waste. Both programs underscore UNDP’s commitment to scaling digital health, further advanced by the Digital Health for Development Hub, which facilitates global knowledge-sharing, support, and partnerships for resilient, inclusive digital health systems.

Contact Manish Pant [email protected]

Nutrition

HarvestPlus Solutions

A collaborative approach by HarvestPlus Solutions and CGIAR for iron beans in Kenya – HarvestPlus Solutions (HPS) and CGIAR are collaborating to combat iron deficiency in Kenya by scaling the distribution of iron-rich biofortified beans. The collaborations seeks to improve supply chains and boost market access to iron beans to reduce anemia and improve health among vulnerable groups. The project addresses key bottlenecks: low awareness, fragmented value chains, inconsistent seed supply, limited financial access, inadequate training, and policy gaps. They will coordinate awareness campaigns, strengthen value chain collaboration, support consistent seed access, develop inclusive finance alternatives, provide training for extension workers, and advocate for supportive policies. The partnership expands HPS’s impact-driven approach to new innovations, with similar projects planned in Nigeria.

Contact Carlos Urmeneta [email protected]

Holt International

Learning from the implementation of the Child Nutrition Program – Holt International’s Child Nutrition Program (CNP) is a child nutrition and feeding intervention. They recently explored the implementation of CNP in Mongolia and the Philippines using mixed methods including qualitative and quantitative data analysis. The analysis framework was guided by the WHO’s Monitoring the Building Blocks of Health Systems. Key informant interviews were conducted, transcribed, translated and coded. Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Surveys (KAPS) and pre- and post-tests from routine program audit data were analyzed. Analysis of nutrition tests indicate improvement post-training. KAPS indicate changes in desired practices from pre-training to post-training. Thematic analysis of interviews highlight essential components for program implementation and effectiveness, including strong leadership, buy-in, secure funding, reliable supply chains, training and adequate staffing. The next steps in growing the CNP could look to using scaling frameworks, such as the WHO’s Nine Steps for Developing a Scaling-up Strategy, to determine how best to increase the range of impact of this program at both national and international levels. Determining a scaling-up strategy could provide pertinent insights for expansion of the CNP and other similar programs.

Contact Emily DeLacy [email protected]

CAACP

Nutrition in the Next Decade of CAADP – As Africa faces a growing nutritional crisis alongside the challenges of climate change, rapid urbanization, and population growth, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) is taking a bold step into its third decade with a renewed focus on nutrition. In an ambitious forward-looking prioritization, CAADP’s leaders and member states are increasingly advocating for “nutrition-sensitive” Agri food systems and agricultural investments that prioritize the quality, not just quantity, of the food produced and consumed across the continent.

Contact Bertha Mkandawire [email protected]

Gender and Other

SPRINGImpact

Securing Non-profit Funding – Funding remains one of the toughest barriers to scaling – so how do non-profits that successfully sustain solutions at scale secure funding for it? And who’s paying? Spring Impact’s new report reveals the funding models that enabled 28 nonprofits across 70 countries and 10 issue areas to increase their reach and impact. The study paints a clear picture of the funding landscape, with unique insights into the trade-offs of different key funding sources—from philanthropy and governments to corporates and end users. By shedding light on the realities of securing funding, the report offers non-profits and funders valuable lessons on how to finance greater impact successfully.

Contact Iulia Schiopu [email protected]

Just Systems

JustSystems – This is a new effort that seeks to strengthen the supportive infrastructure for leaders in government and civil society striving to make public systems work better for people by making public systems more effective (at delivering outcomes), inclusive (in who benefits and decides), and dignity affirming (how people experience government) at scale. The effort is a spin-off from Co-Impact and housed at the Open Government Partnership. As a first step to achieve this goal, JustSystems reviewed 53 initiatives on advancing systems change and strengthening state capability, and consulted with 130 leaders from government, civil society, academia and philanthropy, largely from the Global South. They find that trust and relationships are the currency of change. Coalitions of the influential and affected are key levers for change. People need to be at the center of how we deliver and assess change, and strengthening state capability often matters more than advancing specific policy ideas or projects

Contact Risha Chande [email protected]

“Pairing insights from engineering, public health, and behavioral science to imrpove access to and use of clean water.”

By Abdul Latif, Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), June 2024

Low-cost, simple interventions like dilute chlorine solution or water filtration can reduce households’ use of unsafe or contaminated water—a key source of morbidity and mortality, especially among children. Full subsidies can expand access to and usage of water treatment options among households whose primary water source is not potable in low- and middle-income countries.

“Artificial intelligence to strengthen high school students’ writing skills”

By Absud Latif, Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), August 2024

Public high school students in Brazil often don’t have access to individualized writing support, which can negatively affect their performance in national admissions exams and future educational and career opportunities. Researchers evaluated the impact of giving high school students access to an artificial intelligence (AI) tool developed by the Brazil-based ed-tech literacy platform Letrus. The AI tool complemented teacher instruction by providing rapid feedback on students’ writing as they prepared for the national university admissions exam and freed up teachers’ time to give more individualized assistance to students. Students with access to the platform improved their writing abilities and increased their scores on the university entrance exam. A new Evidence to Policy Case Study from J-PAL Latin America and the Caribbean shares how the state government of Espírito Santo, where the evaluation took place, rolled out the AI platform to high school seniors statewide. Letrus is now pursuing partnerships with other state governments in Brazil to further scale the tool.

“Creating an NGO consortium to scale up every child counts”

By Sachit Manoj Deshmukh and Sahreen Shamim, July 2024

In a vast and diverse country like India, developing large-scale solutions for complex policy issues, such as foundational learning in arithmetic and reading, poses a significant challenge. With this in mind, J-PAL South Asia launched an innovative knowledge-transfer consortium for civil society organizations to share learnings about and accelerate the tailored adoption of Every Child Counts in India. In a blog post, authors unpack the motivation behind the new consortium and share how long-term, multi-stakeholder partnerships are critical for adapting evidence-based programs to local settings for maximum impact.