Giving Compass' Take:

• Employees at VillageReach share how the organization navigates working with the public sector and local government to transition its role as "implementer" of social programs and solutions.  

• What are the complexities of working with local governments on social problem-solving?

• Read about why philanthropy should partner with government. 

“Sustainability” has long been a buzzword in the development community, but the road to long-term social impact is not always clear. Success often depends on an organization’s ability to support governments as they assume responsibility for and eventually own a program’s ongoing operations and management. If it can’t, the solution and its positive impact on the community can disappear or require external funding in perpetuity.

As our organization, VillageReach, seeks to improve quality access to health care in sub-Saharan Africa, we grapple with how to thoughtfully scale and sustain innovations by working with and through the public sector. The program we mentioned above, Chipatala cha pa Foni (CCPF), initially focused on serving the rural district of Balaka with maternal and child health information, but through the work of a broad coalition of partners, donors, and government agencies, it has expanded to cover the gamut of health-related topics—including infectious diseases; water, sanitation, and hygiene; and nutrition. The program also introduced youth-friendly health services in 2017, increasing young people’s access to sexual and reproductive health information.

Figuring out when and how to step back from the role of implementer, however, is complex. To gain confidence about our process and inform future transitions, we scoured existing literature and talked to transition experts to develop a framework that guides our efforts today—and that other organizations in the health sector and beyond might find useful. Below is an overview and how we have applied it to CCPF.

Based on our experience transitioning CCPF and other programs, here are five things organizations can do improve their chances of success.

  • Continually assess transition readiness
  • Evaluate and support skills and capacity.
  • Exit gradually.
  • Maintain flexible funding for future support.
  • Benchmark the risk.

Read the full article about VillageReach by Bvudzai Magadzire, Melissa West, Emily Lawrence, Julia Guerette & Barbara Jones-Singer at Stanford Social Innovation Review.