Explore EQUAL’s Theory of Change
The above helps to visually showcase EQUAL’s Theory of Change for driving impact. Here is more detail:
EQUAL’s ultimate goal: Reducing maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidities in low-income, conflict-affected contexts.
Research: To achieve this goal, EQUAL will conduct research on the policies and financing surrounding MNH in each country, examine the potential for leveraging community health systems for MNH service delivery and data collection, and investigate approaches for improving the quality of care in health facilities.
Research Uptake: EQUAL aims to ensure the research conducted is relevant to each local context and that the evidence generated can be used to inform concrete changes in maternal and newborn health policies and programmatic practices. To support this ambition, EQUAL will have a comprehensive research uptake strategy to ensure key stakeholders at global, regional, national and community levels are consistently engaged not only when the research is finished but throughout the entire research process. This will be coupled with strategic communications and dissemination strategies that allow increased visibility of the research and its findings.
Capacity Sharing: EQUAL aims to strengthen the technical, research, and operational capacities of all partners and key stakeholders. This means tapping into the unique strengths of each partner to share expertise across both global north and global south institutions. This includes dedicated training and mentorship for female researchers.
Impact: As a result of this work, EQUAL will expand the limited evidence around maternal and newborn health in conflict-affected settings and leverage that evidence to inform relevant MNH policies and practice. This includes contributing toward:
Better evidence-based policies and services in low-income, conflict-affected countries: The consortium will consistently engage policymakers, donors, and other key stakeholders to track changes in policy, practice, and funding related to evidence generated by EQUAL – for example monitoring any plans to expand use of methods tested by EQUAL.
Improved quality and greater operational relevance of research produced by EQUAL partners: Increasing the capacity of low-income country partners to design, conduct, disseminate, and fundraise for research will reduce the role of resource-intensive high-income country partners. EQUAL is investing in comprehensive needs assessments to examine each partner’s core strengths and areas for growth related to management, leadership, and partnership. This is core to EQUAL’s commitment to localization and shifting power to partners based in the countries where research and programs are implemented.
Increased research literacy among key stakeholders: We aim to see key stakeholders – including policy makers, community members, and providers – better equipped to assess, evaluate, understand, and use evidence generated through research. This not only helps ensure evidence contribute to policies and practices but also increases demand among stakeholders to see more context specific research that aligns with local needs and priorities.