Social and Behavior Change Capacity Assessment Report-Nepal 2018

Breakthrough ACTION Nepal is a two-year (2017–2019) project funded by the USAID and led by CCP in partnership with the National Health Education Information Communication Center (NHEICC) and Family Welfare Division (FWD) and in collaboration with USAID’s Strengthening Systems for Better Health (SSBH) project and other partners. The overall objective of the project is to strengthen institutional and technical capacity of the Government of Nepal to design, implement, evaluate, and coordinate effective social and behavior change (SBC) programs.

In 2018, Breakthrough ACTION Nepal, in collaboration with NHEICC, worked closely with government and civic representatives to organize and facilitate a series of systematic assessments to gauge capacity in SBC design, implementation, evaluation, and coordination.

The assessments employed a workshop-style format supplemented with key informant interviews conducted with internal and external stakeholders. The first assessment took place at the central level with NHEICC for which various SBC capacity assessments have been implemented in the past.

Overall, results from the 2018 assessment indicate a need for a robust plan and sustained capacity-strengthening efforts to reinforce the SBC system in Nepal. Major gaps identified in 2018 included program management (using evidence-based SBC program design and implementation), knowledge management, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) to strengthen outcome tracking and guide program design and refinements. Advocacy, coordination, and strategy development also were identified as specific gaps at the local level.

Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

Date of Publication: March 6, 2020