Focused program implementation capacity development of local partner sub-awardees under Momentum Routine Immunization Transformation and Equity (MRITE) project

MOMENTUM Routine Immunization Transformation and Equity (M-RITE) is an award funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to holistically improve various public health outcomes around the world. John Snow India Private Limited (JSIPL), an MRITE awardee, provided support to Government of India (GOI) across 18 states to tackle COVID-19 through vaccine planning and prioritization for equitable delivery, supply chain and logistics, service delivery, health workforce expansion, capacity building, etc. JSI onboarded 70+ NGOs to facilitate the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines and reach the last mile, particularly, low-coverage districts.

Sub-awardee NGOs required specialized skills for managing health emergencies and massive roll-out of COVID-19 vaccinations in a short period. JSI realized that there were organizational capacity issues for managing health emergencies, particularly scale and magnitude of COVID-19 vaccination. Hence, JSI onboarded Samavit to assess and build capacities of its partner NGOs, so that MRITE’s pool of competent NGOs could manage not only the humanitarian emergency at the time, but also future emergencies concerning the underserved and vulnerable sections of society. The major objectives of this engagement for Samavit were to assess the capacities of 9 partner NGOs on financial and administrative management, HR competence, procurement, logistics, USAID/donor compliance, etc.; build capacities of partner NGOs on gaps identified through capacity assessment exercise; and develop and disseminate organizational best practices.

Samavit prepared a comprehensive organizational capacity framework (OCA) covering governance, administration, financial management, human resource management, donor compliances, statutory compliances, grant management, organization management, and program management verticals. Based on this framework, we created an Excel-based tool to provide scorecards for each NGO on these verticals considering their capacities. Key tests included in the tool were gaps/overlaps, clarity in processes, effectiveness, efficiency, transparency, and accountability. The NGO specific scorecards were used to prepare in-depth capacity building modules and deliver customized 2-day capacity building sessions for each partner NGO. Samavit also disseminated best practices during these capacity building sessions to enable cross-learning amongst partner NGOs.

Samavit prepared in-depth capacity assessment reports and operational best practices for each partner NGO to disseminate the results of the OCA exercise. Following that, Samavit developed customized capacity building modules for each NGO, and delivered 2-day in-person capacity building sessions to the NGOs’ leadership team and relevant staff.