Advancing the Field of Measurement for SBC

Written by: Erin Portillo, Program Officer II, Breakthrough ACTION

Adequately measuring social and behavioral determinants is key to creating strong social and behavior change (SBC) programs. However, doing so is an ever-evolving art and a primary area of focus in the SBC community.

Therefore, it is no wonder that many of the top-rated sessions from the February 2019 Francophone Summit for Social and Behavior Change focused on this topic. In May, Breakthrough ACTION invited some of the most memorable presenters to participate in a post-Summit, French-language micro-learning series on Springboard. Videos and discussions can be found here for Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 in the series.

During the series, presenters Juan Andres Gil (UNICEF) and Anjalee Kohli (Institute for Reproductive Health) walked participants through existing and forthcoming tools for measuring the social and normative factors that are key to creating strong SBC programs. Danielle Naugle (Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs/Breakthrough ACTION) presented a case study demonstrating the link between measuring behavioral determinants and actual behavior change among pregnant women in Mali.

Finally, the moderator, Martha Silva of Tulane University/Breakthrough RESEARCH, and the presenters provided links to the tools and studies. These can also be found in the Compass Trending Topic: Resources in French for SBC Measurement.

As measurement in SBC continues to evolve, we are eager to include new and missing resources. Do you see something that should be included? Share it with us. Have you been working on research or other tools around measuring social, cultural, or normative determinants of behavior? Spotlight your work at the next International Social and Behavior Change Communication Summit, taking place March 30–April 3, 2020, in Marrakech, Morocco. Submit an abstract and help advance the field of SBC measurement.