In Tanzania, orange has increasingly become the recognized color of family planning and reproductive health services. Population Services International’s orange Familia brand is quite common in most regions of this coastal country of 49 million. PSI, a global non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health of people in the developing world, has consistently and effectively branded everything in its nationwide Familia social franchise network since it began in 2009 with unforgettable orange and its semi-cursive Familia logo that bears a heart at the beginning of its name. All aspects of the Familia social franchise network from its clinics’ signage to the clothing of its health workers to its condom brand that claims in part 80% of Tanzania’s condom market and its health education booklets, all get PSI’s extensive branding treatment. The result: PSI Tanzania was able to serve 119,000 clients in 2013 through Familia via word of mouth and effective marketing.
Familia is PSI’s social franchise network of over 260 private sector clinics across 23 regions that primarily provides family planning, cervical cancer and maternal health services as well as health services for children under the age of five in urban and peri-urban community settings in Tanzania. Tanzania’s most remote areas are serviced by PSI outreach teams. Private sector clinics like Mission Mbagala Dispensary in Dar es Salaam, a Familia franchise owned by an area doctor, Dr. John, can accommodate 200 people a day in his small, yet efficient clinic that is often fraught with power outages and a lack of modern equipment. Dr. John says his clients want an ultrasound machine, for example, but a new one costs 23 million Tanzanian shillings or $13,600 USD. And yet through these challenges he says, “We always believe we should give quality care at the primary level.” A quick walk-through of Dr. John’s clinic shows sure signs of Familia branding from aprons hanging in reception areas to an orange-accented nurse’s uniform and Familia teaching materials. Tumaini Mission Dispensary, a private clinic less than twenty minutes away from Mission Mbagala Dispensary, also boasts Familia branding throughout its facility and is in the process of completing a brand-new maternal health unit to better serve its clients, but also lacks funding for beds and equipment, but has plans, perhaps overly ambitious, to open in January. Waiting areas, however, in both clinics were packed with clients showing that despite some challenges indicative of a growing network of health care providers who are now business owners, PSI’s Familia social franchise model is working and the trusted Familia brand brings clients through the door. It exemplifies that clients are willing to pay a premium for quality, private health care from clinics that are conveniently operating in their own neighborhoods. And when clients cannot afford to pay, the franchise makes up the financial loss through its paying clients even when it can potentially mean a loss in profits. Branded Edutainment On a humid, sunny afternoon in an urban Dar es Salaam neighborhood filled with shop stalls and crowded homes a performance group of spry, young dancers and accompanying drummers entertained a receptive, yet small crowd of curious community onlookers with lively health messages in Swahili about family planning. It’s what’s known as edutainment, a common awareness-raising and behavior change strategy that is often used in sub-Saharan Africa to great effect that shifts cultural attitudes about everything from having responsible sex to prevent the spread of HIV to learning how to space pregnancies. In Tanzania where the fertility rate hovers around 5.9 births per woman and girls begin having babies around 19 years of age, edutainment is another tool used by PSI on the community level that helps women and their partners learn to prevent pregnancies altogether or properly space them. Consistently wearing their Familia tees even during many dress changes throughout their performance, the troupe led their show with powerful dancing and then moved into short skits that re-enacted typical private conversations Tanzanian men and women have about family planning. The woman in the skit told her boyfriend that she wanted to use family planning and was quickly met with resistance. She said that often parents do not know the ages of their children because their spacing is too close together. It was only through consistent negotiations that the girlfriend was allowed to use family planning. This skit was telling, especially as only 24% of childbearing women use modern contraceptives in Tanzania showing that more education is needed across the board to increase the use of family planning in the country. The emcee of the dance group who had a microphone to amplify the troupe’s messages to the immediate vicinity told the crowd why family planning is important to the lives and futures of couples. He cited being able to properly feed children if couples don’t have too many children at once and having the luxury of planning and budgeting for their future without the burden of too many children who can be expensive in a country where the median salary is a mere $630 USD annually according to the World Bank. Edutainment like this is critical to spreading awareness about family planning especially to the youth who need to learn this information in their younger years to develop the right attitudes about family planning when they eventually begin having sex. The crowd was, in fact, mostly composed of community children who had just returned from school and hopped in the bed of a nearby truck or leaned against it as they watched the show. They sat in rapt attention and giggled when the dance troupe made suggestive sexual movements to bring home their message about family planning. But, as much as the show could be considered too suggestive to a younger audience, it’s precisely this audience that will change behavioral norms around family planning and reproductive health in Tanzania in years to come. PSI contracts with various dance groups across Tanzania to teach local communities about family planning through the cultural arts. Through all aspects of Familia marketing and branded edutainment, PSI Tanzania is working to ensure inroads in communities to improve the quality of health care services for local clients. Despite the challenges of rolling out a relatively new social franchise model that is just around five years old and the only one in Tanzania, PSI is working to reach more clients while addressing the key challenges that arise from introducing a brand-new health care model in a country that consistently suffers from a lack of trained health workers. Learn more about PSI’s work with health workers in its current issue of Impact. I joined PSI, Intrahealth International, and PSI ambassador Mandy Moore for three days of site visits in Tanzania to see their lifesaving work on the ground, particularly PSI’s Familia network and health worker training and Intrahealth’s health worker training and rural voluntary male circumcision programs.
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Increasingly, non-profit organizations like Population Services International (PSI) and Marie Stopes International (MSI) are applying commercial franchising strategies—like those employed by McDonald’s and Subway Sandwiches—to improve health in developing countries. Social franchising unites healthcare facilities and providers in a network with a common brand, strict quality standards, and specified health services at affordable prices. With years of experience behind them, PSI and MSI are the two leading organizations in franchising for health.
Under the Support for International Family Planning Organizations (SIFPO) projects funded by USAID, PSI and MSI recently launched the Social Franchising for Health course on the USAID Global Health eLearning Center. The course outlines the health system challenges that social franchising is designed to address, including:
Through interactive content and real-life country examples, course participants will learn about these and other aspects of the social franchising model. They will be able to articulate how success is measured, how social franchising strengthens health systems, and what best practices are emerging. To take the short course free of charge, register here. TITLE: SOCIAL FRANCHISE TECHNICAL ADVISOR (LAC)
DEPARTMENT: LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN (LAC) START DATE: SEPTEMBER 2014 (subject to approval of funding) PSI is a leading global health organization with programs targeting malaria, child survival, HIV and reproductive health. Working in partnership within the public and private sectors, and harnessing the power of the markets, PSI provides life-saving products, clinical services and behavior change communications that empower the world's most vulnerable populations to lead healthier lives. PSI's core values are a belief in markets and market mechanisms to contribute to sustained improvements in the lives of the poor; results and a strong focus on measurement; speed and efficiency with a predisposition to action and an aversion to bureaucracy; decentralization and empowering our staff at the local level; and a long term commitment to the people we serve. PSI has programs in over 60 countries. For more information, please visit www.psi.org. The Pan American Social Marketing Organization (PASMO) is a non-profit social marketing organization, operating in Central America (from Belize to Panama). PASMO is a network member of Population Services International (PSI), the world’s leading non-profit social marketing organization. Be Part of Something Powerful and Different PSI aims to make it easier for people in the developing world to be healthy and plan their families by marketing affordable health products and services (think contraceptives, condoms, HIV testing and more). We are a $560m enterprise based in Washington, DC, operating in the private and public sectors in more than 60 countries. We are also a leader in social franchising, an approach we use to improve the way health care is delivered through private sector channels in the developing world, that aims to guarantee access to quality health care at affordable prices. A bit about LAC and social franchising PSI currently implements programs in LAC in several different health areas (HIV/AIDS prevention, reproductive health, maternal-child health, nutrition, and diabetes, with a particular focus on gender and gender based violence). PSI is looking for a values-driven leader… someone who believes commercial business approaches can generate lasting social good. The Social Franchise Technical Advisor will lead our regional strategy and operations for social franchising in LAC. We are looking for someone who understands franchising and is able to manage change. Over the past five years, PSI has launched several social franchises across the Latin America region. PASMO currently operates its social franchise, Red Segura, in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The franchise has recently expanded to the Dominican Republic, and will soon expand into Honduras, and possibly other countries in the region. Additionally, the Technical Advisor will provide support to Haiti’s nascent social franchise, Plis Kontwol. The successful candidate will lead on executing a regional strategy for Red Segura within Central America, aiming to improve the sustainability of the business model. This job requires significant focus on the development, and subsequent implementation, of a truly regional strategy. The position will be hired by PSI, and will be based in the PASMO Regional Office (RO) in Guatemala City, Guatemala, with an estimated 40% travel. This position will report directly to the PSI Regional Director. If required and with good reason, this position can possibly be located in another country in the region. RESPONSIBILITIES: Responsibilities under this position include, but are not limited to: · Lead the development of a cohesive Red Segura regional strategy, key stakeholder positioning, and brand messaging/execution · Develop and implement a sustainability plan for the franchises including products, integration of services, insurance and other third party pay mechanisms · Develop/review, implement and monitor social franchise strategies and operations (e.g. sustainability, marketing, quality standards), across the established networks in the region · Develop regional selection criteria and recruitment policies for franchisees that can be adapted and adopted within each Red Segura country, as well as other social franchises within LAC · Develop Standards and Procedures for Franchise standards · Coordinate with the Marketing team to develop the franchisee brand · Ensure adherence to PSI’s Global clinical quality and business standards and procedures · Work with PSI-HQ on tracking and reporting · Provide in country technical assistance to franchises · Liaise with PSI/W and the LAC RD and DRD on all matters related to SF PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: · BA/BS degree or local equivalent · At least 5 years of experience working in/with franchises, preferably commercial and international franchises · Preference for at least 3 years of proven experience in the field of social marketing and/or health · Must have an understanding of business planning/management
· Team player, commitment to meet deadlines, client oriented The successful candidate should be able to thrive in a complex management setting, be a creative, innovative and strategic thinker, team player and will have demonstrated experience and successful track record. S/he will have a proven ability to produce results in programs dependent on National-level performance within a regional program context. Above all else, a successful candidate will be a results-driven implementer. STATUS: § Exempt § Level 6 APPLY ONLINE at http://www.psi.org. PSI is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from qualified individuals regardless of race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or disability. Franchising for a Better World: Franchising in the Social Sector Visit free educational sessions at the International Franchise Expo to learn about social sector franchising, the application of the principles of commercial franchising to: Speakers: Scott Hillstrom: Chairman and Co-founder, HealthStore Foundation Julie McBride: Senior Social Franchise Technical Advisor, Population Services International (PSI) Sessions:
The mission statement of the International Franchise Association’s Social Sector Task Force is: “To Enhance The Quality Of Life In Underserved Populations – One Opportunity At A Time”. Social sector franchising has been used in areas of health and other product and service distribution, and has created opportunities for local entrepreneurs to deliver a variety of products and services in underserved communities worldwide. It also has created other benefits including employment and related commercial activities. The inherent capabilities of commercial franchising include its ability to establish and enforce standards; create and sustain critical mass in the communities it serves; and achieve cost savings because of economies of scale. These capabilities can be gained by social sector franchises.
Two of the most successful health care franchises, Child, Family, Wellness (CFW) and Population Services International (PSI), will provide an overview about the impact social sector franchising is making in health care delivery around the globe in areas of dire poverty. Curious to learn about this compelling model and/or how you can help? Come to this 45 minute session to find out how it works. By Jason Daley for Entrepreneur Magazine
Franchising is a powerful business model capable of efficiently delivering to the masses such varied resources as oil changes, emergency medical care, accounting services and jelly doughnuts. But could it do even more? Philanthropists are considering whether the franchise model can be used to bring vaccines, contraception, clean cooking fuel, food and other basic necessities to people in the developing world. The idea, known as social franchising or microfranchising, is beginning to catch on. After a few years of experimenting, the aid community is refining its approach and is ready to make social franchising a major plank in the way nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) assist the world's poorest regions. The model is similar to commercial franchising, but the bottom-line goal is not pure profit--although many social franchises do aim to become self-sustaining. Rather, these organizations measure success through the number of people they feed, vaccinate or otherwise serve, and the number of franchisees provided with jobs. In general, a social franchise, often sponsored by or spun off from an NGO or aid organization (although there are many independent social franchises), creates a network of local entrepreneurs who sell products or services door to door or from their homes. For instance, World Health Partners, a nonprofit launched in 2008 in India, recruits people in remote rural villages with limited access to healthcare. Through cell phones and portable computers, these reps connect their neighbors to a doctor in a larger city for a telemedicine session. Other franchises offer internet connections or the use of cell phones, fortified dairy products, family-planning materials and even beekeeping supplies. Most social franchises rely on charitable donations or grants to stay in operation, but as the businesses become more sophisticated, many are hoping to reach self-sustainable levels. Chuck Slaughter, founder of clothing and gear company TravelSmith and an entrepreneur who has helped turn around several international apparel brands, started his social franchise, Living Goods, in 2007, delivering lifesaving products to the poor by harnessing the power of the market. Using what he calls the "Avon lady" model, his crew of franchisees go door to door in villages in Uganda and Kenya, selling basic medicines, healthful foods, high-efficiency stoves, solar lights and other health and safety products. To read more, please click here. Based on a presentation to the annual IMESA conference “Municipal Engineering: Meeting People’s Needs”, held in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, October 2013
By Kevin Wall, Oliver Ive, Jay Bhagwan, Wayne Birkholtz, Nocawe Lupuwana and Esther Shaylor for Infrastructurene.ws An innovative Eastern Cape infrastructure and job creation project is meeting people’s needs through quality service delivery for the community, by the community. In part one of this two-part feature, social franchising is defined and the training, expectations, services and projects of a pilot study are examined. A number of pilot projects in the Eastern Cape have demonstrated how the institutionally innovative and very practical social franchising partnership approach can successfully be used for the routine maintenance of low-technology water and sanitation infrastructure. Whereas other approaches have built capacity and developed skills in attempts to improve service delivery, many of them have had limited success because they have not enjoyed sufficiently strong incentive structures and support systems. The social franchising partnership approach, in contrast, is built on a robust foundation of mutual support and incentives. This paper describes how the franchise partners have been working with municipalities and provincial departments to address operational issues at a significant scale. Many opportunities lie in applying the approach to further operation and maintenance (O&M) activities within the water and sanitation services delivery chain, and thereafter extending it to other types of infrastructure (e.g. roads and electricity reticulation). Background Year after year, the O & M of water and sanitation services (hereinafter water services) infrastructure in South Africa has too often been found to be noncompliant with the required standards (SAICE, 2011; DWA, 2012a & 2012b). Research has also shown that the main problem is most likely to be shortfalls in the skills and management of the institution responsible for the services. These operation and maintenance shortfalls are particularly manifest in “the quality and reliability of basic infrastructure serving the majority of our citizens [which] is poor and, in many places, getting worse. Urgent attention is required to stabilise and improve these” (SAICE, 2011:5). The consequent service delivery failures are pointers of warning that serious turnaround strategies are required in South African municipal service delivery. In 2012, the Ministerial Sanitation Task Team found that the Eastern Cape needed over 800 000 toilets to ensure all households have access to sanitation, the second highest backlog in South Africa. It was also highlighted that the lack of skills and capacity to manage existing facilities is a contributing factor for infrastructure failures. The report concluded that “there is great potential for public and private investment on sanitation that could increase both benefits and cost effectiveness of public investment” (Department of Human Settlements, 2012:70). The Water Research Commission (WRC) has for a number of years funded studies of selected institutional options that could assist in the improvement of operation and maintenance. This research, led by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the private sector water services provider Amanz’ abantu Services, postulated that franchising partnership models, developed in the private sector for providing a wide range of services, could be adapted. The resultant social franchising partnership concept could be a valuable and viable addition to the current range of institutional models for the O&/M of public sector sanitation and water services infrastructure (Wall, 2005; Wall, & Ive, 2010; Wall & Ive, 2013). This research, and interest shown by public sector owners of infrastructure, prompted Amanz’ abantu, in 2008, to establish a subsidiary, Impilo Yabantu (“hygiene for people” in Xhosa), to play the role of franchisor where needed. Whereas it was originally thought that municipalities would be the first to procure social franchising partnerships, and whereas many of the officials approached expressed interest, there was a reluctance to be the pioneer of this new and untested concept. Nonetheless, the first significant interest in utilising this innovative business approach came from key officials of the Eastern Cape provincial Department of Education (DoE), who saw its potential to assist them with one of their most intractable problems, namely the poor levels of maintenance of water and sanitation infrastructure at schools. Particularly, they saw its potential for rural schools where harvested rainwater is generally the only water supply to the school, and the toilets are usually Ventilated Improved Pit Latrines (VIPs) or similar. In less than three years, the franchisor and its trainee franchisees greatly improved the condition of the school toilets in the Butterworth education district of the Eastern Cape. The partnerships defined In the words of the Franchise Association of Southern Africa , a franchise is “a grant by the franchisor to the franchisee, entitling the latter to the use of a complete business package containing all the elements necessary to establish a previously untrained person in the franchised business and enable them to operate it on an on-going basis, according to guidelines supplied, efficiently and profitably” (Parker & Illetschko, 2007:15). Water services franchising partnerships can broadly be described as business-to-business partnerships, whereby small, locally based enterprises enter a business partnership with a larger established enterprise for the purpose of utilising a tried and tested approach to ensuring sanitation and water facilities and systems are operating in a reliable manner and in accordance with the specified availability, quality, hygiene and environmental standards. Since the 1950s, franchising has utilised the drive of entrepreneurship while reducing many of the risks to small business (Parker & Illetschko, 2007:9). Both parties of a franchise have a stake in making sure the venture is a success while benefiting from mutual learning and shared experiences (Ahlert et al, 2008:16). The concept of social franchising is defined as “the application of commercial franchising concepts to achieve socially beneficial ends” (Montagu, 2002) and has been identified as an approach appropriate for use in sectors where the quality of the service needs to be driven up and the cost of the service needs to be driven down through standardising on proven delivery mechanisms. In contrast to commercial franchises such as McDonald’s, an enterprise which not only seeks to cover costs but to also make the franchisee and franchisor a significant profit, social franchising seeks to develop an enterprising solution where people from the community “contribute towards meeting their needs either with money or time (or both)” (Norton, 2010). This approach, while still needing to cover costs and allow franchisees to make a living, is also motivated towards doing social good. To read more, please click here. A ewe and her offspring outside a DKT facility in Pakistan were merely wandering by the family-planning clinic. Social-sector franchising takes advantage of franchising’s systems and on-going support to do good in the world. Franchisees in developing countries make a living helping their communities. By Nancy Weingartner for Franchise Times A couple’s method of birth control, along with the number of family members and their names are posted on the front doors of homes in Bali. In Mozambique, posting family planning specials, such as injections, on Facebook is DKT’s Intimo clinic’s most efficient marketing tool. Its Facebook page has more than 6,600 “friends.” Young men in Brazil are encouraged to use their GPS apps to share their condom experiences and location as part of a contest run by a local clinic. “The U.S. is much more prudish about this subject” than the rest of the world, claims Chris Purdy, president and CEO of DKT International, a social-sector franchise that provides family planning and reproductive health products to the developing world. We’re prudish, he continues, because there’s no denying family planning was created so people can have sex without having children. It may seem all about pleasure, but for women, controlling their fertility is a way to control their destiny, Purdy says. Fewer children mean more food on the table, more rest for the mother, more education options for her children. And in areas with limited prenatal care, fewer pregnancies may result in healthier moms and offspring. DKT, based in Washington, D.C., was started by libertarian Phil Harvey 20 years ago as a nonprofit to promote family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention through social marketing. Harvey began his career selling condoms through the mail, a relatively controversial practice in the ‘70s. The business evolved into Adam & Eve, a mail-order company for sex products, and some of the profits are used to fund DKT. Harvey retired from DKT at the end of 2013. Today DKT has programs in 19 countries, which use both social media to market and a franchise framework to provide a variety of family planning services. The nonprofit was named in honor of D.K. Tyagi, India’s assistant commissioner of family planning who died of cancer in 1969, but not before he made significant inroads into India’s family planning efforts. DKT uses all the techniques and infrastructure of commercial franchising, but doesn’t charge an upfront fee or royalties. Instead, the nonprofit makes its operating money through the products its sells clinics. Midwives are the targeted franchisees, and donor money is used to update or build clean, branded clinics where windows aren’t broken and equipment generally works. In keeping with the franchise model, DKT provides continual training and education, as well as audits to ensure the clinics follow procedures. For instance, in Indonesia, “mystery shoppers”—or in this case, mystery customers—are employed to ensure the clinical experience is up to code, Purdy says. Incentives for midwives to become franchisees include a clean, modern facility; ongoing education and products; and cachet in the community since the clinics are advertised on television and billboards. The good news for family planning advocates in developing companies is that individual incomes have risen over the years, while the cost of contraceptives has stabilized, Purdy says. DKT offers franchisees a wide range of products, a number of which require some medical expertise to administer, such as IUDs and implants. Condoms aren’t a big part of the business because they can be purchased over the counter elsewhere. But the main draw is DKT’s ability to drive business to the clinics through large-scale advertising, something an individual clinic owner would not be able to do, Purdy adds. It’s effective because even families in the remote areas of countries like Pakistan have television reception. Controversy sells Not surprisingly, the social-sector franchise that provides not only preventive measures, but also abortions, can be controversial in some areas of the world. Which is why DKT works with local governments. When Ethiopia recently legalized medical abortions, DKT was part of that change, Purdy says. Between 70 and 80 percent of its $160 million budget comes from sales revenues of products to clinics, Purdy says. While conforming to the franchise’s standards, each clinic has its own personality and the services are determined by demand. In Indonesia, for instance, injectable contraceptives are the most popular method of family planning because people there believe medicine must be injected into the blood in order to be real, Purdy says. This is a positive for the franchisee, because it means women must come back every three months for another shot, as opposed to an IUD insertion, which doesn’t require frequent return visits. Because choosing an IUD cuts down the providers’ profits, “We have to watch provider bias,” Purdy says. Most of the visits are from women, since they’re the ones directly affected by the issue; however, Purdy says the occasional man will show up for an appointment with his wife, especially if she’s considering an IUD. Since it’s a foreign object inserted into a woman’s uterus, the man “might be worried it will affect him,” Purdy says. Marketing condoms can be a touchy subject for government censors, as well. “When you talk about condoms, (men) don’t want to hear about HIV, they want to hear about the benefits,” Purdy explains. “So we talk about pleasure.” In Pakistan a suggestive ad for Josh Condoms, starring a controversial actress, who talks openly about sex on a late-night television show, was banned by the government. Which, of course, led to the ad, which depicted an average-looking guy marrying a supermodel because he used Josh Condoms, to be a downloadable success on YouTube. DKT was proud it hit a nerve. “It sparked a huge debate about why can’t we talk about condom use,” Purdy says. “We’re happy with the results even though the ad pulled.” (In 2013, DKT sold 538 million condoms worldwide.) Combining social-sector franchising with social media has enabled the brand to grow throughout the developing world, attracting donors such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the United Nations Population Fund and USAID. The brand grows, the families don’t—or if they do, it’s responsibly. DKT’s CEO Christopher Purdy served as country director for programs in Ethiopia, Indonesia and Turkey before returning to the U.S. to work at the social-sector franchise’s headquarters. Social sector franchising is the application of commercial franchising concepts to achieve socially beneficial ends rather than profit. Social sector franchising has been used in areas of health and other product and service distribution and has created opportunities for local entrepreneurs to deliver a variety of products and services in underserved communities worldwide. The International Franchise Association Social Sector Task Force believes that IFA members can provide meaningful and needed advisory assistance to the devoted efforts of social sector franchisors and franchisees to expand their reach and enhance the quality of their services. Though these social franchise systems often operate in uniquely challenging circumstances, the goal of creating franchise organizations that can consistently provide consumers a sustainable level of quality products and services is a common goal every franchisor shares. It is the principles of franchising management and the support you can provide to social franchisors and franchisees where your talents can have life changing and often life‐saving impact. What is a Social Sector Task Force Mentor? Social Sector Task Force Mentors share their knowledge of and experience in franchising with social sector franchisor management and franchisees. Areas of support social franchisors are seeking include:
Learn more below - download the application and read the entire document: How to Be a Social Sector Task Force Mentor Download File Properly documenting your Social Sector franchise management system is one of the most important steps to establishing consistency and operating standards. In combination with Social Sector franchise training programs, a library of manuals is the DNA of a franchise system. These files, contributed by MSA Worldwide assists franchisors and their attorneys to develop new franchise operations manuals – or to review and revise existing manuals that integrate best practices, brand protection, and minimize legal exposure. This Academic Case Study by Stefanos Zenios, Lyn Denend, and Stacey McCutcheon is published by Stanford Graduate School of Business 2013 - this introduction is reprinted by permission. The entire suite of articles may be found: Full Paper: http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/psi-i-taking-service-model-scale Secondary story on PSI: http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/psi-ii-changing-perceptions-and-behaviors Full Health Innovation Insight Series: http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/global-health-innovation-insight-series Global Health Innovation Guidebook: http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/GlobalHealthInnovationGuidebook_2.pdf Population Services International (PSI) was founded in 1970 as a nonprofit organization focused on improving reproductive health in developing countries using commercial marketing strategies. Over the years, PSI broadened its mission to address family planning, child and maternal health, and HIV and AIDS prevention, screening, and treatment. As part of ongoing efforts to provide critical health services in developing countries, PSI sought to address the high unmet demand for family planning in Pakistan. Based on the organization’s earlier work in Pakistan, PSI knew that the majority of low-income women sought healthcare services from the private sector. Yet, despite being better equipped than public healthcare facilities, these private providers were generally not delivering family planning services. PSI learned that the financial incentives were low and that few providers actually had the necessary training and skills to counsel clients, perform IUD insertions, or prescribe pills or injectables. As a major NGO with a wealth of accumulated experience and significant resources at its disposal, PSI had the knowledge and ability to provide training to physicians. However, in order to educate enough providers to make a meaningful difference in a country with a population of more than 176 million, it would need to scale its training program quickly. This required devising a compelling business model with incentives to motivate qualified providers to participate. The second challenge to successfully achieving scale would be raising the awareness and visibility of the trained providers so that Pakistani women could find them. This mini-case study describes how PSI devised and implemented a social franchising model to rapidly address these needs and achieve scale in the target communities. [Read Case] |
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