Planning for Sustainability and Scale-Up

Overall, scaling up of CSE can be done in two ways:

Horizontally -- to address more topic areas, to be taught in more grade levels, to be offered in all instead of in select schools, and so on; and/or

Vertically – building capacity beyond the school system into other systems, structures, policies and laws.

A scale up-plan should include at a minimum:

• The methodology, including M&E plans;
• The phased roll-out plan;
• The identification of all stakeholders and possible implementation partners and their roles and responsibilities;
• Coordination mechanisms;
• Clear targets;
• The actions required at national, provincial and local levels; and
• The estimated costs, what funding is currently available

and its source, as well as the funding gap and possible resource mobilization strategies.

(Source: UNESCO, 2017 – “CSE Scale-Up in Practice”)

TEN PRINCIPLES OF SUCCESSFUL SCALING-UP OF SEXUALITY EDUCATION

Choose an intervention/approach that can be scaled up within existing systems.
Clarify the aims of scaling-up and the roles of different players and ensure local/national

ownership/lead role.

Understand perceived need and fit within existing governmental systems and policies.
Obtain and disseminate data on the effectiveness of pilot programmes before scaling up.
Document and evaluate the impact of changes made to interventions on programme effectiveness.
Recognize the role of leadership.
Plan for sustainability and ensure the availability of resources for scaling up or plan for fundraising.
Plan for the long term (not donor funding cycles) and anticipate changes and setbacks.
Anticipate the need for changes in the ‘resource team’ leading the scaling-up process over time.
Adapt the scaling-up strategy with changes in the political environment; take advantage of ‘policy windows’ when they occur.

(Source: UNESCO, 2014 – “Comprehensive Sexuality Education: The Challenges and Opportunities of Scaling-Up”)

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Planning for Sustainability and Scale-Up