Statement of Work: Community Mobilization Project Intern
Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography for Community Mobilization
Project in Uttar Pradesh, India
OVERVIEW
Despite proven family health interventions for reducing neonatal mortality and
improving maternal and child health, there is a dearth of scalable community-based
demand-side approaches that can take these interventions to scale, thereby
ensuring a rapid and sustainable impact on family health outcomes. The self-help
group (SHG) model is a promising institutionalized and scalable demand-side social
platform (or ‘Operating System’) for scaling up family health interventions. The
Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana (RGMVP) based in Raibarelli, Uttar Pradesh
(UP) has developed a rapidly scalable federated SHG model that can serve as an
operating system on which family health interventions can be layered. The Public
Health Foundation of India (PHFI) in partnership with RGMVP, Population Council,
the Community Empowerment Lab (CEL) and Boston University Center for Global
Health and Development (BU-CGHD) has been recently awarded a grant from the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to utilize the SHG as a platform for
changing family health behaviors and social norms, as well as establishing strong
linkages with the health system at a local level in order to improve access to health
services.
The project goal is to reduce NMR and improve maternal and child health through
changes in family health behaviors and improve access, utilization and quality of
services by activating these SHG-based social platforms in 160 blocks in UP.
RGMVP’s SHG network targets the poorest of the poor households. The project will
directly reach out to 1.2 million poor households, which account for 21% of total
households and more than 65% of poor households in 160 blocks. This goal will be
achieved through the following objectives: (1) To increase adoption of evidencebased high-impact family health behaviors through self-help groups in 60 blocks to
reach the poor. BCM model will be tested in 10 blocks where social platforms exist.
It will then be scaled up in existing social platforms in 50 blocks to test scaling up
strategy; (2) To increase access to local health system / services through actions of
multiple levels of SHGs through the Village Organizations (VOs) and Block
Organizations (BOs) in 60 blocks in conjunction with the Behavior and Community
Mobilization (BCM) model. They will interact with health services as well as
empower the community for use of those services; (3) To Scale up evidence-based
high impact health behaviors and strategies to improve access to health services for
the poor in 100 new blocks. Tested BCM model and activities to improve access to
local health services will be scaled up through a robust scaling up strategy
OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this activity are to:
1. Perform a comprehensive literature review (both published and the gray
literature) of the effectiveness of SHGs in community mobilization, ‘demand
side’ approaches to improving the availability and quality of health
services, behavior change and health outcomes for mothers and newborns;
2. Develop an annotated bibliography of the literature reviewed;
3. Implement an on-line system for sharing this information with partners in
the project; and
MAJOR WORK ACTIVITIES
The student will be working with the Center for Global Health and Development
team to accomplish these objectives. The scope of work activities are listed below:
 Orientation to the SHG project through discussions with BU collaborators
and reading the project proposal and accompanying documents
 Develop a methodology or system for conducting the literature review
 Review the keywords that are vital to locating the literature
 Identify some key organizations and projects implementing SHGs and gather
reports and unpublished documents
 Utilize the contacts with the key organizations to tap into their further
networks in program implementation and reports to ensure that all bases are
covered
 Learn to efficiently use the local library systems and resources (both through
internet and going there)
 Develop a sub-system for folders to identify topics to contain the articles
found
 Develop a structure for the annotated bibliography
 Write an annotated bibliography for each selected article and/or report
 Assess different systems for maintaining and sharing this information with
partners and collaborators
 Input the articles and documents into the new system
 Propose a system for updating the information
 Possible writing of a SHG review paper with BU collaborators
Qualifications and Skills
 Enrolled in the MPH or DrPH program at Boston University
 Strong writing, editing and communication skills
 Strong attention to detail
 Flexible, self-starter, and ability to set priorities, able to respond to shifting
priorities, and manage a variety of time sensitive activities simultaneously
 Strong knowledge of library resources and conducting literature reviews
 Working knowledge of MS Office: Word, Excel
Other
 Length of assignment: Up to 6 weeks -2 months
Please send a Cover Letter, CV/Resume, brief Writing Sample of past
individual work and 2 References from the School of Public Health, at least
one from the International Health Department:
Please note that only the most promising candidates will be contacted and
interviewed.
Abanish Rizal
Senior Program Manager
Department of International Health
Email: abanishr@bu.edu
Please include in the subject box: CMP Literature Review Intern
Deadline
Monday May 21, 2012