The Manoff Group is a woman-owned small business providing expertise in social and behavior change (SBC), communications, and knowledge management (KM) to development programs around the world.

Since 1967, The Manoff Group has been working to bring about social and behavior change that enables people to live healthier lives. They leverage innovative research techniques to understand the types of improved practices people are willing to adopt, as well as the context in which those practices occur. This may include recognizing such things as family and gender dynamics, economics, policy and legal frameworks, commodity availability, community norms, anthropological factors, and perceived risks. With all of this in mind, they design and manage programs that lead to measureable and sustainable change. Their work is integrated into the full range of program activities. For example, programs focused on improving health care service delivery include a Social and Behavior Change Communication strategy to promote those services to target clients.

They respond to the real challenges of real people to lead healthy lives. And they don’t do it by theirselves. They work in true partnership with communities, leaders, donors and other stakeholders to make sure change comes from within and lasts well beyond their involvement.

They call their approach Behavior-centered Programming, an evidenced-based methodology that abandons the long-held belief that simply sharing messages with people about the health benefits of a new practice will persuade them to change their behavior. Behavior-centered Programming recognizes that behavior change programming must be developed and implemented in partnership with beneficiaries so that program strategies target their real motivators for adopting proposed practices, promote feasible changes, and use the communications channels that they prefer.

They’ve applied this approach to many seemingly intractable health and environment challenges in a wide range of technical areas. Behavior-centered Programming can be adapted to any issue requiring practical change.

Insight

FORMATIVE RESEARCH | MARKET SEGMENTATION & ANALYSIS | ANTHROPOLOGICAL INQUIRY | COMMUNITY MAPPING

Behavior-centered Programming starts with a review of scientific recommendations on specific behaviors. Depending on the specific questions or knowledge gaps, they can apply standard quantitative and qualitative public health research methodologies to provide necessary answers, but they also have the expertise to draw from private sector market research and audience segmentation tools, anthropological approaches and participatory development philosophies. One of their key research techniques is called Trials of Improved Practices, or TIPs, which allows them to explore not only the current context for behaviors but also to create an opportunity for real-time testing of new behaviors in order to determine their feasibility within people’s real lives. 

Action

STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT | ADVOCACY | COMMUNICATIONS MATERIALS (RADIO, TV, PRINT, MOBILE/SOCIAL MEDIA) | PROJECT MANAGEMENT | SOCIAL MARKETING/ENABLING TECHNOLOGY | CAPACITY BUILDING & SUPPORTIVE SUPERVISION | COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION | PRIVATE SECTOR ENGAGEMENT

Once they thoroughly understand the context, have firmly established our partnerships, and tested their thinking, they are ready to act. Starting with careful strategy development all the way through program planning, implementation and evaluation, The Manoff Group ensures their insights are leveraged to produce program results.

Change

COMMUNITY MONITORING SYSTEMS | OUTCOME MONITORING | IMPACT EVALUATION

Their focus is on results—changing behaviors, improving health, and impacting lives. A groundbreaking example of this was their support to the Indonesian Government’s Nutrition Communication and Behavior Change Project from 1979 to 1982. Observing in particular that 40% of 2 year-old children in participant communities were better nourished than their peers in non-participant communities, a World Bank evaluation stated for the first time ever that, “… nutrition education alone can make a difference in improving nutritional status.” Project after project, The Manoff Group has continued to prove the impact of Behavior-centered Programming.

They feel change doesn’t end at the end of a project. To ensure replication of successes by other implementers, The Manoff Group makes Knowledge Management part a program’s standard communications and reporting activities. They help projects move from a results-only reporting model to a knowledge model that emphasizes the tools and methodologies that impacted success, and the issues to consider when replicating them.