Transforming Behaviors By Collaborative Human Centered Design

The FIOVANA project, from October 1, 2019, to September 2024, was designed by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID - BHA) to achieve sustainable improvement of food and nutrition security of vulnerable populations in the Atsimo Atsinanana and Vatovavy Fitovinany regions of southeastern Madagascar. The project identified and promoted key behaviors and practices that contributed to this overall goal. However, due to significant evidence gaps between the two regions, FIOVANA conducted a Trials of Improved Practices (TIPs) formative research study to support refinement of the Theory of Change (ToC) and development of the project social and behavior change (SBC) strategy through the identification of key behavioral determinants that impact adoption of these behaviors. The two behaviors that this study focused on were dietary diversity and handwashing practices.

The FIOVANA team strategically promoted an organizational culture of collaboration and continuous learning and improvement throughout project implementation. A key partner within the five-member consortium, FHI 360, led the SBC components and provided technical guidance and oversight during the refinement period. The project team collaborated with the project families successfully during regular follow-up visits to discuss the adoption of newly formed behaviors and their impact on the health and nutritional status of participants. FIOVANA identified how each influencer (men, women, family members) selected the behaviors they themselves felt capable of changing and used these findings to create a strong SBC strategy and implementation plan that built capacity of families. Through an iterative refinement and continuous learning approach, we were able to involve participation of family members through human centered design, enabling them to take more ownership of the process and behaviors they want to change in order to reach the objective of living a healthy lifestyle.