On the CUSP of Change: Effective Scaling of Social Norms Programming for Gender Equality

"[E]ffectively transforming harmful social norms at scale requires moving beyond the current thinking of scale as a numbers exercise to better reflect key principles from social norms change work."

A number of approaches and methodologies have been developed around the world that demonstrate significant impact in preventing violence against women and girls (VAWG) and in advancing women's and girls' sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). From the Community for Understanding Scale Up (CUSP), this brief provides practical insights and advice for programmers, funders, researchers, and policymakers as they scale up gender-transformative initiatives to reach more communities and maintain sustainable impact. It also highlights key challenges embedded in social norms change work and ways to overcome them.

The CUSP working group was borne out of informal discussions in 2016 between Raising Voices and Salamander Trust about the opportunities and challenges in taking their own methodologies - SASA! and Stepping Stones, respectively - to scale. (One definition CUSP cites of scaling up is "Expanding, adapting and sustaining successful policies, programs or projects in different places and over time to reach a greater number of people.") Recognising their shared experiences, Raising Voices and Salamander Trust invited 7 other organisations from across 3 continents to join, each of which has designed social norms change initiatives for preventing VAWG and improving SRHR. The organisations joining Raising Voices and Salamander Trust are: the Center for Domestic Violence Prevention (CEDOVIP), Intervention with Microfinance for AIDS and Gender Equity (IMAGE), the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University, Oxfam, Puntos de Encuentro, Sonke Gender Justice, and Tostan.

CUSP explains that social norms are shared beliefs about what is typical and socially acceptable among a group of people. VAWG and gender inequality are sustained by norms that embody unequal gender power relations; shifting these norms, which are rooted in power dynamics, requires time and in-depth work to understand the social context. The social norms change approach is inclusive and builds on community strengths as opposed to using negative messaging and instilling fear.

Although the methodologies of CUSP members range from group-based initiatives, community mobilisation, and mass media campaigns, they are drawn together by a commitment to principles including:

• Prioritising agency of the communities with which they work (supporting communities to develop social norms change from within);
• Reinforcing positive social norms that contribute to a community's well-being;
• Creating space for questioning and dialogue on the social norms that contribute to inequality; and
• Recognising that transforming social norms is fundamentally about challenging the status quo.

CUSP explains that a significant driver in the scale up of existing programmes is the reliance on the existing evidence-base (to show attributable impact in the time period of the funded project). Randomised control trials (RCTs) have become the gold standard for generating rigorous evidence of impact, but most RCTs have clear limitations for measuring and understanding social norms change programming. In essence, RCTs are conducted under rigorous control conditions and depend on a single, primary positive outcome, which is based on a linear, one-directional behaviour change model. As such, they are unable to accommodate the multi-directional, multi-layered aspects of social norms change programming.

In this context, the CUSP document lays out strategies for overcoming common pitfalls with scaling existing programmes. In brief:

• Build in sufficient time for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to internalise a programme approach - e.g., to understand all aspects of a social norms approach, including the values, theory of change, and political analysis that underpin it and the conditions necessary to carry it out.
• Maintain fidelity to the core principles that were core to the original programme.
• Create a strong foundation by ensuring sufficient training and ongoing mentoring of staff and community facilitators.
• Consult or involve programme developers in the conceptualisation of the scaling strategy.
• Carefully consider the context and capacities of the personnel responsible for implementing and programming in order to decide how far the reach can extend without compromising the quality and core components of programmes.
• Focus not on "beneficiaries" but, rather, on strengthening each person's voice, skills, and agency and harnessing their individual actions for collective power and efficacy.
• Foster close involvement and leadership of community members to ensure that the adaptation is culturally relevant and sensitive, and that it also builds on community strengths and structures.
• Provide more space for creative efforts, sensitive piloting, and careful honing of social norms change programming.

Next, CUSP articulates their vision for conceptualising and implementing scaling of both existing and new social norms change programming. This vision is rooted in the following principles:

• Do no harm.
• Work across the ecological model and change matrix.
• Use an intersectional, gender-power analysis.
• Ensure sustained commitment.
• Support theory- and evidence-informed innovations.
• Promote personal and collective critical reflection through aspirational programming.
• Support and invest in staff and community activists/facilitators.

The brief concludes with a call to action: "for longer-term funding and planning, a deeper investment in people, engagement with communities as equals, and an unwavering commitment to do no harm. Together, this is how we will scale up effective, lasting social norms change."

Editor's note: CUSP has also produced 5 case studies of their experiences, together with an overview brief. See Related Summaries, below. Other related resources:

• Click here to view a PowerPoint presentation from the brief's launch in September 2017 at the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• Click here to view a PowerPoint presentation about CUSP from the April 2018 International SBCC Summit.
• Click here to access a presentation [PDF] for the Wilton Park Conference on Building a Shared Agenda on Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls, May 2019, Steyning, United Kingdom.
• Haga clic aquí [PDF]: Presentación de Prevención de la violencia contra mujeres y niñas en América Latina y el Caribe, Junio 2019, Lima, Peru.
• Click here for a blog about CUSP on the SVRI website.
• See below for a May 22 2019 webinar on CUSP for the UN Trust Fund for Women.