The Soul City Regional Program (SCRP) launched in 2002 to build capacity for social and behavior change communication (SBCC) across eight Southern African countries on HIV, TB, and health issues. It utilized an intensive skills sharing approach through training, mentorship, and resource sharing between in-country partners. This regional approach strengthened capacities, created consistent messaging, and fostered economies of scale. Evaluations found the SCRP significantly expanded human resources for SBCC through training and career development. It also facilitated direct resource and skills sharing between in-country partners, and built local capacity to train others. Key lessons included the importance of sustainability through continued skills upgrading, supporting local organizations, and creating opportunities for peer learning and idea sharing across

1. Bongiwe Ndondo
Regional AIDS Training Network
HIV Capacity Building Summit
19 March 2013

2. Soul City Regional program
• Launched in 2002, implemented in Lesotho, Malawi.
Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe (Botswana
& Tanzania).
 Introduced a systematic large-scale capacity building programme in
eight Southern African countries - combining country–based health
communication programmes with a broad regional approach
 Designed on the premise that ‘BCC programmes are particularly
appropriate to a regional approach, where consistent, coherent
messaging is vital given high inter-regional mobility’.
 Key principles
 Skills and resource sharing
 Creating synergy and consistency
 Economies of scale

3. Objectives of the SCRP (2007-2012)
 To reduce HIV (and TB) infection and related
morbidity, especially among women, children and
other vulnerable groups in Southern Africa, by
facilitating social and behaviour change
 To strengthen the social and behaviour change
sector capacity to respond to HIV, broader sexual
and reproductive health and other related areas
of health.

4. Operational strategy
 Setting uniform standards for research and
product development
 Building on regional synergies (e.g. in research
output and message development)
 Sharing skills and resources
 Developing cross-border outputs
 Capitalising on economies of scale.
 Building and working through local (in-country)
and regional partnerships and networks

5. The Research Process

6. Capacity building approach
 Mass media in SBCC
 A phase by phase training strategy , combination of
mentorship, workshops, hands-on support and technical
assistance TV, radio and print media product development
 Formative Research
 Message development
 Script writing
 Drama film production (including camera, lighting, sound and
art direction)
 Finance and budgeting
 Leadership & Corporate governance
 Resource mobilisation

7. Evaluation (Process)
 To what extent did the Regional Programme:
1. Facilitated resource sharing and skills sharing across the
region?
2. Strengthened in-country and regional networks and
collaboration?
3. Built and strengthened human resource capacity for SBCC in
Southern African?
4. Contributed to advancing the field of SBCC in the Southern
African region – including influencing NACs and SADC
structures
5. Contributed to strengthening the role of SBCC in country or at
regional level
6. What lessons have been learned about the processes which
have been employed in the field of SBCC in Southern Africa at
a regional level?

8. Evaluation methodology
 Review of relevant documents
 KII with stakeholders
 From Soul City
 In-country implementation partners (who directly received
training, support and/or resources from Soul City
 employed on the Soul City regional programme, but who have
moved on to other relevant work in the region or internationally
 Key HIV prevention role players and decision-making bodies
(nationally and regionally), such as in-country AIDS
structures, peer organisations and regional bodies.

9. Limitations of methodology
 The review was based on the perspective (i.e.
the experience and assessment) of programme
implementers and broader stakeholders.
 The review did not systematically compare this
Regional Programme with other regional
programmes.
 Self-selection for participation in the evaluation
may have influenced data to some extent.

11. 1
 To what extent has the Regional Programme
facilitated resource sharing and skills sharing
across the region? How did resource and skills
sharing take place, and how did it add value to
the Regional Programme or beyond the Regional
Programme?

12. Skills transfer from experts
 ...intense skills-sharing that occurred in the early
years through training courses convened
regionally
 training strategy of combining formal training with
regular coaching, mentorship and supervision
was considered hugely successful and
supportive.
 RP gave opportunity to work with and be
trained/mentored by high calibre people and
helped ‘achieved cost efficiencies’.

13. Direct resource and skills sharing
 Nweti’s (Mozambique) shared its results based
Strategic Plan with Desert Soul, who are now following
the same process
 Nweti and Pakachere (Malawi) have ‘exchanged a lot
of technical and other reports’;
 Lusweti (Swaziland) has sought fundraising support by
asking Nweti to share part of their fundraisers time.
 ‘we are now less reliant on Soul City – we are relying
more on each other’ – In country implementing partner

14. Direct resource and skills sharing
 The direct sharing of resources has been made
possible by the level of trust that partners have in
the quality of the products
 Eg. ZCCP (Zambia) adaptation of the Lusweti
booklet on alcohol abuse.
 This trust factor is deemed ‘critical to fast and
cost effective adaptations rather than
development of all materials from first principles’
– External service provider/trainee

15. 2
 To what extent has human resource capacity for
SBCC in Southern African been expanded
through participation in the Regional
Programme, including the influence on career
pathing – over and above investment in the
Centre of Excellence at Wits? How has the
Regional Programme contributed to
(predominantly) Southern African capacities in
SBCC and related disciplines beyond the
Regional Programme, (e.g. academic/research
institutions, media etc.)?

16. Increased human capacity
 Through the extensive training it undertook in
drama production ‘…it created a critical mass of
people who understand and are passionate
about SBCC across the region’ whose
commitment stems not only from the training ‘but
also from seeing the quality of work it is possible
for them to produce’. External service provider

17.  . ‘I have learned how to write a good edutainment
drama, budget management, time saving on
production, easier ways of casting, crew and artists
management … I have learned the professional way to
produce a good edutainment in the time allocated’.
External service provider/trainee
 ‘Film schools in South Africa are full of the elite – this
offered a chance to those with talent but for whom such
courses are normally unaffordable, to receive great
training’.

18. Building capacity amongst each other
 ...unique platform for producers and script writers to
come together and share ideas – ‘creatively and
professionally’.
 ’I have learned a lot from other writers in the region –
creative writing is not a crowded profession… rarely
do we get together in the same place….in the
beginning we were just creative writers now we are
more than that we are specialists’. External service
provider/trainee

19. Capacity to capacitate other organisations
and individuals
 In country organisations are called upon to provide
training for local institutions and organisations.
 Eg. Nweti has provided SBCC training for the Ministry
of Women and Social Affairs, UNAIDS partners and
others – and has inputted on the DANIDA funded
Master Degree in HIV Planning in Mozambique.
 ‘With experience and skills gained from the RP I am
assisting young people in career counselling – camera
work, script writing etc.’
 ‘...they are the go-to organisations’ in country when it
comes to research for communications...”

20. 3
 What lessons have been learned about
the processes which have been
employed in the field of SBCC in
Southern Africa at a regional level?

21. Sustainability
 Although it is expected ‘skills built will stay in country the
upgrading of skills is very important especially with
regard to the move to digitalisation’. External service
provider
 SC supported the development of local organisations –
 ‘supporting people from the ground upwards’ not ‘top
down’.
 ‘...opened space for sharing
ideas, concepts, resources and skills between
countries with commonalities and shared problems’
offering a real peer support mechanism.
 This was ‘a very different model for development than
the North South delivery of TA approach’

22. Key Successes
 Increased influence, extended footprint and experience in
managing a regional program
 Shared methodology with common standards
 Production of quality materials with both local relevance
and regional flair (Ability to deal with matters with
regional significance)
 Consistency in programming and messaging therefore
high impact
 Economies of scale
 Promoted in-country ownership and sustainability
 In the process of establishing and formalising a regional
coalition

23. Acknowledgments
 Renay Weiner, Sue Goldstein, co-authors
 Ann Nolan, Independent evaluator
 DFID, Funding
 Regional partners

24. Questions?