SCALING UP - THE CONCEPT
Over the last decade, the concept of scaling up has been gaining importance among governments, donors,
international agencies and NGOs. Scaling up can be described as a process of adaptation and expansion of
programmes to make quality services more widely accessible to larger number of people over a wider geographic
area quickly, equitably and in a sustainable manner1. Scaling up contributes to increase something in size, amount
and extent. It could be in terms of numbers- reaching more people; geographic area - reaching a greater geographic
or political area; demographic profile - reaching different types of beneficiaries; and coverage - reaching a greater
percentage of a given population. These different dimensions of scaling up are mostly interrelated.
RELEVANCE OF SCALING UP
Scaling up health services was a central theme behind the slogan Health for All at the World Health Organization's
landmark primary health care conference in Alma Ata over 40 years ago (WHO, 1978). Since then, scaling up
of expanded packages of health services continues to be at the core of efforts to reach national health and
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets. Global and Indian experiences, however, show that very few
innovative projects go all the way to effective implementation at large scale with impact. One of the reasons for
this is the implicit assumption that scaling up happens spontaneously and actual implementation at large scale is
taken for granted. What is often missing is the adoption of a systematic approach to scale up proven interventions,
including at the planning stage of a project.
THE SCALING UP MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
Population Foundation of India (PFI) in partnership with Management Systems International (MSI) adopted the
Scaling Up Management (SUM) Frameworf<2 in 2006 and has since been applying it to NGO and government-led
pilots for scaling up of innovations in health and nutrition in India. The initiative is supported byThe John D and
CatherineT MacArthur Foundation. The SUM framework is an operational framework that enables a systematic
approach to scaling up.
The SUM framework has three steps:
• Step 1 is intended to clarify WHAT is being scaled up, WHO will do the scaling up, WHERE the scaling up will
occur, and HOW the scaling up will be done.
• Step 2 is aimed at creating an enabling environment through advocacy and resource mobilization.
• Step 3 is meant to guide implementation at scale.
DEVELOPING A SCALING UP PLAN
Task 1: Creating a vision for scaling up
Task 2: Defining the model and assessing scalability
Task 3: Filling in the gaps/Modifying the model
Task 4: Developing a scaling up strategy
ESTABLISHING THE PRECONDITIONS FOR SCALING UP
Task 5: Legitimization: Advocating for the general issue
Task 6: Advocacy for adoption of a particular model
Task 7: Realigning and mobilizing resources
IMPLEMENTING THE SCALING UP PROCESS
Task 8: Modifying and strengthening organizations
Task 9: Coordinating action
Task 10: Tracking performance and maintaining momentum
, National Conference, Scaling Up in India: Lessons Leamt and the Way Forward, Population Foundation of India, 2010
2 Cooley, L, and Kohl, R, Scaling Up-From Vision to Large Scale Change, A Management Framework for Practitioners,
Management Systems Intemational, 2006