USAID-funded or closely collaborating projects. 

USAID staff and implementing partners are invited to submit a case study using this form to highlight work that speaks to one of the following themes:

• • Theme 1: Describe a case of an impactful HSS practice was successfully institutionalized and/or implemented at scale.
  • Theme 2: Describe an example of how a specific measurement tool, approach, and/or data source was used for effective HSS monitoring and evaluation.
  • Theme 3: Describe an effective approach to enabling whole-of-society participation and leadership in developing locally-led solutions to improve health system performance and health outcomes.

Participants will submit a case highlighting an activity relevant to one of the three themes above. The submission form will ask for a summary of the following questions:

• • What was the context and problem you sought to address?
  • How was this approach implemented?
  • What results and impact did you achieve?

Four judges will score entries. Judging criteria will be standardized using this Scoring Rubric: 

• • Use of systems thinking in conceptualization (25%)
  • Intentional and systematic implementation (15%)
  • Clearly demonstrates the achievement of health system outcomes linked to the activity (25%)
  • Location of leadership (15%)
  • Adaptability (10%)

The panel’s scores will be normalized along a Z-curve and averaged, and the top five entries will be submitted to a second panel, including USAID reviewers. The second panel will select three winning entries.

The Accelerator will host a high-visibility event later in 2024 in which winners will be invited to present their case studies to an audience of other implementing partners, global stakeholders, and funders. 

All qualifying entries will be uploaded to the Accelerator’s website. The winning entries will be highlighted and receive additional publicity on social media.  

General

What is the purpose of the USAID Case Competition?

• • To allow USAID, country implementers, and global/regional stakeholders to learn what does and does not work when implementing, institutionalizing, and scaling up HSS activities and approaches in real-life examples.
  • This competition also raises the global visibility of promising health systems approaches.

Do cases have to represent only USAID-funded work?

The specific activity must be connected to USAID, such as through funding, collaboration, or partnership.

In what languages can cases be submitted?

We can process and display cases in English or French.

Can I edit my entry once it has been submitted?

Due to the limited number of submissions that the organizers are able to receive, we are unable to accept any updates to your entry after your initial submission.

Eligibility/Submission

Are there limitations on when the case took place?

There are no time limits or restrictions.

Can we submit entries from U.S. government activities aside from USAID?

While the activity can be connected to other U.S. government activities, it must also be connected to USAID in some way.

What does “systems thinking” mean and how can we apply it to health?

Systems thinking is a set of analytic approaches and associated tools that seek to understand how systems function, evolve, behave, and interact with their environments and influence each other. Systems thinking can help us to understand the complexity of health systems by looking at them in terms of wholes and relationships, rather than as individual parts.

USAID defines health system strengthening as the strategies, responses, and activities that are designed to sustainably improve country health system performance by improving equity, quality, and resource optimization. These priority outcomes are defined as:

• • Equity: An equitable health system affords every individual a fair opportunity to attain their highest level of health regardless of social or demographic factors, with particular emphasis on underserved, socially excluded, and vulnerable populations.
  • Quality: A quality health system is responsive to patient and population needs and utilizes data-informed, continuous process improvement to consistently provide safe, effective, trusted, and equitable health care and medical products to improve and maintain health outcomes for all people.
  • Resource Optimization: Resource optimization ensures that partner-country health systems adopt sustainable approaches to mobilize and use their various resources efficiently, effectively, and transparently to meet population health needs, where efficiency is determined both by the product derived from a given set of resources and the benefit obtained from their allocation.

Examples of activities that demonstrate systems thinking may include:

• • Developing and implementing a national community health policy that recruits, trains, finances, and/or supports oversight of community health workers to increase people’s access to health services and improve equity, aligned with national health system human resource policies.
  • Developing and rolling out an integrated, interoperable electronic health information management system that is a local adaptation of a global good and supports local digital systems governance capacity.
  • Conducting implementation research to support the implementation and scale-up of a budgeting tool that helps health managers better forecast needs and budget resources across health programs.