Jill Chanley
Senior Policy Advisor
Project Leader
The Challenge
As advocacy organizations engage with a range of decisionmakers to achieve their family planning policy goals, they need diversified communication messages and tools grounded in local evidence to address their different audiences’ priorities.
Analysis and synthesis of data and research are at the core of PRB’s technical work on family planning and reproductive health issues. The Family Planning Advocacy Resource Hub products reflect our deep experience inspiring policymakers to strengthen their commitments to family planning and related issues.
Through the Family Planning Advocacy Resource Hub, we deliver evidence-based content in compelling formats that make data and information accessible to expert and generalist audiences alike. The Family Planning Advocacy Resource Hub was created under PRB’s Empowering Evidence-Driven Advocacy project.
Evidence-Based Communication Products Tailored to Your Needs
PRB works together with family planning advocacy partners in Africa and Asia to create customized, impactful communications materials that propel their advocacy efforts. We customize materials based on partners’ advocacy needs, goals, and existing capacity for end results that help to achieve quick wins. To date, PRB has developed a number of innovative products, including videos, policy briefs, multimedia presentations, a comic book, pocket-sized infographics, and factsheets to support national and subnational advocacy.
Working with PRB has given us immense clarity on the three main points of developing an advocacy collateral—the audience, why, and how.
Dr. Sanchika Gupta, Former Program Officer, Jhpiego India
Impact
The materials created under the Advocacy Resource Hub have contributed to the use of evidence in family planning policies and decisionmaking in multiple partner countries.
- DSW Kenya advocates and others convinced Nyandarua County’s health department to set aside funds in their annual workplan for family planning sensitization and staff training on youth-friendly services.
- Jhpiego India‘s advocacy efforts helped convince policymakers in Jharkhand State to develop an adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health strategy document.
- The Forum for Family Planning and Development in the Philippines used materials to clarify misconceptions about family planning methods among elected officials, who used the information they learned about specific family planning methods to draft ordinances in support of reproductive health.
- The Association for Reproductive and Family Health‘s sub-national advocacy efforts in Nigeria led to the Kwara State Director of Public Health committing to include DMPA-SC in the family planning budget and making sure this method is always available at public facilities.
- Coalition for Health Promotion and Social Development Uganda received a signed commitment from the minister of health to increase the national budget for family planning commodities.
- Femmes Santé et Développement‘s advocacy in Cameroon led the Ministry of Health to evaluate the implementation of Adolescent Reproductive Health Units and begin developing a strategy for strengthening them.
- Faith to Action Network convinced the East African Legislative Assembly parliamentarians to retable the East African Community Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Bill for discussion and approval.
Opportunities
Request for Proposals: PRB Media Relations Support
CLOSED: PRB is seeking media relations support to raise the profile of the organization and our staff among the media and public and reach new audiences. If interested, submit your proposal by Aug. 11, 2023.
Request for Proposals: PRB Website Design Improvements
CLOSED: PRB is soliciting proposals for website design, fixes, and development for PRB.org and other PRB owned microsites. If interested, submit your proposal by Jan. 20, 2023.
Request for Proposals: Digital Media and Media Relations
CLOSED: PRB is seeking support for digital media management and media relations. We prefer one consultant manage the full contract but are open to separate contracts for the two portfolios. If interested, submit your proposal by Jan. 10, 2023.
Call for Applications: Building a Public Health Reporting Corps in India and Nigeria
CLOSED: PRB is seeking journalists working in India and Nigeria for a new program aimed at knowledge sharing and cross-border collaboration in news coverage of public health. Deadline for applications: June 13, 2022.
Request for Proposals: Translation and Editing Support
CLOSED: PRB is seeking translation and editing support for a wide range of print and digital media across its portfolio of projects. If interested, submit your proposal by Feb. 25, 2022.
Rapid Response Mechanism – Information for Applicants
CLOSED: The SAFE ENGAGE Project has established a Rapid Response mechanism to support advocates, experts, and decisionmakers in their efforts to advance evidence-based policy dialogue and expand access to safe abortion.
Youth Family Planning Resource Hub Support
CLOSED: Request for applications from youth-led organizations with existing family planning advocacy efforts to partner with us on a short-term basis to create data-rich, visually compelling, and actionable communications materials.
Policy Communication Fellowships
COMING SOON: PRB and the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP) accept application to the Policy Communication Fellows Program each spring. The program seeks to train the next generation of leaders shaping policy in their countries, learning local advocacy priorities and policy landscapes and how to tailor their research messages to relevant policy audiences.
Media Training Program
COMING SOON: Women’s Edition brings together senior-level women editors, reporters, and producers from influential media organizations in developing countries to examine and report on pressing issues affecting women’s health and status. Up to 15 senior journalists from leading news media organizations around the developing world are competitively selected to participate in this activity.
U.S. Policy Communication Training Program
CLOSED: The U.S. Policy Communication Training Program builds on PRB’s 40-year legacy of training researchers to bridge the gap between research findings and the policy development process.
Call for Applications from Youth Researchers
CLOSED October 9, 2020: Population Reference Bureau seeks two consultants, one Anglophone and one Francophone, to provide research and analysis assistance to upcoming editions of the Youth Family Planning Policy Scorecard (“Scorecard”).
Call for Applications From Youth Advocates
CLOSED October 2019: GOAL Malawi and PRB will host a workshop to introduce active young advocates to the topic of population, environment, and development (PED), and teach them about evidence-based policy communication.
Media Contact
Paola Scommegna
Senior Writer
PRB staff are experts in global health, population data and trends, and U.S. Census data. We also provide training in issues-based journalism and policy communication.
To learn more about our experts, please visit Leadership and Staff.
MEDIA MENTIONS
Is the Poverty Line, Created Five Decades Ago, an Effective Measure of Need? Experts Say No.
USA Today | Dec. 9, 2022
Beth Jarosz discusses the history and limitations of the current federal poverty line and offers recommendations.
As Biden Turns 80, Americans Ask ‘What’s Too Old?’
Reuters | Nov. 11, 2022
The article cites PRB data on aging trends in the United States.
Russia’s ‘Catastrophic’ Missing Men Problem
The Week | Nov. 5, 2022
The article highlights a blog by PRB board member Jennifer D. Sciubba about the link between demographic changes in a country and its approach to foreign policy.
Lawmakers Push to End Maternal Health Crisis
The Hill | Nov. 4, 2022
The article cites PRB reporting on the disparity in mortality rates between Black women and white women.
The Math Behind the Poverty Line: Researcher Says Calculations Don’t Account for High Housing Costs
Here & Now, WBUR | Nov. 1, 2022
Beth Jarosz discusses how the federal poverty line was set, why it’s outdated, and what changes might help.
Delaware (barely) surpasses 1 million residents − and many of them are older adults
Delaware Online | Nov. 1, 2022
The article cites a 2020 PRB article on the changes in the size of families in the United States.
‘Full-Time Work Doesn’t Pay’: Why Are So Many Working American Families Living Day to Day?
USA Today | Sept. 6, 2022
The article cites a PRB explainer on how poverty is measured in the United States.
I Work An Extra Job Because Childcare Costs More than My Salary. It’s Either That or Give Up My Career.
Market Insider | Aug. 29, 2022
The article cites KidsData’s findings on the cost of childcare in San Francisco.
Involve Stakeholders in Implementing Reproductive Health Policy
The Standard | Aug. 8, 2022
The article cites data on contraceptive use among adolescent girl from PRB’s 2021 World Population Data Sheet.
A 50 year shift to Virginia’s suburbs likely to move to the exurbs next
Virginia Public Media | July 12, 2022
Mark Mather discussed population changes in Virginia over the coming 50 years.
US Birth Rates Rose Slightly in 2021 After a Steep Drop in the First Year of the Pandemic, CDC Data Shows
CNN | May 24, 2022
Beth Jarosz discussed new data showing a slight increase in U.S. birth rates in 2021.
Featured Experts
Linda A. Jacobsen
Senior Fellow
Beth Jarosz
Program Director
Toshiko Kaneda
Technical Director, Demographic Research
Mark Mather
Associate Vice President, U.S. Programs
Experts
Linda A. Jacobsen
Senior Fellow
Barbara Seligman
Chief Strategy & Growth Officer; Senior Vice President, International Programs
Elizabeth Leahy Madsen
Associate Vice President
Many of our partnerships span decades, built on good faith relationships established by our direct experiences with individuals and organizations across the globe at the intersection of the environment, health, family planning, and population.
We work with a wide range of partners in sectors including government, nonprofit, research, business, and philanthropy. Our approach focuses on evidence, audience, and context.
For more than 30 years, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has relied on PRB to build the capacity of organizations around the world to accurately and effectively convey messages to decisionmakers that propel changes in areas such as gender, family planning, and reproductive health. Our capacity-building approach supports partners’ leadership in sustainable development. We work with longstanding partners to provide resources and limited, highly specific technical assistance. For those facing institutional challenges, we provide a full suite of support, including mentorship from peer institutions, technical training, and collaborative creation of communications materials.
Researchers and decisionmakers have relied on PRB’s expertise to oversee multiple programs for the U.S. Census Bureau since 2013. In partnership with the Census Bureau, PRB created and manages communities to support researchers, data users, and policymakers working with American Community Survey (ACS) data; organizes annual ACS Data Users conferences; and plays a key role in the creation of Census Bureau data products.
PRB’s manages multiple complex technical programs for several partners and clients around the world each year.
Examples
American Community Survey Data Users Group
Since 2012, PRB has worked in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau to increase knowledge and use of American Community Survey data by establishing and maintaining an ACS Data Users Group and Online Community of more than 2,000 members.
MOMENTUM Knowledge Accelerator
PRB leads this USAID-funded program supporting improvements in voluntary family planning and reproductive health activities, providing health and cost benefits to USAID priority countries. (Photo: Kate Holt/MCSP)
The PACE Project
Working with local partners PRB builds champions, bridges sectors, and distills evidence to ensure that family planning, reproductive health, and population issues are recognized as key to sustainable and equitable economic growth and development.
Humans and the environment are inextricably linked. Population size and age, fertility, mobility, settlement patterns, and resource availability and consumption all influence the impact we have on the environment.
Solving the complex challenges facing the world today demands a better understanding of how population growth and change impact the environment, how environmental change impacts human health and well-being, and what can be done to address these issues. PRB’s Population and the Environment activities aim to:
- Increase awareness among decisionmakers, key stakeholders, and advocates about the linkages between population dynamics, human health, and environmental issues, including climate change.
- Build leadership and capacity to advance evidence-based policy and programming solutions that recognize the links between population dynamics and the environment, including Population, Health, and Environment (PHE) multisectoral development approaches.
- Contribute to and amplify evidence on the role of family planning and reproductive health in advancing key development outcomes outside of the health sector, in areas such as women’s empowerment, climate change resilience, food security, nutrition, and agriculture.
- Develop and support international, regional, and country-level networks and communities of practice for information sharing and collaboration on population and environment linkages.
How are population dynamics and the environment linked?
- A PRB-sponsored paper, Making the Connection: Population Dynamics and Climate Compatible Development, identifies approaches and opportunities for advancing policy dialogue and policy action to include population dynamics—with an emphasis on family planning—into climate-compatible development.
- PRB amplifies research globally that links population and the environment, such as in this research highlight of the journal Population and Environment, and these short videos highlighting new research on migration, pollution, and rainfall.
How do family planning and reproductive health contribute to climate change adaptation and resilience?
- PRB has built the evidence base linking family planning and reproductive health to increased resilience to shocks, including climate-related disturbances. This analysis of results from a long-running PHE project demonstrated the definitive impact of family planning in multisectoral approaches in connection with increased climate resilience.
- Family planning and reproductive health have been identified as among the primary climate change solutions. PRB has compiled a comprehensive report, a brief (in English and French), and a video to outline the evidence and support family planning and reproductive health advocates in accessing climate adaptation financing for multisectoral programming.
- Family planning’s contribution to resilience is mapped in this interactive feature, indicating family planning’s contributions to improved educational, economic, and other outcomes.
What is the Population, Health, and Environment (PHE) approach, how does it work, and where is it implemented?
- PRB’s report The Impact of Population, Health, and Environment Projects: A Synthesis of the Evidence consolidates available results from nearly 40 PHE projects, identifying the benefits of integrated approaches to development and conservation, including enhanced outcomes compared to single-sector approaches.
- PRB’s Population, Health, Environment, and Development Activity Map identifies past and current field-based PHE activities and other multisectoral projects, funders, and organizations around the world. Contribute your project to the map here.
- Learn about approaches to advance policy, advocacy, and communication on the links between family planning, reproductive health, and the environment under the PACE Project’s multisectoral programming.
- In collaboration with leading PHE experts worldwide, PRB contributed to creating integrated health and conservation theories of change and PHE project case study theories of change for development practitioners to support PHE program design.
Where can I go to find resources for learning more about or implementing PHE approaches?
- Access updates and information on PHE and population- and environment-related research, policy, and programming with the Global Population, Environment, and Development bimonthly newsletter. Follow @AfricaPHE on Twitter for news and updates.
- Find a curated list of resources to inform PHE policy and programming in this 20 Essential Resources for Population, Health, and Environment collection.
- Visit People-Planet Connection, a website for the PHE community to connect, share resources, engage in dialogue, and follow updates.
- Explore PRB’s PHE Global Health E-Learning Course, which includes modules on policy, advocacy, and communication; scale up; and the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as information on PHE linkages with climate change adaptation and mitigation. The course is available in English, French, and Spanish.