Building systems for multi-country implementation.

The Work

A network supporting marginalised young people across ten African countries needed to scale a tertiary education programme. Each country chapter operated in its own context, with different partner institutions, regulatory environments, and capacities. The team came to us looking for the systems that would let the programme scale at quality, standardised enough for coherence across the network, and adaptive enough to work in each country's reality.

We partnered with the central team and country chapters to build the implementation backbone of the programme. The work covered three connected layers. First, an institutional capacity assessment applied annually across all partner institutions to identify readiness and target support. Second, a suite of policies, manuals, and toolkits that defined the non-negotiable quality standards of the programme. And third, a scale-up guide that codified how central guidance moves into consistent country practice.

The network left the engagement with the systems to scale at quality. Centrally, policies and frameworks now define what the programme commits to and how it is delivered. At country level, partner institutions are assessed annually using a shared tool that connects readiness to partnership agreements and targeted improvement actions. Country chapters have the processes to lead delivery and adapt approaches to local context, and the central team has the visibility to support each one in the way it needs.