Equal

Equal International is an international development consultancy and think tank based in the UK and South Africa, with a global network of Associates.

 

We have provide support to strategy development, convening and research across a range of policy domains including global health, gender, disability and development finance. Through our consultancy work we support clients with capacity and expertise to make lasting positive change. Through our think tank work we cocreate and advocate for bold development finance reforms.

 

In everything we do, we strive to address barriers to the inclusion and dignity of marginalised groups and those at risk of being 'left behind'.

 

Equal began as a collective of experienced HIV advocates and policy specialists, providing tailored and responsive support to progressive organisations. Overtime, we have built on the cutting-edge foundation of HIV health and rights and expanded our expertise to include other issues of health and rights, such as gender empowerment, SRHR, disability, UHC, non-communicable diseases, and development finance architecture.

 

Our key areas of consultancy expertise include:

 

STRATEGY

We support clients to develop high impact strategies that take great ideas from ideation to implementation. We develop strategies for organisations, departments and programmes. We use Theory of Change and multistakeholder cocreation to develop an analysis of the problem, solution and pathway for success, combined with resource mobilisation strategies and monitoring frameworks to translate plans into action. We also provide direct strategic guidance and leadership coaching to senior executives.  

 

Examples of our strategy work:

 

WACI Health and Aidspan new organisational strategies

Equal supported WACI Health and Aidspan - two African civil society organisations, to develop new organisational strategies to optimise the organisations’ unique value offer within a dynamic global health context. The strategy processes undertook a participatory Theory of Change development process which included the establishment of an advisory group, broad landscape research and stakeholder interviews, before facilitating three intensive Theory of Change workshops. The final organisational strategies were accompanied by results frameworks and resource mobilisation frameworks. 

 

FCDO Equal, Safe and Free Fund (LGBT+)

Equal was approached by The Baring Foundation and the UK Alliance for Global Equality to help conceptualise a new partnership fund between the UK government FCDO and private foundations to support LGBT+ civil society organisations in the Global South and East. Equal helped to convene LGBT organisations and stakeholders in cooperation with UK policy makers and LGBT champions, to conceptualise and define the political and technical case for the fund. A policy and technical briefing (setting out a workable mechanism for the fund) was then developed and presented to civil servants, and became the basis of a new 4 year £25m fund.

 

UNAIDS Social Contracting

Equal was approached by UNAIDS to support the agency’s thought-leadership on social contracting (national funding of civil society organisations) as a means for sustainable financing of the community led HIV response in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA). This led to a collaborative effort between UNAIDS and Equal to undertake a regional consultation process, first beginning with a scoping exercise to develop conceptual clarity, map existing tools/guides and document early demonstrations, before convening UNAIDS country representatives, governments and civil society in a regional workshop in Johannesburg to cocreate pathways forward for the adoption of social contracting practices.

 

Global Public Investment

In 2017 Equal was approached by a representative of the Global Fund Advocates Network (GFAN) to support thought leadership on the question of development finance architecture, which ultimately the HIV response is beholden to. This led to a programme of work that Equal continues to this day through our think tank work. Equal began this journey by convening a Thought-Leadership Retreat in January 2018, which saw the development of an early Theory of Change that would later evolve into the Global Public Investment (GPI) proposal. When the Covid-19 pandemic validated the cooperation and equity challenges highlighted by the GPI proposal, Equal began an intensive phase of work (namely in partnership with Jonathan Glennie (found of Global Nation), Simon Reid-Henry (founder of Public Interest) and Christoph Benn (Joep Lange Institute)) to advance the political and technical foundations of GPI. Equal convened and was secretariat to the Expert Working Group on GPI, which became the engine of a global cocreation process and movement which continues to gain support among decision makers and civil society. Our ongoing work on development finance reform involves multiple phases of research, analysis, strategy and advocacy.

 

Strategic guidance and council

Equal’s founding Director has a long history of providing strategic guidance to leaders, either to help implement programme and organisational strategies, or to develop their leadership skills. This unique service combines all of our strategy experience and tools, tailored to the needs of an individual. For more information on one-to-one strategic guidance, see here.

 

CONVENING

Equal has a long history of convening multistakeholder dialogues to facilitate common understanding the development of innovation solutions, including between policy makers, civil society, foundations, academia and the private sector. We work with clients to conceptualise, plan and facilitate dialogue events to drive policy progress.

Examples of our convening work.

 

Wilton Park

Equal has a long running relationship with Wilton Park (an executive agency of the UK government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) and has helped to conceptualise, plan and facilitate high-level policy dialogues on global health and development. Dialogues topics have included the future of global health financing, and the future of development finance, attended by southern and northern government representatives, UN agencies, foundations and civil society.

 

WHO HIV Drug Resistance Global Advocacy Strategy

Equal supported the WHO to develop its Global Action Plan (GAP) on HIV Drug Resistance, and on the basis of the GAP, convened a multistakeholder workshop in partnership with the WHO, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Joep Lange Institute to cocreate a multistakeholder advocacy strategy to provide accountability and reinforcement of the GAP. 

 

High-level roundtable on Access to Hepatitis C Medicine in South Africa

In 2019, Equal convened a high-level roundtable with the South African Department of Health, civil society and pharmaceutical producers to find a way to ensure access to hepatitis C medicines that are available in other countries. The multistakeholder dialogue helped to develop a common understanding of the barriers and role that each stakeholder could play to unlock access.

 

RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS

Our research and analysis capacity includes policy analysis and briefings, monitoring and evaluation, advocacy toolkits and training guides. We tailor our research teams to each assignment, working with our network of trusted in-country and regional experts to ensure that insights are grounded and representative. We exhibit use best practice social research methods, and in all our work we emphasise a participatory and inclusive approach to research design, data collection and analysis. 

Examples of our research and analysis.

 

Civil Society Engagement Mechanism (CSEM) Position Paper on the Impact of Covid Policies

Equal supported CSEM to conduct an analysis of the economic and health impacts of Covid-19 containment policies on the most marginalised groups in society. This saw a global analysis drawing on consultations with communities, civil society, government and academics. The analysis and recommendations were presented by CSEM at the 2020 UN General Assembly Special Session on Covid-19.

 

CSEM Advocacy Toolkit

Equal supported CSEM to develop an advocacy toolkit for its global network members to use to advocate for UHC. The toolkit begins with introducing key concepts of UHC before providing a stepwise process for developing tailored advocacy plans.

 

Frontline/PITCH COVID Innovations

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many people living with HIV (PLHIV) and community groups had to rapidly adjust how they were accessing (as well as providing) treatment and support. This assignment set out to document these innovations, to draw lessons on how PLHIV and communities respond to shocks, and support they need to become more resilient. This research process involved consultations with community groups in 8 countries, an online survey, and participatory analysis and feedback sessions.

 

NCD Alliance Health Equity Framework and Assessment Tool

Equal supported the NCD Alliance to develop a Health Equity Framework and Equity Assessment Tool, to embed the concept of equity at the centre of the NCD Alliance’s country advocacy work. The work including a extensive consultation and cocreation workshops with communities and stakeholders to understand what equity means to them and how it can strengthen advocacy.

 

Equal Measures 2030 (EM2030) Evaluation

EM2030 is an initiative to strengthen gender empowerment through data-led advocacy capacity building. Equal conducted a mid-term and impact evaluation of EM2030 in 5 African countries, combining extensive stakeholder consultation and programme data review.