Technical guidance, dissemination and uptake
Maximising the Quality of Scaling Up Nutrition Plus (MQSUN+) provides support to both the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement to develop and disseminate the most current evidence-based technical guidance to inform effective multisectoral nutrition action.
For DFID, MQSUN+ supports the development of Topic Guides or Smart Guides, and other guidance documents, as necessary. These guides are concise, evidence-based, user-friendly planning resources for DFID programme managers and technical advisors to consider the strongest and most technically relevant knowledge for their nutrition programmes. These guides can include the current evidence base for proven interventions and approaches, programme implications and challenges, elements for monitoring and evaluation and further information and key resources or tools.
MQSUN+ recently developed a Smart Guide for the integration of nutrition interventions within health sector programmes as a tool for DFID programme managers, and nutrition and health advisors, and is currently developing a Gender and Nutrition Topic Guide for DFID advisors on incorporating gender dimensions in nutrition investments during Business Case design and Annual Reviews.
The project also supports dissemination efforts for DFID—facilitating presentations and workshops to share the outputs of key research conducted under MQSUN+.
MQSUN+ recently carried out a systematic review of private sector engagement in nutrition. The results of the review were presented to a group of DFID advisors and representatives from the Shell Foundation, Cargill, Unilever, Spring Accelerator, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), The Power of Nutrition, TRANSFORM, AgDevCo, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the SUN Business Network. The findings from the report are being widely disseminated through existing nutrition networks—with demonstrated uptake of this new evidence in upcoming requests for proposal.
For SUN, MQSUN+ documents lessons learnt and technical knowledge to inform decision making within and between country contexts and to strengthen the global knowledge base on the experiences of addressing malnutrition. This new knowledge is highlighted in technical reports, guidance notes and other lessons learnt documents, and shared through social media, blog posts, podcasts and other multimedia.
MQSUN+ is currently developing a set of key knowledge products for wider dissemination to inform multisectoral planning, including looking at nutrition within the context of the humanitarian-development nexus, the development of a common results framework and short-term technical assistance for nutrition.
The project also provides support and produces summary documents for workshops, forums and other events to facilitate knowledge dissemination and uptake.
MQSUN+ supported the SUN Global Gathering in 2017—to disseminate the nutrition experience of SUN countries and the most up-to-date nutrition evidence to key stakeholders to inform future multisectoral nutrition in SUN countries.