How can Systems Thinking, Social Capital and Social Network Analysis help Programmes Achieve Impact at Scale? Results of a Demonstration Project in the Kenyan Dairy Sector

Development practitioners are often faced with a common challenge: how to scale-up activities to reach thousands of farmers rather than hundreds, or millions of babies instead of thousands? This paper presents the results of an evaluation of a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Agroforestry Centre that worked to build social capital among organizations working in the Kenyan dairy sector using the SCALE® approach developed by USAID and the Academy for Educational Development. SCALE is a communications-driven management approach that strengthens social capital, governance, and can result in increased sustainable economic growth. The evaluation used social network analysis to understand the roles organizations play within the larger system and how they are connected to other organizations at two points in time. The paper discusses the results of implementing the SCALE approach within feeding systems of small-holder dairy farmers in Kenya.