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Agency for All Hosts Annual Partners Meeting in Jaipur, India
By: Anubrata Basu, Sambodhi
Our Agency for All consortium partners are united by a common goal: to advance agency, foster equitable partnerships, and elevate local leadership within communities. This year, partners gathered in Jaipur, India for an annual consortium meeting to reflect on formative research results, advance our conceptualization of agency, and begin to develop a common theory of change for agency-rooted social and behavior change initiatives. We also took time to take stock of our progress, identify course corrections and agree on consortium-wide directions for the next year.
What We Focused On
- Bridging the capacities of consortium partners in key technical areas and consortium activities
- Reflecting on formative research results and advancing conceptualizations of agency
- Developing a project-wide pathway for agency-centered social and behavior change interventions
- Continuing to build partner relationships, identifying areas for improvement and actions to uphold project values
- Taking stock of progress, identifying course corrections and agree on consortium wide directions for the next year
Day 1
The first day was dedicated to rethinking, recharging, and refocusing as we harnessed the strengths that diverse perspectives bring to the table. Voices from different geographies and contexts illuminated the common challenges and roadblocks partners face in advancing our shared goals. The day was rich with discussions on the definition of agency from individual and community perspectives. It also featured reflections from the formative studies, emerging focus areas and concepts, and the evolution of our collective goals.
Day 2
On the second day, we reached a deeper appreciation of agency as a construct, conceptualizing it as a continuum and exploring its significance within SBC intervention design and implementation. Through well-planned exercises, we shed the weight of adult thinking and embraced a child-like enthusiasm, which led to insights into what agency means to each of us. Personal stories and anecdotes highlighted how agency manifests in different contexts, sparking new possibilities and opportunities.
Day 3
The final day was focused on future-proofing our strategies and strengthening our collective impact. The Strategy Team, made up of representatives from all partners, came together to reflect upon the week-long discussions and create a roadmap for the year ahead. They also reaffirmed their commitment to upholding the norms and values we embrace as a consortium and fostering innovations to solve challenges creatively and design solutions that drive progress.
What’s Next?
Looking ahead, the consortium is committed to building a stronger ecosystem with a sharper focus on strengthening relationships between implementers and researchers, fostering more creative cultures, faster adaptation, leaner processes, and stronger partnerships.
