Technical assistance to employer-based programs : Uttar Pradesh, India -- final evaluation report, September 1995-September 1997

SIFPSA implements the Innovations in FP Services (IFPS) project. PROFIT focused its efforts in Kanpur, where its FP specialist is based, while assisting other employer-based programs upon request. To some programs, PROFIT provided only implementation assistance, which included developing and conducting baseline surveys and establishing monitoring systems, and recruiting and training staff members and volunteers. In other programs, PROFIT identified and initiated contact with potential partners, and worked closely with them to motivate their involvement in FP through program design, proposal preparation, and program implementation. PROFIT successfully met its objectives, playing an important part in developing and providing TA for five employer-based programs, and providing TA to three additional programs: the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Estate Manufacturers Association (UPIEMA), Kanpur; the Super Tannery India Ltd. (STIL), Kanpur; Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Kanpur; GIANTS, Noida; Mawana Sugar Works (MSW), Meerut; PHD Family Welfare Foundation, Ghaziabad, Sahibabad, and Modinagar; and PHD Family Welfare Foundation and Rampur Chamber of Commerce, Rampur; and Workshop: Role of Private Sector Employers in Family Welfare Programs, Allahabad. That the programs have been operational for only 1-14 months and that neither SIFPSA nor the implementing organizations provide regular reports to PROFIT make it difficult to draw conclusions about the long-term outcomes of PROFIT's work. Nonetheless, several lessons were learned: (1) Employers need a long period of education, information, and motivation to make a decision to implement a FP family planning and integrated health program. To some degree, their hesitation can be overcome through persistent efforts, but patience is required. (2) Working with associations, while a good way to reach small and medium-scale employers, can be complex, since associations generally rely on group decisionmaking and lack individual accountability. (3) Employers are more willing to participate in smaller programs, which require a lower level of management and financial commitment. (4) It is difficult to motivate employers to take on community-based outreach services, as these activities do not provide immediate benefits to them or their employees. (5) It is important that employers communicate their support for FP to their employees. (6) Targeting those companies that are already providing health and other social services to their employees may be more successful, because these companies already have demonstrated a commitment to the welfare of their employees.