The MMS in Pregnancy Technical Advisory Group (MMS TAG), hosted by the Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies (HMHB) Consortium, commissioned this document to meet stakeholder demand for more guidance on the use of implementation science (IS), including rigorous implementation research (IR) across the phases of multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS) program introduction and scale-up.
This guidance document complements the Framework for Country MMS Scale-up (Framework) that was set forth by a collaboration of donors — Kirk Humanitarian, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), and the Eleanor Crook Foundation (ECF) — in their May 2024 publication, Healthier Pregnancies and Brighter Futures for Mothers and Babies: A global investment roadmap for multiple micronutrient supplementation. The Framework presents a generalized approach to MMS program introduction that can be adapted and applied by national governments and their partners. Additionally, it identifies key results and high-level actions and activities at each phase of MMS program introduction and scale-up, and champions using IS across the process.
This guidance document complements the Framework by explaining the rationale for using IS, the essential components of IS, and how IS can be applied across the pillars and phases defined in the Framework.
This guidance is aimed at national-level stakeholders who want to understand more specifically how IS can support efforts to introduce and scale MMS programming. These may include national or subnational MMS TAGs or task force members, government partners, implementing partners, research and academic partners, and/or private sector partners. It may be helpful to work through this guidance as a group.
