Academia / Research Partners
GAIN partners with academic institutions around the world to promote research on nutrition and public-private partnerships. Academia plays a vital role in conducting impact assessments and disseminating best practices through case studies and other publications.
Partners include:
Cambridge University
GAIN worked with The Partnering Initiative housed within Cambridge University to develop a framework for evaluating GAIN partnerships, including those between GAIN and the private sector. The partnership assessment tool helps GAIN analyze and understand how partnerships can add value to both parties and be used as efficiently as possible.
Cornell University
GAIN partners with Cornell University to support the development of the “Multi-Purpose Micronutrient Assessment Program Tool”. This tool aims to improve the design and implementation of micronutrient programs and document the implementation process and programmatic impact.
Harvard University
GAIN has a longstanding relationship with the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Together, GAIN and Harvard University published two papers including Business as a Partner in Tackling Micronutrient Deficiency: Lessons in Multistakeholder Partnership and Business as a Partner in Overcoming Malnutrition – An Agenda for Action. In collaboration with the World Bank Institute, GAIN has engaged with case study writers from Harvard University who have contributed to the Business Innovation to Combat Malnutrition Case Study Series.
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
GAIN is working with IFPRI on an evaluation of the public health impact of a market-based approach to improving the dietary quality of infants and young children through the use of micronutrient powders (“Sprinkles”) in Bangladesh.
International Institute for Management Development
GAIN collaborated with the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) to develop a case study on Tetra Pak’s school feeding program in Nigeria. The case study, A School Feeding Program in Nigeria: Tetra Pak's Business and Development Goal won the 2007 Award for the best case study on corporate social responsibility of the European Foundation for Management Development.
International Zinc Nutrition Consultative Group (IZiNCG)
GAIN is supporting a research project conducted by IZiNCG on assessing the impact of complementary or staple foods fortified with zinc.
Johns Hopkins University
GAIN is partnering with Johns Hopkins University to evaluate the impact of fortified yoghurt on Bangladeshi school-going children between six and nine years old. This efficacy study focuses on the impact of fortified yoghurt on morbidity, growth and nutritional status indicators including iron, vitamin A, zinc and iodine.
United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
GAIN and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are working together on several key studies: determining the impact of flour fortification on iron and vitamin A status in Jordan; testing the effectiveness and safety of sprinkles in a social marketing model in Kenya; and validating retinol binding protein as an indicator of vitamin A. CDC also supports the monitoring and evaluation components of GAIN fortification projects, for example in Morocco and the Dominican Republic.
University of California, Davis
GAIN is collaborating with the University of California at Davis to study iron and zinc absorption from fortified complementary foods in young children in Peru.
University of Geneva
GAIN and the University of Geneva’s International Organizations MBA (IOMBA) have a partnership whereby students from the program help support the writing of case studies to demonstrate the integral role that the private sector has to play in delivering improved nutrition to the poor. The partnership started in February 2008 and the first case study, Tetra Pak in Bangladesh: Partnering to improve Nutrition and Develop the Dairy Sector, was published in 2009. The second and the third case studies, Cargill India Private Limited: Leading by Example in Fortifying Edible Oil and Cultivating Multi -Sectoral Partnerships to Alleviate Undernutrition in India: Lessons from Naandi Foundation’s School Feeding Program, were published in 2010.
Wageningen University
GAIN partners with Wageningen University to implement the Amsterdam Initiative on Malnutrition (AIM), an initiative established to improve the nutritional status of 100 million people in Africa by 2015. Other partners include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Netherlands, Unilever, DSM and AkzoNobel.
