As part of a TRAction initiative to promote cleaner cooking technologies, a community organizer in Uganda demonstrates the use of an innovative stove.

Kendra Williams/URC

Despite a preponderance of evidence on the potential impact of specific maternal, newborn, and child health interventions, implementing and scaling up proven approaches remains a challenge in many countries globally. As part of the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID's) efforts to end preventable child and maternal deaths, the Translating Research into Action (TRAction) project addresses this knowledge gap through implementation science, which seeks to develop, test, and compare approaches to deliver health interventions more effectively, increase utilization, achieve coverage, and scale up evidence-based interventions.

The strategic objective of the TRAction project is to provide critical evidence to program implementers and policy makers worldwide on how to implement new and proven maternal, newborn, and child health interventions at scale and across different contexts.

To reach this goal, the TRAction project provides numerous services:

• Solicits, reviews, and awards grants to research organizations to develop and test approaches to deliver and scale up evidence-based interventions more effectively for priority health care challenges.
• Monitors and provides ongoing technical, programmatic, and financial oversight of award programs.
• Emphasizes local ownership and partnerships in order to scale up equitable and sustainable efforts and supports efforts to translate research into results.
• Shares evidence with relevant stakeholders through multiple and innovative modes of dissemination.

TRAction is a $48 million, 7-year cooperative agreement extending from September 2009 through September 2016. It is implemented in 20 countries worldwide by the University Research Co., LLC in collaboration with the Harvard University School of Public Health.

To learn more about the TRAction project, visit the project website.