Strengthening Roots of Health to Scale Reproductive Health Programs
Every breakthrough program eventually faces the same question: how do we turn impact into lasting change? The answer lies in building strategic systems that can scale.
Roots of Health had spent years building one of the Philippines' most effective reproductive health programs, reducing teen pregnancies in Puerto Princesa by 60% and providing judgment-free services across Palawan. However, despite clear impact, the organization faced persistent operational challenges: how to systematically evaluate partnerships, measure and communicate their social return on investment, and engage donors through clearer storytelling. With an established team of 50 staff, they needed strategic infrastructure to sustain and scale their mission.
Supported by the I DO Project, a team of student consultants helped Roots of Health tackle these structural challenges.
Team 5 from the 2024-2025 cohort — Baptiste Cantin, Matylda Zorawska, Yoran van Staalduinen, Carla Fernandez, and Ciumac Valeria — had one common goal in mind: “Empowering Palawan communities through reproductive knowledge, collaboration, and sustainable solutions for a healthier future.”
Strengthening the Roots of Impact
The team focused on creating strategic tools that would outlast the project itself:
Partnership expansion: Developed a digital decision matrix for partner evaluation and created personalized email templates and slide decks for targeted outreach
Impact measurement: Delivered a complete Social Return on Investment (SROI) toolkit including Excel calculator, report template, and website prototype — to quantify and communicate value to donors
Website redesign: Added impact statements to donation pages, created a dedicated section showcasing measured outcomes, and integrated more testimonials to humanize the work and strengthen donor engagement
Operational clarity: Advised on process improvements across departments to maximize social impact and financial efficiency
The Fruit of Collaboration
For Roots of Health, the partnership provided something crucial: the infrastructure to turn impact into investment. The SROI metrics and partnership evaluation tools gave the organization a framework for strategic decision-making and donor communication that hadn't existed before.
For the student consultants, the experience reshaped their understanding of how business skills translate to social impact. "I improved my public speaking skills, with the NGO meetings where we had to talk to actual workers, and also with the presentations in class," Carla shared. "It also made me want to further participate in helping an NGO. I've realized with our business skills we can actually be helpful."
Undoubtedly, funding challenges cannot be solved overnight, but the partnership gave Roots of Health the strategic tools to approach those challenges systematically.
Learn more about Roots of Health's reproductive health work in Palawan at their website and follow their journey empowering communities across the Philippines: https://rootsofhealth.org