Accelect Inc, Domestic Corporation State of Delaware
Accelerate Excellence
Our vision is - to see a more inclusive and sustainable world where people can reach their full potential.
Accelerate self-reliance and sustainability to improve people’s lives
We are committed to build a world where people can reach their potential
Our services
Solutions in Public Health, Health Systems, and Health Innovation
We work with our clients to address urgent challenges in healthcare, prioritizing, sustainability and efficiency of healthcare systems. With our work we aim to support equal access for the most vulnerable populations. Our clients include governments, international and non-for-profit organizations, foundations and private companies.
Social and Behavior change communications (SBCC)
A behavior change intervention should not be about telling people what they should do. It is about motivating, inspiring and enabling people to change negative and harmful behaviors and adopt positive practices that benefit their wellbeing.
Social and Behavior Change Communications (SBCC) is the interactive process of communicating with individuals and communities, and a systematic process that includes formative research and behavior analysis; communication planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation. SBCC uses a variety of communication channels to drive and sustain positive behavior among individuals, communities and societies.
Accelect Inc team of consultants offers their considerable experience in SBCC to assist client in developing communication strategies to promote positive behaviors which are appropriate to their settings. Accelect Inc applies tactics from marketing, social and community mobilization, mass media, entertainment, advocacy, interpersonal communication, social media and other communication approaches.
Accelect INC services cover the full cycle of SBCC products starting from thematic training, research, determining target audience demographics and psychographics, geography, socio-economic status, message and behavior reinforcement mechanisms, message design and positioning, and evaluation of campaigns effectiveness.
Institutional strengthening and change management
Starting with identifying opportunities for organizational strengthening and growth, Acclect INC will provide clients with tools ensuring that they are able to leverage their existing capacity, operate to their maximum potential, and find new ways to achieve their own development. Accelect INC will work with our clients to develop structural change approaches to difficulties they may be facing, as well as challenges that we will identify together that may require changes to ensure a beneficial transition while mitigating disruption. Our approach is client driven.
Using data for impact
We recognize the importance of evidence-based approach when developing and implementing programs that answer the needs of the target audience. Therefore, we work with partners to incorporate human-centered principles in program design and implementation; we offer to handle projects of our clients to ensure that they are in line with the stated goals and objectives, support them with tools to ensure quality control of project delivery and accountability to beneficiaries and communities, donors and governments.
Our History
ACCELECT Inc was established to work in partnership with our clients to design and implement solutions and reach their goals. We work with ministries, governments, institutions, donors, foundations, philanthropists, and the private sector to tackle the complex challenges they face, accelerate practical changes within organizations, companies and policymakers to create sustainable and effective systems which improve the welfare of all individuals and communities while safeguarding the environment, promoting human rights and gender equity, and fostering social and economic development.
Our expertise includes building capacity in healthcare, institutional Institutional strengthening and change management, as well as program management with integrity and using data for impact and knowledge management. Our experts work in the fields of child protection and women empowerment and provide services that cover the full cycle of behavior change communications. We constantly stretch our thinking to seek out innovative, sustainable solutions for the world’s toughest challenges: population growth, urbanisation, food security, climate change and local/regional conflicts. At the start of every project, we search for the opportunity to add value in our designs and outcomes. We combine professional expertise with engagement capabilities, to help clients resolve their challenges, navigate change, and shape the future.
Our Work
Technology 2 Advance Education
At Accelect we believe that to break the cycle of poverty and promote long-term economic development it is imperative to invest into young people by providing them with access to educational and training opportunities.
There is overwhelming evidence that unequal access to quality education has significant social and economic implications, slowing economic growth, while increasing discrimination, inequality, and social stratification. Health outcomes are inseparably linked to education as evidenced by the prevalence of preventable diseases and inadequate health literacy in low-income nations. A significant education gap that hinders the potential and creates a barrier to opportunities and success exists in many parts of the world.
Millions of adolescents and youth are disconnected from the institutions and systems charged with preparing them for the future. For young people living in low- income communities, the need is most pronounced.
Education is the pathway to opportunity
"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." Benjamin Franklin
A public-private partnership initiative was established with the aim of connecting marginalized youth to education and potential for success, to help them obtain employment, and advance in the labor market. The partnership combined the resources of several innovation and high-tech start-ups from Israel and USA, local non-for-profit organizations from Bangladesh, Cambodia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Accelect Inc’s and independent consultants. The project received financial support from technology companies and software developers.
Mobile Learning:
The project commenced in June 2021. To generate innovative and effective solutions, we examined existing programs and practices, studied the contexts, learned more about behavior of our target audience. Practice in many countries has shown that the use of technology has greatly enhanced education for marginalized youth, providing them with new opportunities to learn and succeed. In September-December 2021 the partners from the IT sector developed several interactive digital platforms and learning applications for young people making them accessible to as many marginalized young people as possible. The applications incorporated game elements into educational activities to make learning more engaging and fun. The studies conducted suggested that this could be especially effective for young who may have had negative experiences with traditional education methods and may be more motivated by a game-like approach.
With the proliferation of smartphones and affordable data plans, in January 2022 the partners started to promote several mobile apps to provide interactive and engaging learning experiences in a format that is easily accessible and familiar to young people. NGO-partners provided a space to test the technology: they engaged and facilitated training for three groups of young activists from the communities, who helped their peers learn about the apps, download them on their smartphones to allow for informal learning and sharing of key concepts with peers.
Furthering technology to advance education
“The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future." – Plato
As technology and innovation are paving the way for the youth to access quality education like never before, we strive to addresses the growing demands of industry and the expressed interest of students.
Building on the successful pilot, the objective we have set is to combine technology and instructional techniques designed to match the learning style and interests of the youth to engage them in intensive learning situations that will accelerate learning rates, boost basic skills, and improve academic habits and employability skills. We strive for our partners to be able to provide students and teachers with a set of tools and resources to use interactive technology to connect disadvantaged youth with in-depth, industry-specific business development assistance to help grow.
Digital Literacy: in 2022 Digital Literacy Training was delivered in 3 locations for disadvantaged and out of school youth. The training itself is a valuable tool for equipping them with the skills they need to succeed in a technology-driven world. This included basic computer skills, internet research skills, and online safety and security. Information technology training reached over 8,000, representing an untapped labor pool, who have been denied access to training opportunities.
Education on wheels: by the end of 2022 several mobile hubs were set up with the help of our partners in Bangladesh and Cambodia that would move between towns and villages equipped with simple laptops, tablets powered by sustainable energy.
Next stage:
Online Learning Platforms: Online learning platforms that provide access to educational resources and courses to students who may not have access to traditional classroom settings. These platforms will offer a wide range of subjects and levels of education, catering to individual learning needs and helping youth explore the world of learning at their own pace and according to their individual needs.
With the help of online learning platforms, interactive educational apps, and virtual classrooms, these young people will be able to access quality education and bridge the gap between their circumstances and academic advancement. Through the power of technology, we are breaking down barriers and giving marginalized youth the tools they need to succeed in a constantly evolving world. With the constant advancements in technology, the possibilities for improving education for marginalized youth are endless, paving the way for a brighter and more inclusive future.
Promoting healthy behaviors among adolescents and youth
At Accelect inc. we believe that adolescent years is the crucial period in life when positive habits form that will improve long-term health and well-being. Healthy behaviors are especially important to support health into adulthood, moreover, the overall outcome is improved health status of families, communities, and the nation, ultimately enhancing the quality of life.
There are multiple factors that may influence healthy behavior and individual choices: where we live, the state of our environment, genetics, our income and education level, and our relationships with friends and family, beliefs and perceptions of our communities, all have considerable impacts on health.
Adolescents and youth can be particularly susceptible to peer pressure, influencing choices they make, while habits young people learn from their parents, caregivers and friends have impact on their wellbeing. Changing potentially harmful and negative behaviors results in improved wellbeing, higher productivity, success in education and career, and leads to positive changes in our communities.
In August 2021 Accelect Inc together with several partners, began a program to empower young people to adopt healthy behaviors, make informed choices and articulate their health rights. Areas the program focused on are reproductive health and family planning, lifestyle habits like eating, exercise, sleep hygiene, substance abuse, and mental health awareness. The program’s all or several components were implemented in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia. In November 2022, our partners in Cambodia and Bangladesh joined the partnership.
Program methodology:
Social and Behavior Change Communications (SBCC) is an evidence-based intervention and communication strategy to effectively promote positive health behaviors and sustain positive and desirable behavior outcomes. Its purpose is not to prescribe, but to motivate and enable people to make changes and adopt practices that benefit their own wellbeing and that of those close to them.
Field-level implementation has been fully owned by our partners, working in different countries, thus giving the program a diverse geographic profile. Accelect Inc. consultants and staff, who have considerable expertise in SBCC, provided in-depth technical support to our clients and partners to develop SBCC practical design, starting from research, determining target audience demographics and psychographics, geography, socio-economic status, behavior reinforcement mechanisms, message design and positioning, and evaluation of campaigns effectiveness. Appropriate and targeted SBCC interventions are designed to address the needs in each area.
Empower young people:
As a first step, we conducted field research and desk evidence review to gain more in-depth understanding of the key behaviors, identify the best approaches and define SBCC activities that would be most appropriate for each target group in different geographic areas, and in each area of intervention.
Reproductive health and family planning:
The project focused on several cohorts, targeting our activities to their specific need. The groups included unmarried girls and boys ages 13-19 and married young people up to the age of 25.
Accelect Inc. led our partners efforts to launch a SBBC campaign using mass media (television, radio), digital platforms (telephone and computer applications, internet), billboards, thematic printed materials, as well as interpersonal channels.
The campaign started with activities that help young people gain and improve their knowledge about sexual health and family planning practices, to raise their awareness about and confidence towards their bodies. However, insufficient information is not the only reason why adolescents and young people, both unmarried and married, may adopt unhealthy when it comes to their own sexual health or their partners and close ones. Peer pressure is a significant factor when making choices and decision, but not only that. Cultural norms, traditional values, as well as attitudes and practices shared by young people’s families that may reinforce false beliefs and perceptions, appear to be a powerful factor in many communities.
Videos, images, narrative stories and educational materials carried the messages aimed to remove barriers to family planning including entrenched false beliefs and perceptions and strengthen attitudes and practices among young people that lead healthy sex lives. The program provided young people with information about services available to them in sexual and reproductive health and family planning, promoting use of modern contraception methods. Campaign messages encouraged adolescents and young people to exercise critical thinking and self-confidence, talk about their own needs and rights out of their cultural norms and beliefs.
Successfully influence positive change in attitudes of adolescents and adopt healthy sexual practices,
and increase confidence to adopt healthy choices when it comes by improving adolescent’s knowledge sexual and reproductive health and family planning and and use of related services choices available to them
Healthy lifestyle and habits
High-performance youth lifestyle is built on healthy habits, such as regular physical activity, eating healthy, getting adequate sleep, controlling stress. At the same time, risky behaviors and harmful habits such as substance abuse, can sabotage well-being and the future.
SBBC campaign activities deploying effective communication strategies were designed together with the partners, to reach young people using same channels as the messages about reproductive health and family planning. Communicating through social media, television and, most importantly, interpersonal channels, we brought up real challenges young people face in every-day lives, encouraging them to openly discuss peer pressure, as well as risks and consequences of substance abuse, At the core of a media campaign “Five reasons I say “no” to drugs” was the idea that it’s OK to say stand up to pressures and stress, because there are healthy alternatives that would keep you out of trouble. Unique to this part of the campaign was the ability of our partners to involve several local celebrities, “trend-setters” and youth opinion leaders.
Healthy lifestyle and Mental health
First objective of this final part of the campaign was raising mental health awareness to help people to understand the symptoms of mental illness, to seek medical professional help if necessary, and to break the mental health stigma.
Second objective was to support young people’s mental health, equip young people with tools for the future that would help them decrease stress, avoid burn out, and recognize when they need help, offering a simple recipe:
“Regular physical activity not only makes you more alert but also improves your mood and reduces stress. Even short bursts of exercise can help you concentrate and think better. Things to remember and to make your every-day norm are:
- Get proper exercise
- Practice good sleep hygiene
- Socialize with supportive friends and family.
- Eat regularly and healthy
- Talk about your emotions
- Practice mindfulness or meditation
- Avoid tobacco and excess alcohol use
Giving young people an opportunity to create their own messages
Following on from the first program, our partners engaged a group of students to design an awareness-raising campaign themselves that would talk about importance of making healthy chooses. Students worked on producing several video spots designed to be informative and interactive, with coaching and assistance from a professional TV producer and trainer specializing in SBCC.
The creative process enabled participants to embrace positive health choices themselves, increase confidence to adopt healthy behaviors, and to share this information professionally with their communities. Additionally, the project helped students build their technical production and social advertising skills.
The project was led by partners in two countries, with 30 students age 17 to 22 from Serbia and Bangladesh engaged in the production of their own materials, each group creating a different and unique video reflecting their distinct cultures, and speaking the language of the communities of young people in their countries.