Breakthrough ACTION

What Breakthrough ACTION does

Breakthrough ACTION is a USAID-funded global social and behavior change (SBC) project implemented as a cooperative agreement (#AID-OAA-A-17-00017) and led by the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP) in consortium with ideas42 and other partners. Founded in 2017 and headquartered at 111 Market Place, Suite 310, Baltimore, MD, the project employs roughly 230 staff and operates in more than 40 countries, with a primary programmatic anchor in the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) and additional work in family planning, maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, global health security, and mental health. Its core customers are national malaria control programs, ministries of health, and other public-sector health institutions across low- and middle-income countries, and its deliverables are funded entirely by the U.S. government donor ecosystem.

The project's technical product surface is built around a portfolio of proprietary SBC methodologies and platforms: the Malaria Behavior Survey (deployed across 13 countries), the Testing Before Counseling provider-behavior protocol (scaled to 800 facilities across 7 Nigerian states), SBC Learning Central, Compass, Springboard, the Male Engagement Compendium, the Indicator Bank, and the Delivery Logistics Planner. These tools combine field survey instruments, training curricula, indicator libraries, and digital delivery (including IVR and social media campaigns that reached more than 16 million users in Nigeria between 2019 and 2024) into an integrated SBC delivery stack. A sister project, Breakthrough RESEARCH, provides parallel evaluation and evidence functions.

The business model is a donor-funded cooperative agreement, not commercial revenue: Breakthrough ACTION is paid by USAID to design, implement, and evaluate SBC interventions on its behalf, with country-level execution coordinated through government health system partners such as Nigeria's National Malaria Elimination Programme and the Liberia Ministry of Health. Go-to-market is consortium-driven — through partnerships with entities such as Population Council, WHO, UNICEF, Save the Children, Americares, and Viamo — and renewal depends on U.S. foreign aid appropriations and competitive recompete rather than commercial sales cycles.

Name

Breakthrough ACTION

Legal name

Johns Hopkins University

Website

https://breakthroughactionandresearch.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Breakthrough ACTION is a USAID-funded cooperative agreement led by Johns Hopkins CCP that designs and delivers social and behavior change interventions across 40+ countries, serving national malaria control programs and ministries of health with proprietary SBC tools and methods.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Global Health Social and Behavior Change Services

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Social Advocacy Organizations (81331), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Health, Health Promotion & Behavior Change (SBCC) (BPADAIAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health (MNCAH) Partnerships (HLAJAOAG), Social & Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) for Nutrition (BPADAJAK), Global Health Research, Evidence & Technical Assistance Organizations (HLAJAKAN)

Keywords

• Social behavior change
• Health communication programs
• Behavioral science interventions
• Malaria prevention programs
• Family planning programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Baltimore

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. USAID Cooperative Agreement: Funded through USAID Cooperative Agreement #AID-OAA-A-17-00017 as a flagship social and behavior change project. The project is grant-funded through US Government international development funding.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Breakthrough ACTION is a USAID-funded social and behavior change (SBC) project that develops and deploys standardized survey instruments, e-learning courses, resource libraries, and behaviorally-informed intervention packages to address behavioral determinants of health in malaria, family planning, maternal and child health, HIV, tuberculosis, nutrition, and other global health areas. Delivered alongside its research counterpart Breakthrough RESEARCH, the project provides technical assistance, capacity strengthening, and implementation tools to government health agencies and NGO partners across more than 40 countries.

Product overview

Breakthrough ACTION is a USAID-funded social and behavior change (SBC) project led by Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, operating alongside its research counterpart Breakthrough RESEARCH. The portfolio consists of standardized survey tools (Malaria Behavior Survey), learning platforms (SBC Learning Central), curated resource libraries (The Compass, Male Engagement Compendium, SBC Indicator Banks), and behaviorally-informed intervention packages (Testing Before Counseling, Delivery Logistics Planner). These products work together to provide end-to-end SBC support: from evidence generation and capacity building through implementation tools and outcome measurement, addressing health areas including malaria, family planning, maternal health, and HIV. The project also maintains a Breakthrough Gallery showcasing nine documented innovation breakthroughs and contributes to the Compass online platform and Springboard SBC community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Malaria Behavior Survey (MBS) Standardized, theory-based survey tool developed with PMI to collect data on malaria prevention and treatment behaviors and their psychosocial drivers, using the Ideation model of behavior change. Includes a web-based data visualization dashboard for national malaria programs and partners. Implemented in 13 countries between 2018 and 2024.
• SBC Learning Central Online learning platform offering self-paced courses on social and behavior change approaches, including the SBC Flow Chart, Audience Segmentation for Nutrition, and Human-Centered Design for Nutrition Programming, delivered in English and French for SBC professionals and program staff.
• The Compass for SBC Online platform dedicated to curating and sharing high-quality SBC resources for professionals, with enhanced search and filtering, Springboard community integration, and newsletter features.
• Male Engagement Resource Compendium Curated resource library designed to increase access to materials that facilitate engaging men and boys in family planning and reproductive health programming, organized by resource type, approach, technical area, and type of engagement, leveraging the Know, Care, Do Theory of Change.
• SBC for Family Planning Indicator Bank Standardized collection of social and behavior change indicators for family planning and service delivery, aggregated from MEASURE Evaluation, FP2020, and DHS Program, searchable and filterable by framework, monitoring level, and socio-ecological level.
• Delivery Logistics Planner and Big Belly Savings Tracker Behaviorally-informed solution set developed in Liberia to help pregnant women plan for and save toward the costs of facility-based delivery, leveraging traditional Liberian storytelling and supporting trained traditional midwives and antenatal care providers. Incorporated into a draft Big Belly Manual for the Liberia Ministry of Health.
• Testing Before Counseling (TBC) Solution Set Provider behavior change solution that requires malaria testing during client intake/triage before consultation, including facilitated group discussions and simplified diagnostic tools. Scaled to nearly 800 health facilities across seven Nigerian states as of 2023 with 100% protocol adherence and a 95% reduction in inappropriate malaria diagnoses during the pilot.
• Breakthrough RESEARCH

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% protocol adherence achieved in pilot facilities for Testing Before Counseling
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, moderate and minor.

• Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017CCP serves as the implementing lead organization for Breakthrough ACTION under the USAID Cooperative Agreement. CCP provides institutional infrastructure, technical leadership in social and behavior change, and project management capacity.
• ideas42coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Behavioral science partner applying behavioral economics principles to develop behaviorally-informed solutions. Contributed to Testing Before Counseling, Delivery Logistics Planner, and Big Belly Savings Tracker solutions.
• U.S. President's Malaria Initiative (PMI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Collaborated with PMI to develop the Malaria Behavior Survey as a standard tool for collecting data on malaria-related behaviors and drivers.
• Population CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Leads Breakthrough RESEARCH consortium (sister project) that generates SBC-related data and analysis, setting SBC research agendas in collaboration with Breakthrough ACTION.
• AmericaresmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHealth-focused relief and development organization implementing facility-based delivery solutions pilot in Grand Bassa, Liberia since 2015. Conducted initial pilot implementation in catchment areas of two health facilities.
• National Malaria Elimination Program (Nigeria)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner receiving social media training, technical assistance, and collaborating on malaria SBC campaigns including World Malaria Day and World Mosquito Day toolkits.
• World Health Organization (WHO)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerGuidelines and frameworks referenced for solution development including fever case management guidelines. WHO identified countries at risk for Zika outbreaks.
• Save the ChildrenmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerImplementing partner for USAID Zika response in Dominican Republic, participating in participatory data analysis workshops.
• UNICEFmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerImplementing partner for USAID Zika response in El Salvador, engaged in data analysis workshops and SBC programming.
• Medical Care Development International (MCDI)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerImplementing partner for USAID Zika response in El Salvador, participating in data analysis workshops.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• RTI International: Research institute and USAID implementing partner with substantial global health portfolio including SBC and behavioral science programming in malaria, FP/RH, and infectious disease. Comparable donor-funded, multi-country operating model with similar government partnership structure.
• Population Council: Leads the Breakthrough RESEARCH consortium as the sister project to Breakthrough ACTION, conducting SBC research and evaluation for USAID. Operates the same donor, similar health verticals (FP/RH, HIV, maternal health), and serves as the research counterpart in the joint USAID SBC portfolio.
• Avenir Health: Member of the Breakthrough RESEARCH consortium alongside Population Council and others. Specializes in health data, modeling, and evaluation for family planning, HIV, and infectious disease — directly comparable technical assistance work in the same USAID SBC portfolio.
• Jhpiego: Johns Hopkins affiliate focused on maternal, newborn, and reproductive health in low-resource settings. Operates as a sister Johns Hopkins entity with overlapping USAID funding relationships and overlapping health vertical focus with Breakthrough ACTION.
• FHI 360: Major USAID-funded global health implementing organization with deep social and behavior change programming across family planning, HIV, and maternal health. Operates as a similar cooperative-agreement-based SBC delivery platform serving government health programs in developing countries.
• ideas42: Behavioral science organization that is a core strategic partner on Breakthrough ACTION, co-developing solutions like Testing Before Counseling and the Delivery Logistics Planner. Applies behavioral economics to global development challenges with similar theoretical foundations.
• PATH: Global health innovation organization that develops and scales health solutions across malaria, maternal health, and reproductive health, including significant SBC programming. Operates similar multi-country USAID-funded programs targeting health behavior change.
• PSI (Population Services International): Global health organization specializing in social and behavior change communication, social marketing, and health service delivery across malaria, FP/RH, and HIV. Closely comparable SBC delivery model with multi-country presence and donor-funded operating model.

Broad incumbents

• UNICEF: UN agency implementing partner on Breakthrough ACTION's Zika response and broader SBC programming in low- and middle-income countries. Operates at substantially larger scale with broader mandate but overlapping target populations, geographies, and SBC methodologies.
• Save the Children: Major international NGO and direct implementing partner on Breakthrough ACTION's Zika response work. Operates at much larger scale across broader development verticals (education, child protection, health) including SBC programming in overlapping geographies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Breakthrough_AR
• YouTubeyoutube.com/BreakthroughACTIONRESEARCH
• Facebookfacebook.com/BreakthroughAR
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/breakthrough-action-research
• Instagraminstagram.com/breakthroughaction

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Breakthrough ACTION