Thrive by Five — Early Years Starter Kit

Overview

The Thrive by Five program supports parents and caregivers of children aged 0-5 by providing 100+ fun and easy to understand, evidence-based parenting activities that reflect their local contexts. The primary goal of the program is to empower parents and caregivers to have more frequent and quality interactions with children. One of the primary means to reach parents and caregivers is the Thrive by Five app, currently available in 10 countries across Africa and Asia.

The content’s activities elevate local parenting practices through illustrations and examples that are unique to each country. All the content in the app has been validated by in-country experts and caregivers through an extensive localization and co-design process (see case study). To improve accessibility and reach communities with low literacy, the app content can be fully accessed through audio recordings and also disseminated through other channels like radio, printed assets, and on-the-ground activations (community health workers in Namibia, educarers in Indonesia, regional lectures in Kyrgyzstan, etc.) based on local needs. In addition, the content is also available through a Whatsapp chatbot in Cameroon, Namibia, Kyrgyzstan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Active since 2022

Developer Minderoo Foundation

How it works

Thrive by Five provides ‘collective actions’ or a collection of locally-adapted activities across 5 key domains: Connect, Talk, Play, Healthy Home, and Community. These collective actions together aim to build responsive relationships, support children’s language and brain development, create a safe home environment, and encourage involvement of extended family and trusted members of the community.

The app is organized by different sections:

The ‘Activities’ section is a library of 100+ activities across the 5 domains and recommends age-appropriate activities to the user. Each activity begins with ‘The Why’ that provides brief information on the developmental area targeted by activity followed by short instructions on how and when to use the activity.
The ‘Activity Planner’ section features pre-set activity plans developed to target skill development in areas such as developing routines, building bonds, managing emotions, motor skills, keeping healthy, and creativity.
The ‘Memory Album’ can be used to upload photos or videos of the child during an activity.
The ‘Achievements’ section allows users to track their progress and displays the skills and domain related to the completed activities.
The ‘Support’ section provides users links to other external services like immunisations and government services in their region.

Reach and relevance

Users
50,000
As of March 2023.
Country of origin
- Australia
Active countries
The app is currently available in 10 countries: Afghanistan, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Namibia, and Uzbekistan
Language
Dissemination strategy
With support from M&C Saatchi, an international communications network, Thrive by Five develops tailored dissemination strategies based on local contexts and needs in a country. Local in-country partners including government entities and civil society organizations support the promotion of the program through social media campaigns, on-the-ground activities (e.g., dissemination through community health workers, educarers, and regional lectures in Kyrgyzstan), radio, television, SMS, and print media.

In addition, the widely-acclaimed Thrive by Five TED talk has been dubbed in many languages and used as a key awareness raising tool about Thrive by Five’s programming including the app across social media and maternity hospitals.

Technology and access

The Thrive by Five app, once downloaded, can be fully accessed offline. While a smartphone is required to download the app, it has been successfully tested and proven to work on very old devices and does not require the latest software for optimal functionality. The app content is also available through a WhatsApp Chatbot in some contexts which requires internet access.

Connectivity requirements
- Partial or full offline functionality Tool content can be accessed offline once downloaded.
Device types
- Smartphone
Cost model
- Free The tool is available at no charge to the user.

Measurement

The University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Center (BMC) leads the evaluation of the app and is assisted by in-country partners who support data collection. The Center uses mixed methods approaches including surveys, interviews, focus group discussions, and workshops to examine behavior change and collect user experience feedback. The Systems Usability Scale, Parenting Confidence Scale and adapted Parenting and Family Adjustment Scale, and citizen ethnographies via audio diaries are also used as part of the evaluation. The published findings of these evaluations are forthcoming. In addition, M&C Saatchi, the program’s marketing partners conduct evaluations focused on the reach of the app.

Partnerships

Funded by Minderoo Foundation, Thrive by Five partners with grassroots NGOs and government entities that support the co-design, validation, and implementation of the tool in specific countries. Efforts are specifically made to engage and partner with government ministries that oversee early childhood development to reach users. The University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Center is the global research partner which also supports the development of content for each country. Other key partners include a global tech partner responsible for the development of the platform and M&C Saatchi which supports the promotion and dissemination of the program across participating countries.

GroeiGids

Kinedu

Afinidata

Sésamo Chatbot