Tools

Download Spectrum.exe

The Health Policy Initiative creates user-friendly software and computer models to help in-country partners understand the magnitude of health challenges, explore policy and resource options, and set priorities. Through this page, you can access computer models, including the Spectrum Suite of Policy Models.

• Demographic Dividend Tool
  

  The demographic dividend is an opportunity for economic growth, development, and improved well-being that arises as a result of changes in population age structure. This online tool shows animated population age structures between 1980 and 2040 in countries with high fertility rates. Users can compare countries to each other and also see how a country's age structure will be different in the future based on a low and high fertility scenario. 

• Family Planning Tools
  

  These interactive tools are designed to illustrate key concepts in population and family planning dynamics. With them you can explore the concepts of the demographic dividend, the proximate determinants of fertility, population momentum, and family planning goals. Each tool lets you select the country to examine. The tools are simple and easy to use and each illustrates just one concept. More detailed analysis can be done with the Spectrum software.

   

• Family-Friendly Workplace Model
  

  The Family-Friendly Workplace (FFW) Model is designed to help managers analyze the costs and advantages of providing family-friendly benefits through the workplace. Family-friendly workplace policies provide benefits such as on-site health services, childcare, family planning, maternity leave, transportation, and flexible scheduling. As a result, employees can manage their careers and family responsibilities more successfully, while employers are better able to retain highly-skilled employees and reduce absenteeism. However, many employers are still unaware of the potential gains associated with creating a more family-friendly workplace. The FFW Model can be used to engage stakeholders to build support for family-friendly workplace policies. 

   

• GAP Tool: Gather, Analyze, and Plan
  

  The GAP Tool (Gather, Analyze, and Plan) is a simple Excel-based tool to help policymakers, ministry officials, health officials, and advocates understand and plan for the costs associated with expanding family planning to achieve their country's contraceptive prevalence or fertility goals. The two main outputs produced by the tool are the country’s funding gaps for a national family planning program and for family planning commodities.

   

• Goals Model (Excel Version)
  

  The Goals Model is now contained in Spectrum. Only use this Excel version if you intend to use the Capacity Module of the Goals Model, which projects human resource and training needs to meet program goals.

   

• Male Circumcision Decisionmakers Tool
  

  The Male Circumcision (MC) Decisionmakers Tool is an Excel-based model that estimates the impact and cost of scaling up male circumcision services as an HIV prevention intervention. The model considers different policy options including target populations (all adult males, young males, adolescents, neonates, high-risk males, etc.) and different rates of scaling up MC coverage. Outputs of the model include cost per MC performed, number of HIV infections averted, and cost per infection averted. Total costs can be based on detailed facility-level inputs on the costs of service provision or on assumptions about the average costs per male circumcision performed.

  
  
• RAPIDWomen
  

  RAPIDWomen is an interactive software tool that links family planning and women-centered strategies, thereby demonstrating how investing in these programs can increase quality of life for women, girls, and families, as well as overall development. The model can be used to create an evidence base for women's rights advocates, government leaders, and women's organizations to advocate for increased investments in family planning/reproductive health and other women-centered interventions in their countries.

   

• Resource Estimation Tool for Advocacy
  

  The Resource Estimation Tool for Advocacy (RETA) is a new tool to estimate resource needs for scaling up comprehensive HIV prevention programming for men who have sex with men and transgenders. RETA estimates the resources needed for a five-year period, based on user input of population size estimates, target coverage levels, and local costs of HIV prevention services. It was developed for use by civil society groups and can estimate resource needs at local, municipal, provincial, or national levels. RETA allows users to plan how specific services can or should be targeted at sub-populations of men who have sex with men to more accurately project the funding needs. 

  
   

• Spectrum Policy Modeling System
  

  Spectrum is a suite of policy models that make use of a unified set of Windows-based commands that can be easily learned. The models are used to project the need for FP/RH, MH, and HIV/AIDS services. Most models are available in English, French, and Spanish. Some are also available in Portuguese, Arabic, and Russian. Each model includes a detailed user manual that not only describes how to use the software but also includes sections on data sources, interpretation and use of the results, a tutorial, and a description of the methodology.
  
  The models included in the Spectrum system are: DemProj, FamPlan, AIM, RAPID, Ben-Cost, NewGen, PMTCT, Safe Motherhood, and Condom Requirements. Allocate is a tool used to relate program actions to goals and summarizes output from other Spectrum models. The Goals Model has been added to the Spectrum suite. Goals helps efforts to respond to the HIV epidemic by showing how the amount and allocation of funding is related to the achievement of national goals, such as the reduction in HIV prevalence and expansion of care and support.

  
   

• Workplace Policy Builder
  

  Workplace Policy Builder (WPB) is designed to help companies develop their own HIV/AIDS policies through a participatory process. The WPB guides the user through the step-by-step process of developing a policy and includes a number of resources: a database of corporate workplace policies from around the world, a literature database of the impact of HIV/AIDS, national HIV/AIDS policies, international standards, the AIM-B model, and a component for assessing the cost of any proposed program.