A Year of Resilience and Transition
By: Chris LeGrand, CEO

For Futures Group, 2011 proved to be a year filled with many triumphs, challenges and, above all, a year of positive change. Through our continued commitment, technical and operational excellence and drive for results, we end 2011 stronger and better able to develop and deliver innovative and locally relevant, evidence-based solutions to improve the health and well-being of people worldwide.

Throughout the course of the year, we demonstrated our commitment to technical excellence through the start of several new major projects – the Health Policy Project, Sexual HIV Prevention Program, and the Accelerated Saturation Initiative, among others. We honed our technical approach E2 (efficiency and effectiveness), which aims to improve program outcomes and make them more sustainable, while utilizing fewer resources. As part of this initiative, we launched a pilot program working with the Kenyan AIDS program focused on saving money, implementing the most effective interventions, and improving the national response to HIV/AIDS. We also made headway on RAPIDWomen, an interactive software tool supported by USAID and the Packard Foundation that demonstrates how investing in family planning and women-centered strategies can increase quality of life for women, girls, and families, while supporting overall development.

Celebrating forty years of thought leadership, this summer we paused to honor the insight of our founders and the company’s 40-year anniversary. For 40 years, Futures Group has created lasting solutions to some of the most pressing public health challenges facing nations. We continue to follow the footsteps of our founders, providing insight for a better world. As part of our celebration, we were proud to launch a refreshed visual brand, including an updated logo, website and corporate materials.

In October, Futures Group merged with Australian-based GRM International, expanding to meet the growing needs of our partners. The two firms created a global leader in development with approximately 90 current projects operating in more than 60 countries, and $225 million in revenue. We immediately began combining forces to offer clients and partners access to a top-tier health and development organization with a unique capacity to reach people in need and create better futures for our clients, communities and colleagues around the world.

Futures finished the year with an active presence at several conferences including the Dakar International Family Planning Conference and the first regional Caribbean HIV conference in seven years, focused on stigma and discrimination.

The foundation we built in 2011 positions us to take advantage of many great possibilities in 2012. In a time of great change and uncertainty – the global economic challenges, US Government debt and budget debates, and breakthroughs in HIV prevention research – there are infinite opportunities to make a difference in communities we serve around the world. Our merger with GRM also positions us for new possibilities, challenges and above all opportunity to better serve our clients and people in need.

So we pivot to a new year and the beginning of the next great adventure in the Futures story. We look forward, with great anticipation, to 2012 and the possibilities it brings. Working with partners around the world, Futures and GRM will continue to focus on having a lasting positive impact on the beneficiaries we ultimately all are here to serve.