Start Center - Strategic Analysis, Research & Training Center

The START Center Global Program was launched in 2011 with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Initially, the Program was designed to support research and analysis for program teams at the Gates Foundation. Since that time, The START Center Global Program has expanded and now provides high-quality research and analytic support for a number of additional clients.

 

The START Center Team

Global Program Featured Projects

6/13/2025

Family Planning AI Chatbot Benchmarking

The START team derived a feasible evaluation method of a large language model (generative AI-powered) chatbot designed to improve access to family planning information among young adults in Kenya and Senegal. This project involved benchmarking the chatbot against global and culturally sensitive best practices for digital health tools in addition to establishing rapid-cycle methodological processes for ongoing refinement and implementation. Through key informant interviews and landscape analysis, the team provided recommendations on how to effectively ensure the chatbot’s accuracy, acceptability, safety, and potential for scale-up across diverse implementation contexts.

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6/17/2024

Associations Between STIs and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes

The START team examined the association between seven key STIs and nine adverse pregnancy outcomes globally, with an emphasis on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to continue building a comprehensive case regarding the impact of STIs on women’s health to inform recommendations for investment pathways in STI prevention, treatment, and diagnostics for the Gates Foundation.

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Additional Global Projects