What are IAVI’s Goals?
Our core mission is to ensure the development of safe, effective, accessible preventive HIV vaccines for use throughout the world. To that end, IAVI invests the bulk of its resources in the research and clinical assessment of candidate vaccines against strains of HIV that are prevalent in the developing world, where some 95% of new HIV infections occur. For more, see What We Do.
What is IAVI’s Capacity to Make a Real Difference?
IAVI is unique in the breadth of its capacity to conduct, fund and manage AIDS vaccine research and development and to mobilize a global effort to ensure that a preventive AIDS vaccine is developed and delivered to all who need it. We conduct leading-edge vaccine science with top laboratories around the world. We harness innovation from within and beyond the HIV vaccine field to introduce new tools, technologies and concepts to change the arc of AIDS vaccine science.
IAVI’s success comes in part from our end-to-end network of 10 collaborating clinical research centers in Africa, in-house research laboratories and external academic, government and industry collaborators. IAVI is uniquely positioned to rapidly move novel vaccine candidates from the academic bench to clinical testing in the developing world. For more, see Recent Progress.
What is IAVI’s Strategy for Success?
The global search for a preventive AIDS vaccine poses enormous scientific and logistical challenges. To meet these challenges, IAVI integrates scientific and policy research, global advocacy and a unique on-the-ground partnership-based approach called Vaccine Preparedness (pdf) to help countries and communities involved in AIDS vaccine research and to generate support for such efforts.
IAVI’s work rests on four strategic pillars:
- Implement a focused and innovative research and development program
- Secure and sustain global commitment
- Promote public policies that support vaccine R&D and future access
- Engage as partners the countries significantly affected by the epidemic where the need for a vaccine is greatest
Our guiding principles are speed, flexibility, innovation, partnership and worldwide access to the fruits of IAVI’s endeavors. For more, see IAVI’s Strategic Plan (pdf).
How Does IAVI Allocate Revenue?
Eighty-five percent of IAVI’s revenue is dedicated to program costs. IAVI consistently demonstrates efficient management of resources, earning Charity Navigator's top four-star rating ten years in a row.
How Does IAVI Measure Its Success?
A safe, effective AIDS vaccine accessible to all is the ultimate indicator of success. This will take time, but there are key milestones along the way. IAVI measures R&D progress toward a vaccine that can fight HIV two ways: via antibodies that block HIV infection and via cell-mediated immune responses that control HIV infection, slow disease progression and limit transmission of the virus.
Toward enabling R&D, we gauge our success in building political and grass-roots support for AIDS vaccines and promoting government policies that foster innovation and increase vaccine investments. Given the importance of science in fostering a nation’s economic development, we evaluate IAVI’s efforts to increase understanding of AIDS vaccine R&D as a vehicle that builds critical capacity for scientific research and leadership.
IAVI has finely honed systems for monitoring and evaluation at multiple levels. Multi-year milestones set benchmarks for organizational achievement. An annual Performance Scorecard calculates accomplishments against detailed organizational objectives weighted by priority. A Monitoring and Evaluation system ensures specific activities are linked to IAVI’s strategic plan, effective with respect to anticipated results, and cost-effective.
How Does IAVI Report Its Progress?
A recent five-year evaluation commissioned by the World Bank noted IAVI’s strong learning environment intent on continuous improvement, and IAVI’s unusual degree of willingness to review its internal operations and compare itself to other organizations. IAVI reports regularly to its Board of Directors, staff, independent scientific and policy advisory committees, and donors. Each year we publish an Annual Progress Report (pdf) available in print and online that details key developments and work underway. IAVI staff publish widely in peer-reviewed journals, with importance assigned to open-access sources to reach the widest audiences. IAVI also is unique in reporting on progress in the broader AIDS vaccine field through our publications IAVI Report and VAX. For more, see IAVI's 990 tax forms for 2009 and 2010 (pdf) and Audited Financial Statements from 2009 and 2010 (pdf).