The COMBI Institute

The COMBI Institute was founded in 1999 with a specific and urgent mission: to bridge the gap between strategic communication and measurable health outcomes. Based in New York, United States, the organization emerged from a collaboration with the United Nations, recognizing that many public health and social development programs struggled not because of a lack of good intentions, but because of a lack of effective, behavior-focused communication. The COMBI Institute was created to address this gap by institutionalizing a rigorous methodology known as Communication for Behavioral Impact (COMBI). From its headquarters at 230 E 79th St in New York, the Institute has since worked with governments, NGOs, and international agencies to turn communication into a tool for concrete behavioral results.

Core Focus and Methodology

The COMBI Institute is not a traditional public relations firm. Its core expertise lies in strategic communication planning specifically designed to drive behavioral change. The COMBI methodology, developed in partnership with the World Health Organization, moves beyond awareness campaigns to focus on measurable actions. The Institute trains and supports teams—particularly in ministries of health and partner agencies in low-income countries—to design communication interventions that produce tangible results in areas like vaccination uptake, disease prevention, and maternal health. This approach integrates public relations principles with behavioral science, social marketing, and community engagement. The COMBI Institute’s work is grounded in the belief that effective communication must be planned, evidence-based, and relentlessly focused on the specific behaviors that drive health and social development.

Services and Specialties

While the Institute’s primary service is training and capacity-building in the COMBI methodology, its expertise spans several related areas. Based on its mission and keywords, the likely services offered include:

• Strategic communication planning for behavioral impact in public health and social development
• Training workshops and certification programs for government and NGO staff
• Development of behavior-focused communication strategies for health campaigns
• Evaluation and measurement of communication effectiveness against behavioral outcomes
• Advisory services for integrating COMBI into national health programs
• Partnership facilitation with United Nations agencies and international organizations
• Customized communication toolkits and resources for community-level interventions

These services are delivered through a combination of in-person training, remote consultation, and collaborative project design. The COMBI Institute’s approach is highly structured and data-driven, ensuring that communication plans are directly linked to the specific behaviors that need to change.

Who Benefits from Their Work

The COMBI Institute primarily serves governments of low-income countries, particularly staff in Ministries of Health and associated ministries. It also works with partner agencies, NGOs, and international development organizations focused on public health, social development, and wellness. Organizations that need to move beyond awareness to achieve concrete behavioral results—such as increasing immunization rates, promoting handwashing, or improving nutrition practices—are ideal clients. The Institute’s methodology is particularly valuable for programs facing complex behavioral challenges where traditional communication approaches have fallen short. By training local teams, The COMBI Institute builds sustainable capacity, ensuring that the skills to design and implement behavior-focused communication remain within the country long after a project ends.

For any organization serious about using communication to drive measurable change in health and social development, The COMBI Institute offers a proven, rigorous framework. Its New York base provides a central hub for coordinating with international partners, while its global focus ensures that its methodology is adapted to diverse cultural and resource contexts. The COMBI Institute remains a specialist resource for those who understand that effective communication is not just about spreading a message, but about changing behavior for the better.