URC

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded University Research Co., LLC (URC) the first ever Excellence in Mentorship Award during the agency’s Sixth Annual Small Business Conference on Thursday, May 16^th, in Washington, D.C. URC President Barbara N. Turner accepted the award, which recognized the significant developmental assistance the company provides to its small business protégé, Women Influencing Health Education and Rule of Law, LLC (WI-HER). The conference provides a venue for small businesses to convene, discuss success stories, network with other small businesses, and receive guidance on business and managerial practices.

What We Do

Mon, 13 May 2013 21:15:52 UT

Improving systems. Empowering communities.

University Research Co., LLC (URC) is dedicated to improving the quality of health care, social services, and health education worldwide. With our non-profit affiliate, the Center for Human Services (CHS), URC manages projects in over 45 countries including the United States.

Established in 1965, we offer a range of technical assistance to strengthen health and social systems and service quality by empowering communities and health workers to identify and scale up locally appropriate solutions to critical problems.

Directions

Mon, 13 May 2013 20:39:47 UT

Directions to URC Headquarters
7200 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 600
Bethesda, MD 20814

Note: URC is located on several floors. To ensure you go to the correct floor, please confirm the exact meeting location with your URC contact. There is a receptionist on each floor to assist you as necessary.

From Maryland, Points North and East
Take I-95 south to I-495 (Silver Spring), follow I-495 West 9 miles and take Exit 34 (Bethesda). Follow the signs for Route 355 (Wisconsin Avenue). Move into the left lane where the exit ramp which runs parallel to Wisconsin Avenue splits. Turn left onto Wisconsin Avenue at the light. Continue on Wisconsin Avenue about 1.5 miles into downtown Bethesda. 7200 Wisconsin Avenue is located two blocks south of the Hyatt Hotel at the intersection of Wisconsin and Bethesda Avenues, across the street from Starbucks.

From Virginia
Take I-495 toward Baltimore/Bethesda to Exit 34 (Wisconsin Avenue). Continue on Wisconsin Avenue about 1.5 miles into downtown Bethesda. We are two blocks south of the Hyatt Hotel on the corner of Wisconsin and Bethesda Avenues.

From Washington DC
Take Wisconsin Avenue north into Bethesda. URC is on the corner of Wisconsin and Bethesda Avenues, about three blocks into downtown Bethesda after crossing Bradley Blvd.

Parking
There is a parking garage under the building, which you enter from Bethesda Avenue, about halfway down the block on your right. Please park in the garage marked HOURLY.

Metro
Take the Red Line metro to the Bethesda Metro stop. Upon exiting the station, head to your right on Wisconsin Avenue. We are two blocks south of the Hyatt Hotel at the corner of Wisconsin and Bethesda Avenues.

URC telephone & fax
Tel. 1-301-654-8338
Fax 1-301-941-8427

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Contact Us

Mon, 13 May 2013 20:36:59 UT

Work with URC

For information about employment opportunities at URC, please visit Careers.

Partner with Us

URC holds several types of contract vehicles that enable rapid procurement of technical, managerial, and consulting services with federal government agencies. For information on URC’s procurement vehicles, please contact Samuel A. Mariam, Vice President, Contracts and Grants Administration.

URC’s non-profit affiliate, the Center for Human Services (CHS), works with clients on international and US-based projects.

To partner with CHS on US-based projects, contact Ruth Marshall, Director, US-based Programs.

To partner with URC or CHS on international projects, contact Inna Sacci, Director of Business Development.

General and Press Inquiries

For additional information about URC or to arrange for a press interview, please contact Elizabeth Ransom, Director of Corporate Communication, at 1-301-941-8442.

US Headquarters

University Research Co., LLC
7200 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 600
Bethesda, MD 20814
United States
Telephone: 1-301-654-8338
Fax: 1-301-941-8427

Website Inquires

For comments or questions about this website, please contact our webmaster.

For directions to our Bethesda, Maryland office click here.

Who We Are

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:16:51 UT

URC: Improving systems. Empowering communities.

University Research Co., LLC (URC)* is a global company dedicated to improving the quality of health care, social services, and health education worldwide. With our non-profit affiliate, the Center for Human Services (CHS), URC manages projects in over 45 countries, including the United States.

Established in 1965, we offer a range of technical assistance to strengthen health and social systems and service quality by empowering communities and health workers to identify and scale up locally appropriate solutions to critical problems. URC focuses on finding ways to deliver proven approaches to health care problems, applying quality improvement (QI) methods, and conducting operations research to tailor those approaches to various settings. Recognizing implementation barriers unique to each setting, we train local managers and service providers to strengthen health systems, integrate system elements, and bring improvements to scale. URC also specializes in designing health messages and materials to educate target audiences about improving health behaviors.

Internationally, URC expands access to and improves the quality of services addressing maternal, newborn, and child health; infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria; reproductive health and family planning; food and nutrition; and vulnerable children and families. In the United States, URC focuses on improving communication related to issues like substance abuse, with a particular focus on reaching under-served populations.

* “Co.” is an abbreviation of the word “Company.” “LLC” is the acronym for the term “Limited Liability Company” (a type of legal business entity in the United States.) We write “University Research Co., LLC” but we say “University Research Company" and use the acronym "URC" when appropriate.

History

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:36:09 UT

For over 45 years, URC has sought to combine the idealism of academic research with the pragmatism necessary in the real world. URC took its name from the founding partners, university professors who brought together talented people from the academic and scientific communities to address challenges of the 1960s and 1970s such as Head Start, hospital modernization, alcohol and drug abuse, and model cities. In 1968, URC established a non-profit affiliate, the Center for Human Services (CHS), to link more directly with community services in the US.

URC started working on international health projects
in the 1980s. URC staff with USAID Primary Health Care Project conduct assessment in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire).

The late 1970s and the 1980s witnessed rapid growth: URC excelled in job competencies training and job analysis for early childhood educators, hospital personnel, drug abuse workers, criminal justice staff, and the military. URC specialized in training, technical assistance, and instructional design, successfully operating projects in substance abuse treatment, criminal justice, child support enforcement, community rehabilitation training, reducing school violence, and family planning.

This was also a period of expansion into international work in the Philippines, Egypt, Colombia, and Tunisia through contracts with the United Nations and other organizations. In 1981, with the Primary Health Care Operations Research Project (PRICOR), URC began working internationally in public health and soon became the lead organization for primary health care operations research with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

For nearly 20 years, URC provided global leadership for health care quality assurance in USAID-supported programs through the Quality Assurance Project (QAP) I, II, and III. QAP provided technical assistance and conducted operations research on health care quality improvement. This work helped to raise awareness in countries and internationally that quality improvement (QI) is an essential component of health system strengthening and that quality standards and QI capacity development are vital to the development of health care systems in even the most resource-constrained countries.

As the new millennium approached, URC added instructional technology to its portfolio, with projects for the U.S. Army, Social Security Administration, U.S. Navy, Office of Personnel Management, Federal Aviation Administration, and Goddard Space Flight Center. At that time, URC also launched major health communications, social marketing, and materials development programs, setting the stage for ground-breaking work to reduce cardiovascular and pulmonary disease, high blood pressure, cholesterol, asthma, obesity and nutrition, smoking, substance abuse, eye health, and teen pregnancy.

In 2000, URC built expertise in health communications and social marketing, developing and implementing media campaigns to support prevention of underage drinking, asthma, and heart disease; training journalist on health reporting; as well as providing organizational assessments and strategic planning support for the DC Department of Health and others throughout the East Coast.

In 2013, URC’s expertise centers on maternal, newborn, and child health; HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria; reproductive health and family planning; food and nutrition; and vulnerable children and families. It approaches the challenges rising from these health areas through quality improvement, health systems strengthening, health communication and behavior change, and research and evaluation.

URC Helps Cambodia Ministry of Health Prepare for Cervical Cancer-screening Program

Fri, 10 May 2013 19:03:00 UT

With support from the USAID Better Health Services Project (BHS) implemented by URC in Cambodia, the Preventive Medicine Department of the Ministry of Health and its partners are collaborating to expand the availability of cervical cancer screening to the general population.

URC and Emory University Celebrate Achievements in Improving Maternal and Newborn Health in Ethiopia with Partners

Mon, 6 May 2013 20:58:00 UT

Last week, the Maternal and Newborn Health in Ethiopia Partnership (MaNHEP) presented project results and celebrated achievements at a dissemination meeting in Addis Ababa. Led by Emory University and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, MaNHEP sought to improve maternal and newborn health care in rural Ethiopia using a community-oriented approach. Emory University contracted URC to support Ministry of Health staff in the community and facilities as well as other community members in six woredas (districts) in Amhara and Oromia Regions to use quality improvement techniques to improve care for mothers and newborns.

URC at AIDS 2012

Mon, 6 May 2013 20:05:37 UT

URC and its non-profit affiliate, the Center for Human Services (CHS), participated in the International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) from July 22–27, 2012, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.

URC is dedicated to improving the quality of health care, social services, and health education worldwide. Together with CHS, we manage projects in over 40 countries, with a focus on HIV/AIDS in over half of them.

To showcase our work, we held an interactive event, exhibition booth, and series of presentations at the conference:

“Better HIV Services, Every Time”

Attendees interacted with our technical experts as they shared practical strategies for improving various aspects of HIV/AIDS prevention, care, support, and treatment. Attendees asked questions, contributed ideas, and networked with colleagues.

Click here for more information.

Exhibition Booth

Attendees connected with our staff and learned about our HIV/AIDS work, technical expertise, resources, and job opportunities.

Click here for more information.

Poster Presentations

Several of our technical experts presented on various topics, including chronic and palliative care, provider-initiated HIV counseling and testing, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, standards of care for vulnerable children, the role of expert patients, and the cost-effectiveness of improving HIV services.

Click here for more information

About the Conference

The biannual conference, organized by the International AIDS Society, is the premier gathering for those working in the HIV/AIDS field, including policy makers, philanthropists, researchers, activists, journalists, people living with HIV/AIDS, and others committed to ending the pandemic. It offers an opportunity for the more than 20,000 attendees from nearly 200 countries to evaluate the latest scientific developments, share lessons learned, and collectively chart a course forward.

The United States hosted the first conference in Atlanta in 1985, as well as the 1987 conference in Washington and the 1990 conference in San Francisco. Since then, the conferences have been held all over the world. This year marks the first time in over 20 years that the conference was held in the US.

Improving Injection Safety and Waste Management in Peri-urban Karachi, Pakistan

Mon, 6 May 2013 19:26:39 UT

The USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) collaborated with Bridge Consultants, a local NGO, to improve safe injection practices and waste management in 25 health facilities in Sindh, Pakistan from February 2012 to December 2012. The activities aimed to improve four key areas: safe injection practices by healthcare providers; improved waste management; post-exposure prophylaxis; and reduce prescription of unnecessary injections. This short report describes the significant results achieved and lessons learned as a result of engaging private health care providers and community members in the interventions implemented.

Performance-Based Incentives Generate Results for Health Centers in Benin

Mon, 6 May 2013 19:23:14 UT

This success story highlights the Benin Integrated Family Health Project's (Projet Intégré de Santé Familiale, PISAF) accomplishments in implementing a performance-based incentive scheme in two health zones in Benin. A seven year project funded by USAID, PISAF sought to improve the health status of the Beninese focusing on maternal and neonatal health, child health, malaria, family planning, and HIV/AIDS.

Treating and Preventing Fistula in Benin through the USAID PISAF Project

Mon, 6 May 2013 19:17:24 UT

This brief highlights the Benin Integrated Family Health Project's (Projet Intégré de Santé Familiale, PISAF) interventions from 2011-2012 to address obstetric fistula. A seven year project funded by USAID, PISAF sought to improve the health status of the Beninese focusing on maternal and neonatal health, child health, malaria, family planning, and HIV/AIDS.

Saving women's Lives: Improved Obstetric Care in Benin

Mon, 6 May 2013 19:14:46 UT

This success story highlights the Benin Integrated Family Health Project (Projet Intégré de Santé Familiale, PISAF) quality improvement work via collaboratives, beginning in 2008, to reduce postpartum hemorrhage and maternal mortality using the Active Management of Third Stage Labor paradigm. A seven year project funded by USAID, PISAF sought to improve the health status of the Beninese focusing on maternal and neonatal health, child health, malaria, family planning, and HIV/AIDS.

Piloting the USAID Gender Indicator on Equality of Access to Social, Economic and Political Opportunities in Benin

Mon, 6 May 2013 19:12:03 UT

This success story highlights the pilot test, in French and Fon, that the Benin Integrated Family Health Project (Projet Intégré de Santé Familiale, PISAF) implemented using the USAID gender indicator in Benin's Zou/Colliines, Atlantique/Littoral and Bourgou/Alibori Departments. A seven year project funded by USAID, PISAF sought to improve the health status of the Beninese focusing on maternal and neonatal health, child health, malaria, family planning, and HIV/AIDS.

Benin PISAF Final Report

Mon, 6 May 2013 19:07:43 UT

This final report highlights how the Benin Integrated Family Health Project (Projet Intégré de Santé Familiale, PISAF) sought to improve the health status of the Beninese through collaboration with non-governmental organizations, government agencies, other donors and USAID projects, communities, and the private sector along with Abt Associates as a subcontractor. The project’s activities supported the Government’s national policies and strategies and USAID’s health objective: to increase the use of health services, products, and preventive measures in a supportive policy environment.

Benin PISAF Final Report

Mon, 6 May 2013 19:02:27 UT

CAP-Malaria Project Engages Private Sector in Malaria Control in Burma

Wed, 1 May 2013 16:13:00 UT

As reforms stimulate economic growth in Burma, the USAID Control and Prevention of Malaria Project (CAP-Malaria) managed by URC in collaboration with Save the Children and Kenan Institute Asia, is creating new partnerships with companies to control the spread of malaria. Many of these companies operate in remote and difficult to access locations that are beyond the reach of public health care services and have high rates of malaria and employ migrant workers from within the country and from neighboring countries. The workers often have no experience with malaria, have limited access to malaria services, and can potentially spread malaria to their home communities in less-endemic areas. CAP-Malaria is assisting companies to provide malaria education and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), early diagnosis, and treatment to their employees.

Benin Muskoka

Wed, 1 May 2013 13:46:08 UT

USAID TRAction Project’s Research on Disrespect and Abuse during Childbirth to be Featured at the Wilson Center

Wed, 1 May 2013 13:19:00 UT

A URC staff member and partners affiliated with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Translating Research into Action Project (TRAction) will present research findings at a panel event at the Wilson Center on Thursday, May 2nd at 12 pm. Co-hosted by the Maternal Health Task Force and United Nations Population Fund, the event will feature four panelists—all affiliated with TRAction’s work addressing disrespect and abuse during childbirth.