In 2015, USAID’s multi-sectoral nutrition project, Strengthening Partnerships, Results, and Innovations in Nutrition Globally (SPRING), developed a framework for applying systems thinking to improve nutrition. The framework includes seven cross-cutting factors:

1. policies and governance,
2. infrastructure and markets,
3. inputs and services,
4. information and communication,
5. financing,
6. household resources, and
7. sociocultural environment.

Each can influence, interact with, and impact the others; and each can hinder—or foster—improvements in nutritional outcomes.