I arrived early to the Global Health and Innovation Conference opening plenary to review my social innovation pitch scheduled for later in the day. As I looked over my notes, I heard others lament the large number of sessions running concurrently. Aside from the keynotes, each time slot had between 11-16 sessions we could choose from, which meant we would miss the vast majority of sessions. By the time the morning speaker, Tina Rosenberg of the New York Times, took the stage I’d read the conference program a few times and narrowed down my choices.

A Tweet by the Vassar Haiti Project about the Global Health & Innovation Conference

A Tweet from GOOD/Corps about the Global Health & Innovation Conference 2013.

Rosenberg discussed how to Harness the Power of Peer Pressure and said that the best messages don’t inform people, but motivate them to change. She challenged us to craft messages with a human touch, and, as I live tweeted, I thought about how our social networks influence the decisions we make. The people around us influence what we think and how we act and, sometimes, what sessions we go to at conferences.As I looked at what others were tweeting about, I realized that I could virtually canvas my peer group at the conference and see what sessions people were talking about. During the 9:15-10:45 time slot when I presented, I missed eight other sessions and 36 presenters. At the next session I visited Twitter to see what was being said about what I’d missed.

At the Global Health and Knowledge Collaborative (GHKC) Share Fair, I attended and enjoyed the session on Net-Map.

Net-Map is an interview-based mapping tool that helps people understand, visualize, discuss, and improve situations in which many different actors influence outcomes. By creating Influence Network Maps, individuals and groups can clarify their own view of a situation, foster discussion, and develop a strategic approach to their networking activities.

 

A participant uses Net-Map at the GHKC Share Fair.

Facilitated by Amitaksha Nag of Frametrics Consulting Private Limited and Natalie Campbell of Management Sciences for Health, participants used Net-Map to think about the complex social environment in which they work. The groups mapped a water and sanitation project in Zambia and an integrated FP/RH project in rural Malawi. They thought about the actors are involved, how they are linked, how influential they are, and what each actor’s goals are.

At the end of the session, diagrams on flip chart helped foster discussion about each project’s strategy and where roadblocks and conflict might arise. Although we made impressive insights (e.g. the ministry of health is often where a project begins, community elders hold most of the influence), 90 minutes could barely do the process justice. Nag said that when Frametrics uses Net-Map in the field is often a two day process.

Click here (PDF) for a short step-by-step manual on Net-Map, here for a detailed version and here for a training slide show.

Last week, I attended IntraHealth’s SwitchPoint 2013. It was an energizing event that brought together technologists, public health professionals, entrepreneurs, health workers, and artists to discuss innovations and partnerships for social change. I personally took away three key messages.

Switchpoint 2013

1. Making is contextual

Erik Hersman, a Nairobi-based technologist and blogger, opened the event with the statement “if it works in Africa, it will work elsewhere.” He shared the many creative solutions that can be found across the continent. Creativity and inventiveness are often by-products of having little. In Africa, if you can’t fix something, then you’re just stuck. You can’t just throw something away and buy a new version if something doesn’t work. You need to improvise, recycle, reuse, and find creative solutions.

2. A solution is defined by its user

Speaking of solutions, Josh Nesbit, CEO of Medic Mobile, challenged the technologists and reminded the public health folks in the audience that a solution is only a solution when it is used by the people for what they need. That is, once it solves a problem that the user is facing. Although technology offers all sorts of cool solutions, practical innovations are often low-tech as they must meet the needs of the end user without creating more problems for them.

3. Trial and error is key

Sometimes, the best solutions aren’t the high-tech or “sexy” ones. It’s critical to think about and, more importantly, collaborate with intended users to make sure that the solutions meet their needs. This process often requires a willingness among all parties to learn from trial and error. Assess the needs and what is currently be used or done to address the needs (if anything), develop a solution, monitor and learn from its implementation, and then reassess and refine or develop something else.

On April 16, 2013, the Global Health Knowledge Collaborative hosted a one-day symposium for global health and knowledge management (KM) practitioners full of hands-on, interactive sessions to learn about innovative tools and techniques and share successes and lessons learned. Global Health Knowledge Management Share Fair: Challenges and Opportunities attracted nearly 200 people interested in the event’s objectives:

• Learning about new KM tools, techniques, and approaches;
• Agreeing on a shared definition of KM for global public health; and
• Fostering a community of KM professionals.

Global Health Knowledge Management Share Fair: Challenges and Opportunities audience responses to the question "Which category best describes your organization?"

The Share Fair was participatory from the beginning. The day kicked off with audience response tool Poll Everywhere to see who was in the room. In real time, we learned that 24% of the people in the room were from the private sector, 16% were from NGOs, another 16% were from academia, and 13% were from USAID or another donor. This innovative tool allowed participants to quickly understand who they would be interacting with throughout the day.

Setting the stage for the day, Stacey Young, Senior Learning Advisor for USAID’s Bureau of Policy, Planning and Learning, offered the donor perspective on KM, and asked the audience, "What can USAID and other donors do to support learning and KM for more effective health programs?" The answers ranged from rewarding sharing and experimentation to integrating KM interventions into health system strengthening projects. Below is a word cloud illustrating the frequency of words included in participants’ responses.