LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE & TROPICAL MEDICINE
Our vision is to see the improvement of health and the empowerment of communities in the global south through social innovation and research in social innovation. Our mission is to see local university-based social innovation research hubs act as catalysts for engagement between all health system actors to advance the social innovation process, from development to scale.
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is renowned for its research, postgraduate studies and continuing education in public and global health. LSHTM has an international presence, a collaborative ethos and is uniquely placed to help shape health policy and translate research findings into tangible impact. The School has more than 4,000 students and 1,300 staff working in over 100 countries — all with a collective purpose to improve health worldwide.
SIHI INVOLVEMENT
SIHI LSHTM is a collaboration of two entities: the International Diagnostic Centre and the Department for Global Health and Development.
The International Diagnostic Centre (IDC) works to facilitate the development, evaluation and implementation of accessible, quality assured in-vitro diagnostics for global health through information sharing and advocacy. The IDC envisions a world where every person has access to the quality diagnostics they need to maximise their chances of a healthy life and believes that social innovation has a key role to play in achieving this.
The Department of Global Health and Development conducts novel and policy-relevant research and training that concerns health issues with a global reach, predominantly from the perspective of the development of low- and middle-income countries. Staff come from a wide range of disciplines including economics, epidemiology, mathematics, policy analysis, medicine and social anthropology.
OUR FOCUS AREAS
TECHICAL CAPACITY BUILDING FOR SIHI EMERGENT HUB PARTNERS
LSHTM has led the establishment of four country social innovation research hubs at the University of Malawi, Makerere University (Uganda), CIDEIM and ICESI University (Colombia), and the University of the Philippines Manila in 2017. Through close collaboration and partnership, we provide technical (social innovation & research) and operational support to these hubs. Our vision is to see each of these hubs become centres of excellence in their region.
RESEARCH
We are collaborating with SIHI Malawi to conduct research to better understand how social innovations in health are adopted and institutionalised as part of the public health system. We also conduct randomised controlled trials to evaluate the effectiveness of crowdsourcing approaches to improving health care delivery.
GUIDELINE DEVELOPMENT
In 2017, we released a series of SIHI how-to documents to support the implementation of 5 social innovation identification calls in Malawi, Philippines, Uganda, and Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2018, in collaboration with SESH (Social Entrepreneurship to Spur Health) and TDR-WHO, we launched Crowdsourcing in health and health research: A practical guide, which provides practical advice on designing, implementing and evaluating crowdsourcing activities.
MEET THE TEAM
PROF ROSANNA PEELING
Chair of Diagnostics & Director of the International Diagnostics Centre
Rosanna is currently Professor and Chair of Diagnostics Research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Director of the International Diagnostics Centre (IDC). Trained as a medical microbiologist, Rosanna had been Research Coordinator and Head of Diagnostics Research at the Special Programme on Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (WHO/TDR) in Geneva, Switzerland, and the Chief of the Canadian National Laboratory for Sexually Transmitted Diseases before assuming her current position at LSHTM. Rosanna heads the IDC at LSHTM. Her work spans from facilitating test development and evaluation to translation of evidence to policy, appropriate placement of new diagnostic technologies into different health care settings to ensure maximum impact, and innovation in the uptake of testing by marginalised populations. Rosanna acts as an advisor for SIHI.
DR DINA BALABANOVA
Associate Professor Health Systems & SIHI-LSHTM advisor
Dina is an Associate Professor in Health Systems & Policy in the Department of Global Health and Development, with over 20 years of experience in health systems and policy research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Her main expertise is in health systems governance, institution building and effective delivery models. She is an elected Board member of Health Systems Global, a professional society for health policy and systems research (2012-), and co-chair of its Thematic Working Group on Teaching and Learning Health Policy and Systems research, as well as a Member of various WHO Expert Groups, and BMC Health Services Research Editorial Board and Section Editor for Health Systems and Services in Low and Middle-Income Settings. Dina acts as an advisor for SIHI.
DR LINDI VAN NIEKERK
Senior Social Innovation Technical Advisor
Lindi is a medical doctor, researcher, global health consultant and documentary storyteller. Trained in medicine in South Africa, Lindi gained experience in delivering clinical care across all levels of the health system. She has pioneered and implemented a range of public sector initiatives in Cape Town, South Africa including: the first hospital-based end of life care programme, the first innovation lab for health workers and produced the first grey-publication on South African healthcare innovations. Lindi’s contribution to SIHI since 2014 includes: acting as principal investigator for the 2014-16 social innovation case research conducted across 17 low-and middle-income countries; establishing the 2016/17 social innovation hub partner consortium, providing ongoing remote and in-country technical, training and strategy advisory services to the SIHI hubs and directing the SIHI communications portfolio (including producing social innovation case films). In 2018/19, Lindi will be collaborating with SIHI Malawi to research the adoption and institutionalisation of social innovation as part of the public health system in Malawi. She is a part-time social innovation consultant to TDR, WHO and a PhD Candidate within the Department of Global Health and Development at LSHTM.
DR JOSEPH TUCKER
Associate Professor & SIHI Collaborator at the International Diagnostics Centre
Joseph (MD, PhD, AM) is Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the Chair of the SESH Advisory Committee. He is the study principal investigator on two United States National Institutes of Health R01 grants that evaluate crowdsourcing to enhance HIV services. He has implemented over 30 crowdsourcing challenge contests and has a special interest in collective intelligence and crowdsourcing. He has helped to organize crowdsourcing contests in China, Thailand, Vietnam, the United States, Australia, South Africa, and globally. He helped with the SIHI practical guide and the ongoing challenge contest on women’s participation in a WHO/TDR fellowship.
Keppel Street, London
WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom
