As a launch activity, our social innovation in health hubs each undertook to identify social innovations in health within their respective countries. The rationale for this was that in many LMICs health systems are struggling and many have lost hope that change could be possible. Yet, hope can be found by taking a closer look at what is happening at grassroots level. In all countries, there are a dedicated individuals and organisations working in their own small way to solve problems and improve the health of people. By identifying these actors, learning about their work, not only can examples of positive deviance be illustrated but also we can learn from what has worked and take these initiative into consideration to scale the lessons from them.

Identifying social innovations served as a foundational cornerstone for further research and advocacy efforts to be undertaken.

To assist our hubs, practical guiding documents were prepared. Getting the word out far and wide was very important to engaging public participation in identifying local social innovations in health. We are using the materials developed by the Social Innovation Hub at the University of Malawi as examples to share with you.

UCT Massive Open Online Course on social innovation: Becoming a changemaker Introduction to social innovation open online course