We have been active in supporting and building capacity in research institutions in low-and middle-income countries who had a
passion establish a Social Innovation in Health Hub.
In 2017, four new hubs launched at the University of Malawi, Makerere University (Uganda), the University of the Philippines and at Centro Internacional de Entrenamiento e Investigaciones Medicas (CIDEIM) in partnership with ICESI University and PAHO.
Social innovation hubs serve as cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral platforms, established to catalyse social within the local health system through four core activities: research, community-building, storytelling and institutional embedding, and adhering to values of inclusion, assets, co-creation and hope. Hubs were implemented as informal structures, managed by a small core team, in existing department. Enablers of hub implementation and functioning were the availability of strong in-country social networks, legitimacy attained from being part of a global network on SI in health and receiving a capacity building package in the initial stages. Barriers encountered were internal institutional resistance, administrative challenges associated with university bureaucracy and annual funding cycles.
Visit our Publication Library to read our new paper, “Crowdsourcing to identify social innovation initiatives in health in low and middle-income countries.”
We have created practical how to guides and other useful resources to help you identify and select social innovations in health.
We have developed research protocols and templates that could assist you in conducting case studies on your selected social innovations in health.
We believe stories can foster a heart connection and give a richer shared experience. Here are guidance as to how we have approached it.