Global Convenings - Social Innovation in Health Initiatives

Introduction

Annually, the SIHI Network and partners convene actors and stakeholders to build greater awareness for social innovation in health, to encourage collaborations and foster new relationships. In this section, reports from main convenings can be downloaded.

SIHI HUB NETWORK EVENT, 2020

This report highlights insights and recommendations gained on how research could be embedded within social innovation. This workshop took place on 30 – 31 May 2018 in Blantyre, Malawi. It was co-hosted by the College of Medicine, University of Malawi, TDR, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

To get to know more about the SIHI network, new country hubs, and partners, SIHI conducted a Hub Network Event on May 25-27, 2020. This virtual event aimed to strengthen capacities through sharing of knowledge and experiences on social innovation in health and its promotion. It also aimed to lay down the foundations for collaborations between the different country hubs and partners of the SIHI network.

Objectives of the Event

Main Outcomes

CO-CREATING A RESEARCH GUIDANCE FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION IN HEALTH, 2018

42 Participants attended from 11 countries, representing ministries of Health (Malawi and Uganda) international agencies, universities, research institutions, SIHI partners and social innovators. The workshop adopted a user-centered design approach, framed as an ‘Expedition into the New World’ and centered around four social innovation in health initiatives: Chipatala Cha Pa Foni (Malawi), Kuanda Community Health Insurance Initiative (Malawi), Kyaninga Child Development Centre (Uganda) and Action for Women and Awakening in Rural Environments.

Key discussion areas and recommendations included:

Research serving as a compass to support the development and scale of social innovations.
Partnerships are key to support scale ups and these require the early involvement of government. Strong leadership as well as collaborative platforms are vital to connect social innovators, academics, policy makers and community members in the research process.
Research strategies should be informed by unique physical and operational resource constraints experienced by social innovations and adapted to the needs/ limitations of the environment.
Social innovations are complex interventions and thus, need different and creative research methodologies. Tools and capacity strengthening approaches are needed to equip social innovators.

SIHI PROJECT MANAGER’S TRAINING WORKSHOP, 2018

From 5 – 8 February, we gathered the talented SIHI project managers from different hubs for a training workshop in Cape Town. The workshop took place at Groote Schuur Hospital’s Innovation Hub (the first public sector hospital-based innovation hub in Africa).

Educate project managers on the theoretical underpinnings of social innovation in health.
Provide training on how to run a hub and build an enabling environment for social innovation at a country level.
Showcase practical examples of social innovation from the Cape Town community.
Foster strong collaboration and relationships between hub project managers.

SIHI HUB LEADERS’ TRAINING WORKSHOP, 2017

On 5 & 6 April 2017, the leads of the new social innovation research hubs joined together at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine for a capacity building workshop on social innovation in health. This London-based workshop drew on experience and knowledge of social innovation experts across the UK, andwas co-hosted with TDR and the Innovation Unit UK. The goals of this workshop were:

Provide new partners with an experiential understanding of social innovation from academic and practitioner perspectives.
Discuss approaches to mobilise communities and exert influence.
Share best-practice examples from the UK on how to create an enabling environment for social innovation within the public, private and academic sector in the UK.
Highlight the value of research and identify opportunities for collaboration.

FUNDING AGENCIES JOIN FORCES TO ADVANCE SOCIAL INNOVATION IN HEALTH, 2016

The report outlines recommendations from funders on how to better support and promote research in community-based social innovation. The report summarises discussions from the meeting “Funding Agencies Join Forces to Advance Social Innovation”, held to explore the role funding agencies could play. Supported by SIHI and the ESSENCE on Health Research Initiative, it was hosted by the Fondation Meriéux at Les Pensières in Annecy, France, 23-24 November 2016. Participants included representatives from funding agencies, international organizations, academic institutions, social innovators and governments. Recommendations from the meeting discussion include:

THE EVIDENCE-BASED SOCIAL INNOVATION CONSULTATION: RE-IMAGINING HEALTHCARE DELIVERY IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH, 2015

More than 50 social innovators in health, practitioners, government representatives, funders, and researchers from nineteen countries gathered in Annecy and Geneva from 2-4 December 2015 for the Evidence-Based Social Innovation Consultation: Re-Imagining Healthcare Delivery in the Global South. The objectives of this consultation were to align on a framework of social innovation in health, define the strategies to maximize impact and expand the conversation to build momentum. This report summarizes the key insights and strategies from this meeting.

A greater need for evidence in social innovation, to be supported by a fund for operational and implementation research and greater use of digital technologies for data collection.
Enhance capacity for social innovation through establishing collaborative social innovation country hubs; creating sharing platforms and developing tools to facilitate greater monitoring and evaluation of social innovations.
Advocate for and examine the role and contribution of social innovation in health systems strengthening and the Sustainable Development Goals.