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October 03, 2012
Creating Networks to Make Changes in Global Health
Gary Darmstadt , Wendy Prosser , Wolfgang Munar
October 03, 2012

Knowledge networks are in the news again with the announcement from
Jeffrey Sachs about the launch of a worldwide knowledge network to
bring together global leaders and thinkers to find solutions to
sustainable development. The network will create an organized space
for information on technology, energy, agriculture or nutrition, in
order to generate conversations and ideas about sustainability,
innovation, and where technologies should evolve.

At the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we have also been thinking a
lot about knowledge networks and how they can be leveraged to bring
upstream technologies to downstream adoption in order to achieve
impact at scale. One clear message comes out of looking at historical
trends of the adoption of innovations: it’s not easy! There is a
graveyard of pilots out there! It has taken more than 15 years for
coverage of Hepatitis B vaccine to reach where it is today, and that
reaches only a bit more than 50% of all children in the world.
Kangaroo Mother Care is another example of a life-saving intervention
– one that requires no product - but most care providers do not know
about this behavior and so do not educate new moms about the benefits
of holding her baby skin-to-skin.

Sometimes we global health ‘experts’ seem to have taken advice from
the movie, Field of Dreams, and base our scale up model on the
theory, “If you build it, they will come.” That may have worked for
Kevin Costner (a neighbor of mine as a kid), but it doesn’t work for
Kangaroo Mother Care. Much more effort is required to make sure
innovative solutions are in the hands of people who can and will use
them.

That is how knowledge networks can be so powerful. Knowledge networks
link people across disciplines and sectors to keep members abreast of
new ideas, data, evidence and practical applications. Usually these
networks are grounded by a few key influential anchors who generate
ideas and spread insight. These networks support trusted
relationships that enable people to put themselves into a learning
context safely. Learners and experts who may be spread out around the
globe can connect and share insights, creating a space to explore new
ideas. This space can bring together practitioners from completely
different contexts and backgrounds, giving them the opportunity to
make knowledge operational, shared and real. It’s creating a common
ground for a diverse group of thinkers and leaders who can leverage
the network to seed and spread ideas and influence.

We are experimenting with this in Bihar, India with the Ananya
Partners Network. Ananya links development organizations, government
leaders, community health workers, and district level leaders. We are
attempting to create pathways for the tools and ideas that are
generated by each partner to get to other partners, either through
personal interface, online knowledge sharing platforms, or by
applying the network governance and management structures. And
partners are monitoring the network dynamics and program performance.
The hope is that this established network generates expertise and
knowledge which is subsequently shared among all partners and adapted
to their specific local challenges. And this should then inform policy
and implementation decisions for scale up.

These networks are instrumental in sharing knowledge, generating
ideas, and bringing innovation like Kangaroo Mother Care, exclusive
breastfeeding, and life-saving vaccines to spread to all those who
need them.

http://www.impatientoptimists.org

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