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Global Health Science and Practice Technical Exchange: Join Us!

The Latest and Greatest in Global Health


The Global Health Science and Practice Technical Exchange (GHTechX) will take place virtually from April 21–24, 2021. The event is curated through a partnership between USAID, the George Washington University, and the Global Health: Science and Practice journal. GHTechX seeks to convene speakers and technical sessions that highlight the latest and greatest in global health, with participants spanning global health experts, students, and professionals from across the global health community.

Previously known as Global Health Mini-U, the Global Health Science and Practice Technical Exchange (GHTechX) was renamed to better represent its wide variety of participants and sessions. The new name is also emblematic of the collaboration between the GHTechX and the open-access, peer-reviewed journal Global Health: Science and Practice, emphasizing the journal’s focus on program implementation. Global Health: Science and Practice is managed by Knowledge SUCCESS.

Graphic with text reading “Global Health Science and Practice Technical Exchange | April 21-24, 2021 | #GHTechX21 | @GHTechX”, including logos of USAID, the Milken Institute School of Public Health / The George Washington University, and the Global Health: Science and Practice journal

We’re proud to present several sessions at GHTechX. Join us as we preview three game-changing knowledge innovations for the broader FP/RH community and discuss our editorial and publishing work under Global Health: Science and Practice.

Knowledge SUCCESS GHTechX sessions are listed below. Register at https://globalhealthxchange.com/ to view the full agenda.

Knowledge SUCCESS Sessions at GHTechX

Journal Editors Discussion: How Knowledge Is Used

Apr. 21, 2021 | 4:15pm – 5:15pm EDT

In 2019, Seye Abimbola, Editor-in-Chief of the BMJ Global Health, wrote a provocative editorial on the imbalance in authorship which has resulted in the “foreign gaze” of peer-reviewed journals. He has recently published a follow-up editorial, “The Uses of Knowledge in Global Health,” on the various roles each of us play in creating and using knowledge, characterizing these roles as “professors, emancipators, engineers, and plumbers.” Seye, along with GHSP Editor-in-Chief, Steve Hodgins, and Associate Editor, Rajani Ved, will explore how we can “rethink our relative focus, emphasis, priority, and gaze” with regard to the uses of knowledge. They will challenge you to rethink the role(s) you play, how you connect with others, and, most importantly, how you can prevent injustices in the creation and utilization of knowledge. We strongly encourage you to read the article before the session so you can come prepared to actively contribute to the discussion.

3 New Game-Changers for Getting Evidence and Experience into Family Planning and Reproductive Health Programs / 3 Nouvelles Innovations pour Intégrer les Données Probantes et l'Expérience dans les Programmes de Planification Familiale et de Santé de la Reproduction

Apr. 23, 2021 | 7:15am – 8:45am EDT

This session will be delivered in English with live French interpretation / Cette session sera disponible en français avec interprétation simultanée

There is a wealth of evidence and experience about family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) programs. But how do we ensure that that knowledge gets put into practice? Come learn how Knowledge SUCCESS blended knowledge management, behavioral economics, and design thinking to find a solution to this intractable problem. Working directly with FP/RH professionals around the world, we used a five-step design-thinking process to analyze the barriers and opportunities to knowledge-seeking, sharing, and use and design better tools and solutions to support their work. Throughout the process, we identified key behavioral economics mechanisms that influenced their knowledge management processes, such as choice overload and cognitive overload, as well as ones that could improve the design of tools and solutions, including social norms and incentives. This panel session will share these behavioral insights as well as three new knowledge innovations for collecting and curating knowledge, connecting people to knowledge, and strengthening capacity in knowledge management. Will these innovations transform the way the FP/RH community seeks, shares, and uses knowledge to guide programs? Try out the knowledge innovations yourself in this session and let us know what you think.

Les programmes de planification familiale et de santé de la reproduction (PF/SR) sont riches en preuves et en expériences. Mais, comment faire en sorte que ces connaissances soient mises en pratique ? Venez apprendre comment Knowledge SUCCESS a combiné la gestion des connaissances, l’économie comportementale et le design thinking pour trouver une solution à ce problème insoluble. En travaillant directement avec des professionnels de la PF/SR à travers le monde, nous avons utilisé un processus de design thinking en cinq étapes pour analyser les obstacles et les opportunités à la recherche, au partage et à l’utilisation des connaissances et, concevoir de meilleurs outils et solutions pour soutenir leur travail. Tout au long de ce processus, nous avons identifié les principaux mécanismes de l’économie comportementale qui influencent leurs processus de gestion des connaissances tels que la surcharge de choix et la surcharge cognitive, ainsi que ceux qui pourraient améliorer la conception des outils et des solutions, notamment les normes sociales et les incitations. Ce panel d’experts partagera ses connaissances comportementales ainsi que trois nouvelles innovations en matière de collecte et de conservation des connaissances, de connexion des personnes aux connaissances et de renforcement des capacités de gestion des connaissances. Ces innovations transformeront-elles la manière dont la communauté de la PF/SR recherche, partage et utilise les connaissances pour guider les programmes ? Essayez vous-même les innovations en matière de connaissances lors de cette session et faites-nous savoir ce que vous en pensez.

Publishing About Programs in the Global Health: Science and Practice Journal

Apr. 23, 2021 | 11:30am – 12:30pm EDT

Evidence from global health programs is far too often hidden away in annual or evaluation reports to donors. It is important that the evidence generated from these programs be vetted by peer reviewers and be as accessible as possible through the published literature. The Global Health: Science and Practice (GHSP) journal is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal focused on how programs work. This session will focus on what the editors and reviewers are looking for at GHSP. We will describe the necessary steps for preparing and submitting a manuscript and provide important insights into what makes a good manuscript.

A New Knowledge Management Solution to Enhance the Exchange of Evidence-Based Information and Knowledge Among Global Cross-sectoral Communities Working in PED/PHE

Apr. 24, 2021 | 11:00am – 11:05am EDT

The Population, Health, and Environment (PHE) and Population, Environment, and Development (PED) community identified a need to engage with each other and exchange knowledge and experiences related to policy, research, and implementation, but lacked a streamlined and central place to collaborate and share relevant resources with other practitioners working across the globe. In 2020, the Knowledge SUCCESS Project conducted a series of co-creation workshops with PHE stakeholders working in the United States, East Africa, and Asia to ideate solutions that would streamline and enhance the exchange of information and knowledge among the global PED/PHE community. The three workshops resulted in six prototypes and had one connecting theme across workshops – the need for a website that provides easy access to relevant resources and provides connections among the global community working on cross-sectoral programming. During this session, we will introduce the brand new People-Planet Connection, launching on Earth Day, April 22nd.

Registration for the Global Health Science and Practice Technical Exchange is free of charge. Session recordings will be made available to registered participants following the conference. We hope you will join us.

Would you like to know more about our co-creation process and the innovations we’re working on? Try these pages:

Anne Kott

Team Lead, Communications and Content, Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

Anne Kott, MSPH, is the team lead responsible for communications and content on Knowledge SUCCESS. In her role, she oversees technical, programmatic, and administrative aspects of large-scale knowledge management (KM) and communications programs. Previously, she served as communications director for the Knowledge for Health (K4Health) Project, communications lead for Family Planning Voices, and started her career as a strategic communications consultant for Fortune 500 companies. She earned her MSPH in health communication and health education from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and bachelor's of arts in Anthropology from Bucknell University.

Sonia Abraham

Scientific Editor, Global Health: Science and Practice Journal

Sonia Abraham is the scientific editor for the Global Health: Science and Practice Journal and has been writing and editing for over 25 years. She holds a Bachelor’s in Biological Sciences from the University of Maryland and a Master’s in Writing from Johns Hopkins.