However, one of the research questions proposed for the evaluation was, “If HIP products are not being used, why not?” We were initially worried about getting sufficient data for this question. We anticipated that most KII participants would be those who were already actively engaging with HIP products. Therefore, we made efforts to identify people who may not have had much experience with HIPs. We used probing questions to get insights into non-use cases.
Before conducting KIIs, I assumed that the products were not effectively reaching the priority audiences and, as a result, were not being used. This assumption was likely rooted in my experience working on global-level projects where there is sometimes a disconnect between the program implementer and the audiences we aim to reach. Therefore, I expected the data to support expanding promotion and dissemination efforts. However, some of those who identified as subject matter experts or technical advisors said they were not using the HIP products because they felt they were already familiar with the subject matter; the content may not address the specific context in which they are working.
Evidently, the suggestion to improve the scalability and contextual nature of HIP products had previously been raised among the family planning community. To address this need, in 2019–2020, the IBP Network hosted a contest. It called for field-based program implementation stories.
IBP implementation stories
Each of the 15-winning story submissions includes:
This practice of documenting learnings is a prime example of knowledge sharing and contributes to the ongoing process to scale up and contextualize the HIPs across various settings.
Compared to the many concrete use examples of HIP products that we collected through the KIIs (as you can see in the interactive content above), it was instead a minor finding of non-usage among interview participants. Yet, I was quite fascinated by how the data pointed to a conclusion that I did not expect. Moving forward, I will keep the “unknown unknowns” concept in my checklist so I don’t miss any critical elements throughout the research process, from the designing stage to the reporting stage. As a knowledge management worker, it is essential to have an open mind to things that “I did not know that I did not know.”
Read Part 2 in this series to discover more about the findings of the study related to use cases for the HIPs and what the findings suggest for the future of dissemination and exchange—not just of HIP products but of knowledge globally.