Syreon Research Institute’s Post

#USAID's Agency Learning and Evidence Month 2024 kicks off next month, on May 2! Explore the full Event Program (more than 20 sessions are open to the public) and register for sessions of interest today ⤵ https://lnkd.in/dkRVbRfs Agency Learning and Evidence Month is a celebration of research, evaluation, and learning that brings together diverse development actors to exchange with one another. Through the theme of ‘What Works and Where to Find It’, sessions will highlight #evidence-driven approaches and resources to further global priorities, including using cost-effectiveness evidence, building #resilience, sustaining local partnerships, #climate and #health, impact #evaluation and much more. Explore the full event program below, and learn more on #USAIDLearningLab 💡 #AgencyLearningAgenda

'We will see a permanent level of crisis management in our societies' - Jacob Torfing Today, the ROBUST team successfully presented a series of webinars on our research into #RobustGovernance, with a keynote introduction by Milka Sokolović, Director General of the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA)! 🚀 After interviewing over 110 public sector decision-makers involved in making hard decisions during the Covid-19 pandemic - including people working in municipalities, local health care, schools, and civil society organizations - we shared an introduction to the topic of robust governance and what this means for the public sector. Jacob Torfing of Roskilde School of Governance, Roskilde University, shared core concepts of robust governance and how it can be used strategically in the public sector, followed by an intervention by Elma Isufi of The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR). The next presentation was by Tiziana Caponio of the University of Turin, drawing on examples from the migration crisis. Steven Nõmmik, Junior Researcher at TalTech – Tallinn University of Technology presented his work on hybridity, drawing on examples from the Scientific Advisory Board in Estonia. Finally, Chiara Russo, PhD Researcher at University of Antwerp discussed societal intelligence, and the role of political, expert, and 'lifeworld' knowledge. Thank you to all who joined for your input and lively discussion! If you have questions, reach out to us at our LinkedIn page! Eager to share examples of good governance during Covid-19? Join our Learning Hub: https://lnkd.in/ezJ6DcXT #IRSPM #RobustGovernance #Covid19 #CivilSociety

Calling all BME led organisations! 🌟 We want to hear from you! Your insights are crucial in shaping better support and services tailored for BME communities. Please take a few minutes to fill out our survey and help us make a difference. 🙌 https://bit.ly/BMEorgs #BMESupport #CommunityLeaders #YourVoiceMatters

In today's rapidly changing world, the role of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) in public health and development cannot be overstated. M&E isn't just about data collection; it's about turning that data into actionable insights that drive meaningful change. By systematically tracking progress and assessing the effectiveness of our programs, we can ensure that resources are used efficiently and that the intended outcomes are achieved. M&E provides the evidence needed to make informed decisions, refine strategies, and ultimately, improve the lives of the communities we serve. As we continue to integrate M&E into every stage of our projects, we must also focus on capacity building. Strengthening local data collection practices and fostering collaboration among stakeholders are key to sustainable success. Let's keep pushing forward, using M&E as a powerful tool to create a positive impact and contribute to a healthier, more equitable world. 😍

'Developing our own Swahili-speaking LLM helped us offer better privacy, more control over exactly how we deployed it, but also really fine-tune it to our precise needs in a way that wouldn't have been possible with an off the shelf model.' Director of Technology Jay Patel shares some of the thinking behind the launch of our first-in-kind open source LLM - #UlizaLlama - in the latest episode of The Agency Fund's #LLMsInSocialSector webinar series. #AI #DigitalHealth #MNH #LLMs

The public sector tends to work in silos, with clear role divisions to deliver effective public services - but in moments of crisis, it’s all hands on deck! Watch as researcher Steven Nõmmik from TalTech – Tallinn University of Technology highlights professionals taking on tasks far outside of their comfort zones in periods of crisis, and the implications for public sector governance. 📺https://lnkd.in/ePnzRAMH Want to find out more and e-meet our researchers? Join our learning hub! https://lnkd.in/ezJ6DcXT #RobustGovernance #CrisisGovernance #MultiLevelGovernance Chiara Russo Jacob Torfing Eva Sørensen Rasmus Øjvind Nielsen European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) European Commission Tiziana Caponio European Public Health Alliance (EPHA)

Global development – and everyday life! – would be simpler if our challenges confined themselves neatly within funding streams or country borders. They don’t.  That’s why cross-sectoral thinking and collaboration are so important. I’m fortunate to work at an organization with knowledge and programming across all sectors – from health, to agriculture, to governance, energy, and climate. Because of that, when we partner with local actors we can bring a more complete spectrum of expertise to bear when addressing health challenges.    Read more below to see how this approach improves our partnerships in health, and explore thoughts on systems strengthening and disease-specific programing in the full blog: https://lnkd.in/ez3egR5g

What does it take to transition from pilot projects to fully institutionalised, outcomes-based approaches that drive social and environmental change at scale? 🌍 Don’t miss our SOC24 Big Picture Session 'Beyond pilotitis: rethinking narratives and actions to institutionalise outcomes'! This session will bring together an incredible panel (Andreea Anastasiu, Aneta Wierzynska, Raffaella De Felice, Radana Crhova, Nicole Pflock, Amel Karboul) to tackle some crucial questions: 🔍 Learning from the past: What lessons can we draw from both the successes and failures of outcomes-based approaches? How can these insights drive systemic transformations for greater impact? 🚧 Overcoming Barriers: What are the structural obstacles preventing the mainstream adoption of these programmes by the public sector? Can we create a ‘blueprint to scale’? 🤝 Enhancing delivery and partnerships: Should we improve what we deliver, how, and who we build outcome-focused partnerships with, or is it time to adjust our expectations about the pace of change? 🎟 Secure your ticket to the conference today! Join us at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford on 5-6 September, or participate online for free: https://lnkd.in/eih8Fnau

Lesson 3: The public and private sectors have a long way to go to figure out how to work together. It starts with candid, off the record dialogue and a multilateral mindset. I was going to save this lesson for a future post, but I was prompted by Dr. Derek Yach's comments as well as the upcoming  2024 #UnitedNations #UNGA with the theme “Multilateral solutions for a better world.” Derek recently shared insights of how the private sector’s efforts to address significant public health concerns are being thwarted by ideologues. His experiences in food/beverage and tobacco #harmreduction are strikingly similar to mine in beverage alcohol. Achieving public health goals AND helping businesses thrive are NOT incompatible activities. The two can co-exist, but public and private stakeholders have to talk to each other to make informed decisions. Bringing different groups together to discuss ideas and address challenges is essentially the definition of multilateralism, the heart of the UN. I personally made inroads within companies about how to address public health issues, as well as inroads with public officials who have been skeptical about the private sector. However, these kinds of conversations need to happen at scale to achieve meaningful impact. We need more safe spaces and less accusations of nefarious intent (on all sides) to allow them to happen. Not once within a private sector organization did I ever hear, “What can we do to harm people’s health?” A dead consumer is not a good consumer. Duh. The private sector has a vested interest in people’s health, as do health authorities. Constructive conversations are a highway to harness creativity and innovation. Stakeholders need a safe space to build trust, share concerns, and brainstorm. Foundations and think tanks are great places for this dialogue, as are schools of public health. I’m looking at my alma maters (University of Michigan School of Public Health and UC Berkeley School of Public Health) who foster the next gen of thinkers! United we stand, divided we fall. Our fire walls are leaving us burned – let’s come together for pragmatic solutions! Cheers to the #UN and cheers to #multilateralism!

Our planet is reaching its social, economic, and ecological limits. Climate crises and ecological disasters, rising cybercrime, political conflict and polarisation, mass migration, global inflation/cost of living, LMIC debt crises and a pandemic, among other things, challenge the emerging responses for health and the healthcare goals of communities, countries, and global institutions. This unprecedented global ‘polycrisis’, poses a significant threat to the well-being of people worldwide. In a world where health, climate and societal challenges are rapidly evolving and increasingly interconnected, the importance of multisectoral, agile and adaptable evidencebased approaches are critical. No single organisation, stakeholder, or country can move society in a new direction. For truly global transformative change to occur, we need collective wisdom and collective action in the form of large-scale, strategic collaboration, including actors from across the evidence ecosystem to co-create solutions. https://lnkd.in/d49aVvb #WorldEBHCDay @WorldEBHCDay