First Look at Packaging BID Initiative Solutions
By Hallie Goertz, Learning and Communication Specialist, BID Initiative
Sep 3, 2015
Posted in Packaging
Where do we start in addressing challenges faced by immunization programs? This is a question global health stakeholders are faced with every day. The BID Initiative aims to tackle this challenge through a “package” of solutions that will work in multiple country contexts.
We are seeking to deploy an easily consumable and adaptable package of policies, practices, and products for use by individuals, organizations, and countries looking for resources to help get started (and keep going) in addressing immunization data, quality and use problems. This package is the mechanism through which the BID Initiative theory, and the research behind it, can be made actionable, providing the direction and documentation needed to implement impactful immunization system interventions.
The BID Initiative approach to packaging will take into consideration proven methods used by the software industry, as well as best practices in curriculum design, distribution and implementation.
These materials – such as training guides, budget and work plan templates, implementation guidance, and discussions of ICT options — will be accessible via an online platform where they can be viewed individually, customized into a downloadable package based on user needs, or worked through on guided tracks related to specific immunization system challenges. Standardized print packages will also be available. In addition to document access, platform users will also be able to upload new and modified materials to share, comment on existing materials, and discuss use cases with other users to create a “network effect” through which each successive implementation is easier, more affordable, and more effective than the last across a broader community.
Here are a couple of (very) early examples of how we might structure our platform:
Though our initial focus will be developing packages to address immunization system challenges, we believe that this structure will be easily adaptable to any global health field struggling to answer the question: “where do we start to address our challenges?”
We are developing a “proof of concept” to share at the next BID Learning Network meeting for feedback and guidance on how to shape our packaging so it is accessible and usable for BLN members and similar stakeholders. And in-line with BID’s user-driven approach, we’ll be forming a User Advisory Group in the coming months to help guide us as we build out and populate our packaging platform. If you are interested in serving on this group, please email me at hgoertz@path.org.