TechChange partnered with Jhpiego to use community-centered design and technology to revitalize a reproductive-health focused community of practice.
Jhpiego creates and delivers transformative health care solutions that save lives. In partnership with national governments, health experts and local communities, Jhpiego builds health providers’ skills and develops systems that save lives now and guarantee healthier futures for women and their families.
Jhpiego, in coordination with Population Services International (PSI), chairs an online professional community for reproductive health practitioners. The CoP serves as a platform for the exchange of technical information to advance access to quality family planning (FP) programming that covers the full range of contraceptive options. In the past, the group had provided its membership with webinars, email updates, and an in-person conference.
Post-pandemic, Jhpiego and PSI sought to align their CoP offerings with the wants and needs of the group; in particular, increasing inclusivity and access to a wider range of practitioner voices, and magnifying engagement through virtual collaboration.
TechChange was brought in as technology and community-building consultative experts so Jhpiego and PSI could carry on stewarding a revitalized CoP.
TechChange relies on the principles of human-centered design to ensure that people are involved in all steps of the problem-solving process. So when Jhpiego and PSI wanted to increase engagement and inclusivity in their Method Choice Community of Practice, TechChange facilitators turned to the community for guidance.
Ideation sessions– conducted simultaneously in English and French– were conducted with two different participant groups of CoP members and stakeholders. That input, including topic ideas, an urgency mapping exercise and roster of “asks and offers” to leverage the expertise and connections of CoP members was used to create a calendar of events for the forthcoming year, the first of which was hosted and moderated by TechChange facilitators to ensure smooth transition to a new more participatory meeting approach. TechChange used Zoom to conduct the Ideation workshops and initial sessions, with custom Miro boards for participants to share their needs and opinions in a variety of creative ways. Because CoP members reside in locations where bandwidth is an issue, TechChange provided additional low-tech methods of participation for each activity.
Participant ideas from the ideation sessions fueled the first revitalized session offering, which looked at evolving evidence in the field of method choice and allowed audience members to question and interact with a PhD researcher on the topic, as well as discussants offering a variety of perspectives.
TechChange came in on a short-term engagement to revitalize this community of practice. In order to ensure that Jhpiego was equipped to carry forth the updated meeting model and fully utilize the fruits of the ideation process, TechChange provided the partner with a detailed Facilitator’s Guide that included an outline of high-, medium-, and low- touch formats, with examples, key considerations, and resources. Our facilitators also provided a detailed outline of a second session to jumpstart the planning process for the CoP’s next event.
The Method Choice CoP now actively engages global and country partners to share successes, learning, and challenges to improve the provision and reach of high-quality, person-centered, and evidence-based, FP programs for individuals, couples, families, and communities. The Ideation workshop, initial session, and calendar of activities advanced that objective by putting participation into practice…putting the community back into community of practice.
