Workshops

The IMPACT team approach combines proven quality improvement methods with leadership and change management approaches to strengthen data use within the supply chain context. As proven by the success of IMPACT teams, inSupply recently developed materials to guide implementation for other partners and countries to adapt and use to strengthen data-use culture. inSupply Health used a Human Centered Design (HCD) approach to explore different experiences in Kenya, Tanzania, Myanmar, and Indonesia to design a data-use methodology that is adaptable and applicable for a variety of contexts and data-use maturity levels. During this workshop we will share the HCD results, explain the three models, outline the implementation approach, and allow participants to try some of the techniques and tools.

*Rapid Fire Education and Training Workshop

In 2009 the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Agency (EPSA) implemented the Integrated Pharmaceutical Logistics System (IPLS), a supply chain system for program health commodities. Conventional training methods have not satisfied the demand for trained personnel, so EPSA and JSI chose to develop an online training, e-IPLS. Potential users of this online course include the staff of 120 hospitals and 3,000 health centers, more than 1,000 graduating pharmacy students enrolled in public health science colleges, and health supply chain personnel seeking to get credit to renew their professional registration license. The new e-IPLS course provides a viable, efficient, cost effective and scalable way of building the capacity of health care workers to meet Ethiopia’s need for trained supply chain personnel.

*Rapid Fire Education and Training Workshop

In the past year, JSI with support from USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance set up a technical advisory group comprised of OFDA implementing partners and other key international players managing pharmaceutical and medical commodities in humanitarian settings, created a community of practice, developed a chapter for the supply chain manual, and conducted two US-based training workshops. The next steps include developing this material into standard competency-based curricula founded on best practices, user-friendly learning materials, and an overall strategic approach that organizations can adapt and institutionalizing into their staff development process and customize to meet their specific supply chain goals and improve their practices. By engaging a wide range of professionals and following up with them actively to move their learning to change management within their organizations, we are working to build complementary capacity across multiple supply chains in the same emergency and mitigate the risk of loss, waste, and stockouts to ensure the availability of lifesaving supplies at the last mile. This workshop session will provide an opportunity to present the contents of the manual, engage participants in the wider community of practice that is being formed by these global and regional collaboration efforts.

*Rapid Fire Education and Training Workshop

With increasing internet coverage in many parts of Africa, there is a great potential for cost-effective and non-disruptive mass online training to assist health system strengthening. As part of a nation-wide project to implement a new logistics management information system for the public health system of a West African country in 2018, we set up a 5-month capacity building program of eight online supply chain management courses, open to 150 staff. Online learning provided technical content, discussion forums, a reporting portal for change management, and feedback activities. Discussion forums were highly participative and offered insights into health staff interests and motivation, as well as enabled peer-to-peer mentoring and experience sharing. The online learning is suitable for on-the-job, rapid capacity building in resource constrained settings, and promotes early staff engagement in health system transformation project. In addition, online learning efficiently supports peer-to-peer mentoring and facilitates supportive supervision.