2022 Training - Participant Reflections
Chipo Nancy Ngongoni
Health Innovation Ecosystems Management Specialist, WHO Africa Regional Office
“A week to remember… and an amazing lifetime opportunity!”
I had always been one of those people that never thought the intricacies of innovation or elements of entrepreneurship could be taught or learnt. In 2014 that all changed when I read Peter Drucker’s mindset shifting book on innovation and entrepreneurship, and I have never looked back. So, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I knew I was well positioned as an innovation specialist as the world redefined innovation ecosystems and their global dynamics. All of a sudden there was a morphing from global to local contextualisation of ecosystem dynamics. This redefined elements of access, equity, innovation scaling and inclusive innovations especially across Africa. Hence, when I saw the call for the Managing Innovation for Impact course curated by the International Development Innovation Alliance (IDIA) and the Stanford PACS Global Innovation for Impact Lab, the avid learner in me lodged my application. The key aspects addressed by the course of understanding dynamics around scaling innovations for development is something that keeps me awake at night and I knew that I would love to be part of the 2022 cohort. I was elated when I got the notification that I had been selected and then I became even more excited when we had our virtual orientation call as I learnt that I would gather with like-minded individuals in a learning setting in the scenic town of Naivasha in Kenya.
It was very clear from the get-go that every aspect of the week was well thought out and intentional – though the experience never felt like that due to the effortless progression of the modules. The course started off with an eerily accurate personality test that left me gobsmacked. When I shared the analysis with my friends, they were shocked how accurate and hilarious it was. But above all the self-introspection of this test was to help us also see others in the cohort and be able to acknowledge that when we speak, we address a huge audience who have various elements they look for in order to validate a message. This is a skill that is important to nurture, especially when communicating aspects around an innovation, getting buy-in and measuring its impact. I also got to be enlightened on innovation trends which aligned well with my current role. All throughout the week I had opportunity to be in a home group with 5 other brilliant minds. In these home groups we reflected on the day and these amazing people were vulnerable enough to share the triumphs and trials they face in their daily work lives in the quest of scaling innovations. It was a safe space and truly felt like home.
This paved way for our second and third days where we looked at case studies of inspirational innovations in resource constrained settings and how they used various strategies to scale. We debated, laughed, and quizzed these dynamics and I learnt new tools that I had not been exposed to which I look forward to utilising to improve my efficiency in the work I do. We had the opportunity to do a field visit to one of two sites Sanivation or Dandelion Africa. I selected to go to Dandelion Africa - a dynamic organisation that aims to improve the livelihoods for women in rural Kenya. The organisation was a clear example of the contentious aspect of building organic ecosystems. The starting point for Dandelion Africa was to provide women with safe advice on sexual health and offer family planning. It has long since evolved to building a medical centre for health services, resource centre for building financial and business acumen and a youth centre to empower and educate the youth. The enthusiasm amongst the community health volunteers was contagious and the empowerment amongst the women is something which has had visible impact in the community. I left with a different understanding on how small systemic changes truly shift communities and eventually contribute to scale.
On the fourth day we delved into the world of adaptive learning, looking at how we should really question the way we measure impact. In the afternoon we had two guest speakers, Dr Shikoh Gitau and Mr Patrick Mugisha, who shared with us their innovation scaling journeys in this elusive path of working in social contexts. They candidly shared their highs and lows reminding me about the power of worth and self-belief. The last day was reflective and focused on take-aways I gained from the training and for me I was a kid in candy land as I found nuggets of wisdom all throughout the week so choosing only two was very difficult. Nevertheless, I did settle on two primary ones. The first one was the evasive element of who exactly am I in this world of innovation ecosystems. It was a revelation to me how I tend to compartmentalise myself and hence sometimes lose out on aspects that can make me exceptionally creative in my work. Another aspect which I tend to overlook is always making sure that the teams I collaborate with have the same foundational definition of what innovation means so that we appropriate our work coherently and in a sustainable way.
The faculty really pushed me out of my comfort zone with this training and I unashamedly loved it. Not only did Mwihaki dig deep, making me question who I am and what is my why; Thomas (in absentia) opened me up to be agile in my use of tools whilst Kippy delved into how I can horn and lean into my personality traits and use them to my advantage at work. Christian made me realise that constructive scepticism is a necessary evil and Luke ascertained that the right mix of design and delivery are foundations for verifiable impact. I also unfortunately got a migraine and a bug in my eye whilst I was exploring Naivasha and Morag and Michael asked after me and made sure that all my other needs were taken care off. This was a week to remember and if I wasn’t so excited to put into practice what I had learnt I would have opted to stay. What I have described are just snippets of the level of depth I got from the course where I have already started implementing what I learnt by being intentional in my work. Thank you IDIA for this amazing lifetime opportunity!!! And if you are wondering whether the course is worth it, unequivocally YES!!
