High-Impact Growth

The landscape of international aid is shifting rapidly, leaving organizations and communities facing unprecedented challenges. In this episode, hosts Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro are joined by Gillian Javetski, Managing Director of Dimagi’s Software-as-a-Service division, and Ismaïla Diene, Managing Director of Dimagi's Solutions division, to unpack the impact of massive funding cuts on global health and development efforts.

What does it mean when critical aid funding disappears overnight? How are frontline organizations adapting to continue their life-saving work? And how is Dimagi stepping up to support partners in this time of uncertainty?

Join us for an honest and insightful conversation about the human side of these changes, the resilience of global health partners, and the role of digital solutions in navigating this crisis.

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In this episode, Nora Lindström, Senior Director of ICT4D at Catholic Relief Services (CRS), and Erin Quinn, Senior Director of Customer Success at Dimagi join the podcast to discuss the evolving role of the iNGO in the context of localization and advancing local leadership, the intersection of technology and localization in global development, and the ways that technologists in global development can center the people we serve in our work. In the conversation, we learn Nora’s  journey and insights into the transformative power of technology in global development. From empowering local communities with data to navigating the challenges of localization, Nora offers her thinking on balancing tech innovation with human-centered practices.

Key topics:

Tech as an Enabler, Not the Goal

Nora emphasizes the importance of listening deeply to identify real problems before introducing technology. Successful ICT4D involves tailoring solutions to local contexts and needs.

Different Approaches to Enabling Programs with Technology

Erin shares the ways that iNGOs across the sector are equipping their teams with tech tools. Nora shares how it adapts its approach based on the partner and context. 

Empowering Communities with Data

Nota notes global development’s tendency towards extractive data collection practices and highlights her work making data useful for the people it’s about. For example, in Malawi, village committees use CRS-provided data to advocate for local changes.

The Evolving Role of INGOs

As localization gains momentum, CRS is evolving into a capacity-building and knowledge-sharing role, preparing local organizations to lead development initiatives independently.

Building Diverse Teams

Nora highlights the value of diversity within CRS’s ICT4D team, bringing together cross-disciplinary expertise to solve global challenges creatively and effectively.

Show Notes:

In this episode of High-Impact Growth, hosts Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro talk with Dr. Charles Elliott, Director of Data Management at Cure Violence Global (CVG), an organization using a public health approach to prevent violence. Dr. Elliott shares insights into how CVG views violence like an epidemic, applying data-driven methods to map and reduce violence in communities around the world.

Dr. Elliott articulates the value of a thoughtful data strategy using a tool like  CommCare to measure and track critical indicators such as violence interruption, behavior change, and norm change. Dr. Elliott highlights that for Cure Violence, technology is not just a tool but a long-term investment that powers program funding, staffing, and programmatic decisions.

The conversation covers the challenges of quantifying the impact of violence prevention, the significance of trust-building in communities, and the role of data in driving both local and national violence prevention strategies. Dr. Elliott also touches on his personal journey from military service to data management, emphasizing the importance of creating systems that empower community workers, who often play a crucial role in violence prevention programs.

Dr. Elliott shares his guidance for other organizations looking to leverage data as a strategic advantage and impact accelerant:

1. Start with Clear Goals: Define your program with specific goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) to effectively measure progress. For Cure Violence, they measure metrics like violence interruption, behavior change, and norm change.

2. Build Relationships: Foster strong relationships with data users to understand their needs and communicate the value of the data being collected.

3. Create User-Centric Tools: Ensure that data collection tools are easy to use and enhance, rather than hinder, workflows. For example, Cure Violence uses the CommCare application to map violence, track follow-ups, and access reports.

4. Prioritize Data Privacy and Security: Building trust with users and stakeholders is crucial, so ensure privacy and security in data collection.

5. Invest for the Long Term: Treat your tech platform as a long-term investment to ensure lasting impact, rather than a short-term expense. For Cure Violence, this data helps drive funding decisions and program design.

Related Resources:

In this episode of High Impact Growth hosts Amie Vaccaro and Jonathan Jackson, dive into one of Dimagi’s most ambitious and potentially transformative projects to date, CommCare Connect. This platform is designed to improve the jobs of community health workers (CHWs) by equipping them with digital tools to learn new skills, deliver health services, verify their work, and, crucially, get paid for additional work. By doing so, CommCare Connect seeks to address some of the biggest challenges in the global health space, such as the underpayment and disempowerment of CHWs and funding wasted on digital tools that don’t survive the project’s end, while driving better health outcomes globally.

Throughout the conversation, Dimagi team members Mercy Simiyu, Sarvesh Tewari, and Dhivya Sivaramakrishnan, share insights from their direct work on CommCare Connect and with locally led organizations and CHWs across various regions, including Kenya and Malawi. They provide an in-depth look at how CommCare Connect has evolved over the past two years and reflect on early success stories, challenges, and lessons learned. During this conversation we unpack the four pillars of CommCare Connect’s technology:

• Learn: CHWs acquire new skills through digital learning modules.
• Deliver: CHWs are able to provide health services in their communities, equipped with the right job aids.
• Verify: Their service delivery is digitally verified in real-time.
• Pay: CHWs are compensated fairly for the work they opt into.

Show Notes:

In today’s conversation, co-hosts Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro are joined by Nan Chen, Co-Executive Director of Africa Frontline First. Africa Frontline First is on a mission to increase financing for community health worker programs across Africa to save and improve lives. Half of the world's population lack access to essential health services and community health workers, who expand primary health services door-to-door even in the hardest to reach communities, are an essential part of the solution. But financing remains the primary challenge to scale and sustain community health worker programs, despite a 10:1 return on investment. Today’s conversation centers on the ways that Africa Frontline First, a partnership from the Community Health Impact Coalition, the Financing Alliance for Health, and Last Mile Health, is working to make financing more available and effective for these life-saving programs, as well as the role of technology in accelerating impact.

Show Notes:

Dr. Kelly Collins and Gillian Javetski join co-hosts Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro for a candid conversation about the market for digital health products.

Kelly returned from the World Health Assembly with a burning question: How can we teach global health to buy software as a commodity, the same way they might buy drugs or diagnostic tools? How might we peel back the influence of aid and donor funds on digital health so that we can build tech products for global health that matter?

In this conversation, Gillian, Kelly and Jonathan each share their approaches to maintaining focus on solving problems and creating value for the digital health user across CommCare, SureAdhere and CommCare Connect. 

Topics include: 

• The dual challenge of increasing security demands and increasingly limited funding
• The lag in procurement maturity compared to technological advancements, and the importance of creating must-have, high-value products.
• What it takes to shift from donor-driven to user-focused development
• Dimagi’s ability and strategic position to lead this shift
• The need for better market education to support a healthier market for tech products in global health and development

Show Notes:

Jayson Morris, Jonathan’s coach, joins the podcast for a candid dialogue on the challenges of social enterprise leadership amidst increasing uncertainty. Jayson shares his journey from investment banking to international development and eventually to coaching, highlighting his experience with burnout and neuroadrenal fatigue. He emphasizes the importance of tapping into the body’s innate wisdom and using tools like the Enneagram and self-compassion to support leadership. The discussion emphasizes how somatic awareness can help leaders manage stress, build trust and presence, and lead teams through complex challenges. Jonathan and Amie share their experiences with incorporating somatic techniques into their leadership styles, illustrating the shift from performance-driven to capacity building. This episode is packed with tools and techniques, drawing from somatics and a wide range of powerful frameworks to help each of us lead positive change.

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One in 800 babies are born with clubfoot, a treatable birth impairment that left untreated prevents a child from walking, and becomes the root cause for illiteracy, abuse, malnutrition, and poverty in many parts of the world. Clubfoot is routinely treated at birth in high income countries, but historically children born in low and middle income countries have not had access to quality treatment. Today, co-hosts Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro sit down with Chesca Colloredo-Mansfeld, co-founder of MiracleFeet to hear about how she and her team have dedicated themselves to making a simple, cost-effective treatment for clubfoot available to every baby born with the condition. They are on track to serve 100,000 children later this year with a goal to treat 70% of clubfoot cases in the countries they operate in. We discuss:

• Chesca’s journey from the moment she realized she wanted to get out of the corporate world and discovered a fixable problem she could focus on, including her recent decision to step down as CEO to ensure long-term sustainability of the organization

• How Chesca’s business background helped her take a different approach to building the organization and investing in technology to support its mission

• The art of storytelling for a little known cause focused on dignity and possibility

• How to fundraise from cost-effectiveness focused investors  

• How the thoughtful implementation of a mobile data collection system (CommCare) allowed MiracleFeet’s providers to measure quality, deliver better services, and gather data to support continual fundraising

• How to ensure quality while scaling an intervention

• Pivotal moments in Chesca’s journey including breaking down in tears on a redeye to secure a $1 million grant from Google

• Listening to your intuition and backing it up with rigorous data and analysis

Chapters:

01:26 Welcoming Chesca: The Journey Begins

01:57 Chesca's Backstory: From Global Childhood to Business World

03:55 Discovering a Treatment for Clubfoot: A Life-Changing Moment

05:16 The Birth of MiracleFeet: From Vision to Reality

05:34 Taking the Leap: Transitioning from Corporate to Social Impact

08:59 Building MiracleFeet: Challenges, Fundraising, and Growth

21:08 Reflections on Storytelling, Fundraising, and Instinct

27:19 Expanding Reach and Impact: The Future of MiracleFeet

39:11 Harnessing Technology for Global Health Impact

40:22 Innovative Solutions to Healthcare Challenges

42:57 Empowering Local Teams with Data

46:27 Navigating Founder Transition and Organizational Growth

56:53 Mentoring the Next Generation of Social Entrepreneurs

01:12:37 Reflections on Business Acumen in Nonprofit Success

Co-hosts, Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro are joined by Jeroo Billimoria, a remarkable serial social entrepreneur. Starting at age 12, Jeroo has founded several impactful organizations, including Child and Youth Finance International, Aflatoun, Childline India Foundation and Catalyst 2030. In this candid conversation we learn about her journey and discuss:

Solving for root cause problems

Creating impactful outcomes through co-creation and collaboration

Building collective ownership and trust

Letting go of ego and planning for organizational transition

Managing the relational and management aspects of scaling an organization and a movement

The art of listening

How to stay optimistic The journey of Catalyst 2030 in creating a social innovation sector

Advocacy and changing funder mindsets

Increasing representation from the Global South

Resources:

Co-hosts Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro are joined by MHP Salud’s CEO, Dr. Maggie Dante and Data and Evaluation Analyst, Rachel Udow. MHP Salud is championing Community Health Workers across the US both within their organization and through training and consulting on how to best integrate CHW programs. Over the last decade, MHP Salud has been on a digital transformation journey - leveraging technology to improve service delivery. The conversation unpacks many of the best practices the organization has developed to leverage digital to deliver impact at scale.

Topics discussed:
How MHP Salud has used one technology platform to deepen and improve impact over time
MHP Salud’s digitization journey, including expanding use cases of CommCare across programs
How the organization has developed the human capacity and processes to support a long term Impact Delivery approach
The role of user-centered design and training in successful technology implementation.
The significance of buy-in from CHWs and creating a culture of validation
The integration of technology, including CommCare and Tableau, to improve efficiency and save costs
Insights on strategic thinking, recruitment challenges, and long-term sustainability in community health programsRelated

Resources:

Dr. Dixon Chibanda started Friendship Bench after losing a patient to suicide who could not afford to travel to the hospital in Zimbabwe where he worked. There had to be a way to make mental health care more accessible. Today, Friendship Bench has a team of grandmothers across Zimbabwe who are trained to deliver evidence-based high-impact therapy on park benches, making mental health support readily available. In this episode, Jonathan Jackson learns about the incredible journey of  the Friendship Bench intervention in conversation with its Founder and CEO, Dr. Dixon Chibanda. Get a behind the scenes look at how this incredible program and intervention has achieved resonance and scale by offering community-based psychological interventions to people in need. You’ll learn how Friendship Bench has trained grandmothers to deliver high-impact therapy, discover the tremendous healing power of storytelling and vulnerability, explore the role CommCare plays in enabling digital data collection and analysis, and dig into the three-part formula for creating a scaled intervention that applies beyond mental health. This episode is a great listen for anyone wanting to learn about the foundational role of digitization in enabling programs to scale and inform data-driven decision-making. 

Topics include: 

How the Friendship Bench intervention started 

Leading randomized controlled trials (RCT) to provide evidence for the effectiveness of the Friendship Bench intervention

Scaling up the Friendship Bench to reach 100,000 people last year

Engaging government stakeholders and building referral pathways for long-term sustainability

Focusing on improving overall health outcomes, not just mental health

The power of effective storytelling and vulnerability

The role digitization plays in scaling and sustaining the program

Partnering with Dimagi and using CommCare to become fully digital

The importance of addressing mental health at the community level

Related Resources:

Discover the key ingredients to Ethiopia's incredible progress in digital health as Ali Flaming and Amie Vaccaro speak with Dr. Girma Tadesse, electronic Community Health Information System (eCHIS)  Project Manager with JSI. Stemming from a clear vision for improving health outcomes and data use, the Ethiopian government has been on a digital health transformation journey starting in 1991. As Project Manager for this effort, Dr. Girma shares Ethiopia’s journey moving towards a fully paperless system. You’ll hear how with government ownership and strategic resource allocation, they're establishing a strong foundation for long-term success, while also investing in the people and skills needed to create meaningful change. This is a must-listen for anyone working in and with governments and Ministries of Health wanting to learn how to leverage technology to support higher quality services. Ethiopia has been leading the charge of enabling healthcare workers by building scalable platforms and ecosystems for sustained impact and this conversation provides an inside look at how. 

Topics include: 

The impact of a clear government vision focused on improving health outcomes and service delivery 

Exploring a data-driven approach to inform improvements and achieve universal health coverage

The importance of government ownership and buy-in 

The need for clear communication of goals and resource allocation

Investment in talent and expertise through university programs

Moving beyond digitizing paper processes to creating real impact in healthcare delivery

Utilizing digital platforms for multiple use cases and digitizing various health services

Building scalable platforms and ecosystems for sustained impact

Embracing an iterative approach to digital health transformation

Related Resources: 

Testing out a new format for this podcast - short form responses to questions from you, our audience. Plus video!

In this Your Questions Answered episode, we break down a recent learning that Jonathan Jackson shared on LinkedIn regarding working with governments on digital health programs:

“I used to think the goal with digital health programs as a technology partner was to get too big to fail.  I’ve learned a lot however in the last 20 years. Now I know: the only path to success is to be too valuable to fail.”

We discuss taking an Impact Delivery approach for digital, and answer the following audience questions: 

Can you kindly provide specific instances where you have consistently provided benefits to your users, clients, and communities? Understanding how you have avoided becoming stagnant and maintained the growth of your program would be highly beneficial.

How do you suggest measuring and assessing the value-added for users, clients, and communities?

Related Resources 

Depression alone is projected to be the third leading cause of disease burden in lower and middle income countries by 2030, where 75% of people don't receive any treatment.

In this episode we delve into the escalating global issue of mental health care. Jonathan Jackson speaks with three of Dimagi’s experts: senior health strategy specialist Lauren Magoun, senior project analyst Anaba Sunday Atua, and senior mental health strategy consultant Christie Civetta. Gain insights from the team’s diverse experience and learnings in project analysis and the implementation of mental health initiatives, as well as approaches to combating the barriers to mental health care delivery and the grave lack of funding. You’ll walk away from this episode with a clear understanding of the role of Frontline Workers in providing intervention, the need for human connection in digital solutions, and the positive impact of integrating mental health care into broader health strategies. This episode challenges funders, implementers, and technologists working in the mental health space to consider the intersection between mental and physical health in developing solutions that create lasting impact and achieve holistic health outcomes.

Topics include: 

• The opportunities and future possibilities for mental health care innovation

• The potential of digital solutions to break down barriers and deliver impactful, scalable and cost-effective programs

• The realities of mental health stigma and care in low-and middle-income countries 

• The advantages of community-based interventions and the role of trusted members in addressing stigma

• The importance of human connection in mental health care delivery 

• The intersection of physical and mental health with a focus on anxiety and depression

Related Resources:

In this episode, we discuss technology's impactful role in making services accessible, specifically in the treatment of Tuberculosis (TB). Listen as Chris Buri, a TB survivor and patient advocate, shares his experience with TB treatment and the importance of patient support and advocacy in TB care. You’ll also hear about his personal journey  of resilience and advocacy, the challenges and opportunities presented by TB treatment, and the potential of technology such as VDOT (Video Directly Observed Therapy) to improve patient outcomes. This is a great listen for those wanting to learn more about the impact of TB on patients and their families, the need for person-centered care, and the important call to action for more research and funding in TB treatment and advocacy.

Topics discussed: 

An introduction to Chris Buri, a TB survivor and patient advocate

Chris's experience with TB treatment, including challenges with medication side effects and treatment adherence

The importance of patient support and advocacy in TB treatment

The role of support groups in providing emotional and practical support to TB patients

The impact of TB on patients and their families, including social stigma and financial burden

The need for patient-centered care in TB treatment, with a focus on patient empowerment and engagement

The potential of technology to improve TB treatment adherence and patient outcomes

The challenges and opportunities presented by the COVID-19 pandemic in TB treatment

The need for more research and funding in TB treatment and advocacy

Chris's call to action for healthcare providers, policymakers, and the public to prioritize TB treatment and support

Related Resources

In this episode we chat to renowned epidemiologist, healthcare innovator, and educator Dr. Richard Garfein and social entrepreneur and infectious disease epidemiologist Dr. Kelly Collins, as they share their journey of turning an idea from research in academia into a successful commercial enterprise. They discuss their experiences in starting SureAdhere, licensing the software from UCSD, and signing up health departments to use the technology. You’ll also hear about their work in using Video Directly Observed therapy (VDOT) to transform tuberculosis (TB) treatment, and how they expanded their company's reach to cover diseases from hepatitis C to opioid use disorder. The episode highlights the importance of following evidence-based decision-making and empowering patients and healthcare workers alike by leveraging technology, innovation, and passion.

Topics include:

• The development of Video Directly Observed Therapy (VDOT) technology
• The role of DOT and VDOT in healthcare interventions
• Telemedicine during COVID-19 and beyond
• Digital technology to support medication assisted treatment and opioid use disorder-The importance of evidence-based decision-making in developing and testing technology
• The decision to start a company to scale VDOT technology and make it more widely available
• The challenges of licensing the software from UCSD and signing up health departments to use the technology
• The impact of VDOT on improving patient experiences and healthcare provider efficiency.
• Lessons learned from the experience of starting and growing SureAdhere
• The decision to join forces with Dimagi
  

Related Resources:

“There is no health without mental health.” - Dr. Vikram Patel

Dr. Vikram Patel is a psychiatrist, professor, renowned researcher, co-founder of Sangath, in India, and the incoming chair of Harvard Medical School Department of Global Health and Social Medicine where he takes over for the late Dr. Paul Farmer. Through decades of field-defining research, Dr Patel has shown how community-based resources can meet a growing burden of mental illness globally. In this episode, we explore Dr. Patel’s journey from training as a psychiatrist in London to working in Zimbabwe and co-founding Sangath - an award-winning Indian NGO, committed to improving mental health care across the globe. This episode is a must-listen for those wanting to learn about strategies for scaling mental health care that extend beyond the traditional healthcare system and understanding how technology can help to improve the quality of psychological and social interventions.

Topics include: 

• The importance of supporting Community Health Workers and Frontline Workers to treat mental illness and address the crisis of human resources in healthcare and mental health
• The integral difference between mental health and mental illness 
• The critical need for integration of mental health support into universal health coverage
• The connection and influence of mental health on other chronic diseases 
• The role of the ‘accompaniment model’ in mental health care
• Understanding how non-specialist providers can deliver the ‘active ingredient’ in mental health intervention for two thirds of mental illness
• The failings, future and possible fixes for the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual (DSM) in psychiatry  
• Introducing a stepped care approach in addressing individual’s mental health needs 
• The importance of human connection in mental health treatment
• The need to shift from a diagnostic model to a person-centered approach 
• Exploring measurement based peer supervision in mental health treatment programs 
• The top 3 ways to leverage digital to augment humans in mental health care, not replace them

Related resources:

Dimagi’s CommCare platform has been shaped by its users since its inception. Today, we revisit some of the first Community Health Workers who helped design and test CommCare back in 2008 in Tanzania. Co-host Amie Vaccaro speaks with two people who led that early research –  Gayo Mhila, who has recently interviewed 5 of the earliest users, and Dr. Brian DeRenzi, Dimagi's Global Director of Research. Through the conversation you’ll learn how technology can enable CHW’s to provide vital support to their communities, and how CHW input helped shape essential functionality of CommCare marking the genesis of Dimagi’s Design Under the Mango Tree approach. 

Topics include: 

• Insights from 5 of the earliest users of CommCare - how they got into community health work and their experience with CommCare

• How CHW feedback led to the creation of logins, referrals, supervisor applications, case management and more foundational functionality in CommCare

• How switching from paper to digital helped tackle stigma, earn trust and improve efficiency for CHWs 

• How technology can support and bolster relationships (not replace them)

• The journey to creating value for users at different levels of a health system with digital

• How digitizing community health work can support expanded digital literacy for women and why it matters

• Training techniques for technology adoption

• The importance of user-driven design or as Dimagi’s calls it “Design Under the Mango Tree” 

Related Resources:

In this episode  we explore the journey of Margaret Odera, a Community Health Worker and mentor mother in Kenya. Following her HIV diagnosis, Margaret received life-changing support from a mentor mother, which inspired her to dedicate her life to helping other HIV-positive mothers and their newborns. As the founder of the Community Health Workers Champions Network (CHWCN), Margaret is also leading the charge to professionalize and amplify the voices of these unsung heroes in the health sector. We discuss the role of Community Health Workers in disease prevention and health promotion; the need for better tools, technology, and training, and the steps Margaret is taking toward professionalizing Community Health Worker roles to ensure fair compensation,  improved working conditions, and preparedness for future pandemics.

Topics discussed: 

• What a typical week looks like for Margaret

• The realities of community health workers - their working conditions and the lack of compensation 

• The unfortunate status of payment for Community Health Workers in Kenya 

• How lack of payment for Community Health Workers reflects a gender issue

• How Margaret came to found the Community Health Workers Champions Network (CHWCN) and early wins

• Challenges faced in professionalizing Community Health Workers

• The role of technology in professionalizing community health workers

• The need for better Community Health Worker representation and visibility at various levels of health governance

• The role of Community Health Workers in preventing future pandemics

• The support needed from health systems at large to train, support, and equip Community Health Workers
  

Related Resources:

In a world where stress is inevitable, burnout is rife, and the global mental health burden is growing, it's crucial to develop the skill of resilience to recover, adapt, and grow from stress. This episode highlights how building resilience can guard against burnout, a workplace phenomenon that affects many Frontline Workers, resulting in feelings of fatigue, detachment, and a reduction in professional efficacy. Jonathan Jackson sits down with Lilianna Bagnoli to dig into Dimagi’s work on resilience-building through the launch of the WellMe application - a user-friendly tool focussed on equipping Frontline Workers with resilience-building behaviors, that can be used across geographies, languages, and Frontline Worker cadres. You’ll also hear about the ways in which we can scale access to mental health support for individuals and Frontline Workers, how technology can support this, and what this means for technologists, implementers, and funders working in global health.

Other topics discussed: 

• Why resilience-building is important amongst Frontline Workers 

• The growing mental health crisis & four interventions that can help deliver mental health support at scale 

• Leaning into collaborative approaches to deal with stress on all levels amongst essential and non-essential staff 

• An introduction to Dimagi’s WellMe application & the feedback received from the user testing phase

• The importance of adapting messages and language from user testing to appeal to specific contexts and demographics 

• The need for organizations to incorporate resilience-building into professional development efforts 

• The effects of bolstering mental health on the results of treatments for other health issues
  

Related Resources:

Jonathan Jackson sits down with Brian DeRenzi, Dimagi’s Research and Data team lead, to discuss Dimagi’s work exploring large language models to create chatbots for global health and development use cases. They discuss how we might leverage AI to advance equity despite the reality that it can also decrease equity,  while recognizing the irreplaceable value of human-to-human connection in healthcare. We also discuss the potential of ChatGPT to support more accessible SMS workflows, how voice to text can support non-literate populations, and how to embrace the discomfort of this moment in a way that propels us towards creating positive impact.

Topics include:

Global development is evolving quickly in the face of social, economic, and political changes. Jonathan Jackson sits down with Raj Kumar, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Devex, a leading independent online news platform for development professionals, to discuss how 2023 marks the start of a new, more challenging development era. With growing competition between China and Russia and the West, a new set of economic circumstances, and overwhelming humanitarian needs, development professionals need to get more value for money. And this requires a change in mindset and how things are done - shifting from a project-based mindset to a collaborative, results-driven investment mindset. 

Topics discussed: 

Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro sit down with three Community Health Workers, supported by the Lwala Community Alliance, as they share first-hand their journey into community health, their day-to-day, the impact of digital tools on their work, and the importance of salaried Community Health Workers in creating greater access to critical health services worldwide. This is part 2 in a two-part series on the important work Lwala Community Alliance is doing in transforming the community health landscape in Kenya. A must-listen for anyone interested in understanding the important work of Community Health Workers.

Some topics covered in this conversation include: 

• The critical role of technology in supporting essential service delivery 

• A day in the life of 3 Community Health Workers in their communities

• Top challenges faced by CHWs -  from difficult clients to weather conditions

• The importance of paying, training, supervising and supporting CHWs

• Policies for a safer and more conducive working environment for CHWs
  

Related Resources:

Jonathan Jackson sits down with Julius Mbeya, Co-CEO of the Lwala Community Alliance, to discuss their approach to addressing health challenges in Kenya. By using a community-led health model, they are able to provide quality, affordable healthcare to underprivileged communities, and reduce maternal and under-five deaths. This is part one in a two-part series on the important work Lwala Community Alliance is doing in transforming the community health landscape in Kenya. A must-listen for anyone interested in innovative digital approaches to healthcare to effect lasting impact. 

Some topics covered in this conversation include: 

• A breakdown of Lwala’s community-led health model 
• The path to providing affordable healthcare to communities in informal settlements
• How and why Lwala is digitizing its Community Health Workers
• Reducing maternal and under-five deaths 
• The importance of data collection and longitudinal tracking  understand impact over time an to create an evidence base
• Working with the government to bring interventions to scale

Related Resources:

Jonathan Jackson sits down with Olukunle Akinwusi, Technical Officer for Digital Access at FIND & Erica Troncosco, Technical Advisor and Portfolio Lead for Frontier Technology Solutions at Jhpeigo, at the Global Digital Health Forum, to discuss the value of innovation in improving health equity through thoughtful diagnostics, involving the user in the design process, investing in the digital literacy of the Frontline Worker, and engaging country stakeholders to ensure buy-in.

Some topics covered in this conversation include: 

• The importance of diagnostics in improving access to care and curbing disease prevalence

• Addressing the biggest diagnostic gaps at various levels of care 

• The experiences and lessons learned from working on digital health projects

• Balancing the use of technology with ensuring that those new technologies are actually helping Frontline Workers provide better care

• The value of innovation and involving the user in the design process 

• The need for investment in health worker digital literacy and the accessibility of infrastructure in more remote settings for digital health interventions 

• The importance of engaging the countries or stakeholders in which the solution or innovation will be designed, understanding the context of use, and getting user buy-in 

Related Resources:

In today’s episode we flip the script and Jonathan Jackson interviews Amie Vaccaro to discuss her career journey, her experiences, and the lessons learned so far in growing the marketing team at Dimagi.  The potential of digital to support iNGOs and governments can only be really unlocked when it becomes a foundational layer that supports all aspects of the organization’s work horizontally. We often see digital projects failing when they are focused on one specific vertical or silo and not able to add value across an organization. Amie has been on a parallel journey building marketing as a horizontal and foundational team at Dimagi and together Jonathan and Amie unpack some of the lessons Amie has learned that are applicable to anyone leading a digital shared service within an organization.

Some topics covered in this conversation include: 

• The challenges of standing up a new horizontal shared service in an organization

• How to sequence value creation to build trust and autonomy over time

• Partnering with leadership to understand and guide strategic direction

• Balancing execution work with high-level strategic work

• Empowering a team to say no and prioritize tasks

  
  

Related resources: 

High-Impact Growth podcast co-hosts Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro reflect on 9 months of podcasting, from finding their voice, to key insights, tools, and insider tips for those considering starting a podcast. Some topics covered in this conversation include: 

• What it means to share non-obvious perspectives - why they matter and the tradeoffs

• How to think about planning for your podcast - from choosing a co-host to creating the space for your podcast to evolve

• Key podcasting tools to consider when starting out (including Descript, Riverside and Anchor.fm which is now Spotify for Podcasters)

• Building out a podcasting team - roles to consider

• Balancing the drive for perfection against getting your story and perspectives out

Related resources: 

Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro sit down with Liz Wiseman, researcher, executive advisor, and author of New York Times bestseller Multipliers and three other books to learn about multiplier leadership. In this candid conversation, Liz discusses the research behind Multipliers and how to apply it within global health and development to ensure you are fully realizing your team’s potential.

Some topics covered in this conversation include:

• A breakdown of the Multipliers leadership style and how to utilize it within any team environment to create 2x the impact
• Multipliers vs Diminishers vs Accidental Diminishers- where does your leadership style fall?
• Decoupling intent from outcome when it comes to management
• Creating a culture of empowerment where multiplier managers thrive
• How power dynamics and organizational culture feed into diminishing tendencies
• Finding the time to have a multiplier approach especially in a high-pressured environment
• Striking the balance between empowering and micro-managing

Jonathan Jackson unpacks the session he led at the Global Digital Health Forum called “Is the Digital Health Community Creating Better Jobs for Users?” In it, he discusses the idea of introducing a 10th Principle for Digital Development  'Make the users’ job better.' Creating better jobs for better outcomes is at the heart of Dimagi’s work and 5 year strategy.

Some topics covered in this conversation include:

• Why supporting and elevating the Frontline Worker is critical to the future of the digital health community (and Dimagi’s 5 year strategy)
• What would adding a 10th Principle for Digital Development look like?
• How prioritizing  the end user influences the quality of the work they’re doing
• The tradeoffs and nuances inherent in prioritizing the Frontline Worker when digitizing a health program

Related resources:

Jonathan Jackson sits down with Lauren Magoun, Dimagi’s Senior Health Strategy Specialist, at the Global Digital Health Forum to discuss the realities of the global mental health crisis, the lack of access to mental health care, and the innovative work Dimagi is driving to develop digital solutions that enable frontline providers  to address the gap in mental health care.

Some topics covered in this conversation include:

• Enabling non-specialist frontline providers to provide mental health care
• The power in taking a protocolized approach to mental health treatment
• An exploration of the ways that we can leverage digital innovation to scale mental health care programs
• The impact of an integrated treatment program - incorporating mental health treatment into treatment programs for other illnesses for example
• How digital can augment vs replace humans in mental health care
• How the global health and development community is thinking about mental health

Related resources:

Jonathan Jackson sits down with Clayton Sims, Dimagi’s Chief Technology Officer, at the Global Digital Health Forum, to discuss the opportunities, realities & future of artificial intelligence in the global health and development space.

Some topics covered in this conversation include:

• Exploring the highest impact use cases of AI for global health and development including language models, image processing, biometrics,  diagnostics, chatbots, and threat detection.
• How AI tools can create more autonomy and expand the skillsets of an individual
• Looking at ChatGPT training data and structures, and the impact of minimal global vetting on the global development space
• The ethics around AI - and the impact it may have on data sharing
• Exploring the future of AI from an infrastructure standpoint

Related resources:

Jonathan Jackson sits down with Jacaranda Health’s co-executive directors Nick Pearson & Sathy Rajasekharan at the Global Digital Health Forum, to discuss challenges and learnings along their journey to impact in maternal and child health in Kenya.

Some topics covered in this conversation include:

• Navigating a major pivot as a digital health organization from running private health centers to partnering with governments to support gaps in maternal and newborn care
• Maximizing impact by improving communication with moms through a digital platform called Prompts
• Scaling capacity & exploring peer learning through a mentorship program for healthcare providers
• Amplifying the voices of Moms in the health system and closing service delivery gaps through feedback loops
• Implementing machine learning - the benefits and challenges

Jacaranda Health partners with governments to deploy affordable and scalable solutions through government hospitals, where the majority of underserved mothers and babies receive care. In Kenya, they work with the National Ministry of Health and with 20 Kenyan County Governments, with solutions deployed across 1,100+ hospitals and health centers.

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Jonathan Jackson sits down with Mercy Corps’ Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL) team – Meri Ghorkhmazyan, Senior Director MEL, Alex Tran, Senior MEL Advisor and Hanna Camp, Senior Advisor, Technology for MEL. They discuss how MEL is the next generation of M&E and how it has fuelled program adaptation and higher level learning to improve frontline impact at Mercy Corps.

Some topics covered in this conversation include:

• The difference between M&E and MEL
• The value of a MEL policy and the challenges of disorganized MEL technology
• How standardizing on technology for MEL allows teams to maximize comprehensiveness of data as well as timely action
• The ins and outs of creating enterprise technology agreements and the cost savings made possible
• Implementing a MEL technology training program with support from the Cisco Foundation
• Creating continuous buy in along the journey of change management
• How streamlining technologies can boost professional development opportunities for MEL technology practitioners.
• Empowering data practitioners to be able to make better decisions around program performance.
• The challenge of finding and retaining technically skilled staff

Related Resources:

Jonathan Jackson shares his candid reflections and takeaways from his time at the recent World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, as well as his stance on some of the biggest problems we are facing and the biggest bets we need to make to create a better world.

Some topics covered in this conversation include:

• The background of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and its role at Davos 
• The reality of the state of ‘poly crisis’ - multiple complex crises that a lot of organizations are facing currently
• The increasing scope of social entrepreneurship and social innovation on the global stage
• Shedding light on some of the main stage topics at Davos such as the Global Debt Crisis
• Advocating for Better Jobs for Frontline Workers and why this is important
• Leveraging technology to scale a more responsive & adaptive workforce
• The potential around AI & ChatGPT to amplify frontline impact
• Some of the most compelling ideas shared from social entrepreneurs at Davos
  

“I think the work that we're doing is inherently really complex. A lot of our partners are doing complex work and they're working in really complex environments. This a very necessary value because without this, we wouldn't actually be on that road to greater impact. “ - Avni Singhal

“We intentionally run towards taking on the highest impact projects. Knowing that of our portfolio of national scale programs, there’s a high likelihood half of them are canceled or put on pause or, or are never picked up again for reasons completely outside of our control. But the next time it comes up, like we run just as fast to that because we are running not to embrace complexity for complexity's sake, but complexity for the greatest impact.” - Gillian Javetski

Co-hosts, Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro sit down with four Dimagi team members - Lucina Tse, Chief Operating Officer; Gillian Javetski, Chief of Staff; Avni Singhal, Senior Customer Success Manager; and Simon Kelly, Director of Server Engineering - to discuss the fourth and final in Dimagi’s newly articulated values: Embrace complexity for impact. At Dimagi, we care deeply not only about what we do and the impact we have, but also about HOW we do it. Articulating our values has become incredibly important as we continue growing. Listen to this episode to hear candid reflections on what it looks like to embrace complexity for impact and why this is so important for achieving high-impact growth.

Full description of the newly articulated value: