Development Partner Group-Health Retreat

Following the publication of the draft Tanzanian Joint Assistance Strategy (JAS) in July 2005 which outlined a medium-term framework for enhancing aid effectiveness through the rationalisation and alignment of development partner approaches, a series of consultations on this draft strategy took place both within government agencies and among Development Partners. The Development Partner Group in Health (DPG-H) took this opportunity to hold a two-day workshop in late September with the first day devoted to discussing the implications of the JAS for Development Partners, Ministry of Health and President's Office Regional Administration and Local Government. The second day was used as a time to internally reflect on the present functioning of the DPG-H Group, identifying ways of enhancing the work of the group in response to the changing environment. Discussions on the first day of the Retreat were structured around the five key elements of the JAS, i.e., Sector Dialogue, Aid Modalities, TA and Capacity Building, Division of Labour and Monitoring & Evaluation. Presentations were made by Development Partners with input/comments and clarification given by the Ministry of Health, President's Office Regional Administration and Local Government; and Ministry of Finance. Group work was undertaken in the afternoon to further address pertinent issues that were raised from the plenary discussions in the morning session. This resulted in a number of recommendations that included the following: supporting an effective division of labour; harmonising support with government plans and priorities irrespective of the funding modality; complementarity and coordination enhanced between the various aid modalities; basket funding to continue as a transition towards General Budget Support (GBS); demand driven technical assistance; and over time developing an agreed competency/profile skills mix of health development partners. The second day was an opportunity for members of the DPG-H to come together and reflect on the work of the group - where it had come from, the current functioning of the group (strengths/challenges) and looking forward. A number of presentations were made that covered the background of the group; the history of the Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) and the role of development partners; the sector dialogue structures, the expectations and challenges with respect to communication; strengthening the ways of working as a group and the development of an activity plan for prioritising activities. During the plenary sessions a number of recommendations were agreed that included better structuring of the DPG-H meetings; regularity of meetings (once month but more frequently when required); enhancing the coherency and linkages with the overall Development Partner Group; developing and agreeing a work plan and communication strategy; re-visiting the division of labour in terms of roles and responsibilities; putting in place a fully staffed DPG-H Secretariat and organising a troika chairing structure for the group. Moreover, a number of critical suggestions and recommendations were made for further strengthening sector dialogue that centred around revising the structure of the SWAp. As they had implications beyond the mandate of the DPG-H, it was concluded that this would require further discussions, elaboration and agreement by the Ministry of Health/PORALG.\u

Approaching development of a new education programme in diagnostic radiography.

Introduction: Developing a new Diagnostic Radiography education programme is a large project, and is a multi-facetted complex process. Reviewing the most innovative ways to undertake learning, teaching and assessment and embed them into the University is crucial to enhance the quality of education. Preparing graduates adequately for practice is vital to meet the demands of the workforce. In the UK, removal of NHS Bursaries following the Comprehensive Spending Review (HM Treasury, 2015) has led to a more competitive environment where providers need to look for unique selling points. Methods: A review of current legislation, national guidance and policies was undertaken to check for relevant alterations. A thorough appraisal of all Professional Statutory and Regulatory Body (PSRB) documentation and national level organisations was completed. Project planning started between 2 years and 18 months prior to the planned delivery date. Stakeholders were invited to a number of on-site sessions to brain storm what employers need from graduates over the next 5 years. It’s important that views are sought from a variety of interested parties including; academics, placement providers, employers, service users, students and external examiners. After this the follow-up sessions were divided into placement, curriculum and assessment. Strengths and weaknesses were identified in the current programme and brain storming exercises looking at what new curricula needed implementing. Conclusion: The programme was approved by the University the PSRB’s. The programme was designed using innovative learning and teaching methods and a variety of assessment methods. Having themes which built on topics throughout the programme allowed these to be embedded more effectively. Looking at ways to offer placement in a more creative way and supporting this with simulation allows for increased capacity. Having the right programme impacts on recruitment, student experience, student attainment and employability. Once the programme has been delivered in its first year an evaluation of the individual modules and the year as an overview will be evaluated. It is necessary to keep up to date with new guidance and currency of practice and continually improve educational programmes to be able to produce competent graduates and compete as a business.Internal funding at University of Derb

New options for placement provision

Diagnostic Radiography is facing many challenges due to the current economic climate. According to NHS choices (2013) the National Health Service (NHS) has been undergoing major changes since April 2013 which has impacted on all vital services. There is an emphasis to become cost-efficient, more effective and more streamlined. The imaging department is one such service, the College of Radiographers (COR) (2007:17) state that there is a “pressure on clinical departments” and provide authoritative guidance, placing educators with the responsibility of design and development of practice based learning with an “increasing emphasis…placed on work-based learning” (COR, 2007:16).This is having an impact, not just on service delivery but on the quality of the learning experience for student radiographers

Report on Institutional Case Studies: experiences of GENOVATE Institutions

YesFP

Gender Equality Guide for Policy Making in Higher Education Institutions

YesHigher Education [HE] policy makers play a major role in the application of international standards on gender equality. Depending on the particular characteristics of each Higher Education organisation, this responsibility is borne and/or shared by specific actors that may be located in Human Resources departments, and/or could be strategically placed throughout the organisational structure. It also rests on the actions and commitment of senior leaders and managers, who are visual and powerful champions for structural change. Either way, policy actors are particularly involved in monitoring and evaluation processes, and policy implementation, as well as legitimation of gender equality standards. Therefore, it is fundamental to work with a clear roadmap to integrate gender equality into organisational change, which would sustain context-specific, legally compliant and responsive policies that meet international and national standards of gender equality and non-discrimination. Accordingly, this resource offer a hands-on and transparent approach to gender mainstreaming in Higher Education institutions, constituting a support tool for policy makers and actors involved in policy development and implementation, which is key for regulating and legitimating organisational transformation along gender sensitive, gender competent, gender balanced and gender equal principles.FP

Continuities and Changes: Gender Culture and Working Climate Assessment Report

YesThe Change Report (GENOVATE Deliverable Report D4.2) summarises the findings of the research undertaken by partner institutions close to the end of GENOVATE implementation. The report aims to highlight the changes and/or continuities identified in each institution during the implementation of GEAPs (Gender Equality Action Plan) designed and executed by institutional GENOVATE teams. For this, each partner institution utilized their findings obtained in their baseline research at the start year of GENOVATE (Working Document 4.1) and compared this with the situation in the final year of the project to identify the institutional changes and continuities over the period of project implementation and subsequently conducted similar and/or quite different types of data gathering and analyses in order to either provide an updated version of previous gender climate reports of specific universities or illustrate some perspectives on gender equality on behalf of a limited number of Faculty members and Administration staff in specific universities.” .FP

Developing Learning Circles: ‘Sharing and Learning’ from the GENOVATE Project

YesResearch institutions, universities and organisations at large have a growing interest for gender equality and diversity to be integrated into all stages of research and innovation including strategic planning, promotion, recruitment, performance reporting and transformation. Creating and finding open spaces where these processes can be approached from different perspectives, in which multiple stakeholders can express and share their interests and experiences, and where critical conversations, discussions and knowledge sharing can take place is fundamental for advancing collaborative projects and actions aimed at profound organisational change. Learning Circles, therefore, are useful resources that facilitate organisational safe spaces where multiple stakeholders from different backgrounds, sectors, disciplines, and nationalities reflect, in a relaxed and collaborative atmosphere, about gender equality and diversity as collective projects; and their impact and relevance for/in research and innovation fields. The advantages of Learning Circles are manifold: they represent intersectional, interdisciplinary and even transnational arenas and opportunities for experience sharing, and knowledge generation/transfer.FP

Development and Characterization of a 171Yb+ Miniature Ion Trap Frequency Standard

This dissertation reports on the development of a low-power, high-stability miniature atomic frequency standard based on 171Yb+ ions. The ions are buffer-gas cooled and held in a linear quadrupole trap that is integrated into a sealed, getter-pumped vacuum package, and interrogated on the 12.6 GHz hyperfine transition. We hope to achieve a long-term fractional frequency stability of 10^-14 with a miniature clock that consumes only 50 mW of power and occupies a volume of 5 cm^3. I discuss our progress over several years of work on this project. We began by building a conventional tabletop clock to use as a test bed while developing several designs of miniature ion-trap vacuum packages, while also developing techniques for various aspects of the clock operation, including ion loading, laser and magnetic field stabilization, and a low power ion trap drive. The ion traps were modeled using boundary element software to assist with the design and parameter optimization of new trap geometries. We expect a novel trap geometry that uses a material new to ion traps to lead to an exceptionally small ion trap vacuum package in the next phase of the project. To achieve the long-term stability required, we have also considered the sensitivity of the clock frequency to magnetic fields. A study of the motion of the individual ions in a room-temperature cloud in the trap was performed with the purpose of understanding the effect of both spatially varying and constant magnetic fields on the clock resonance and therefore the operation of the clock. These effects were studied experimentally and theoretically for several traps. In summary, this dissertation is a contribution to the design, development, and testing of a 171Yb+ ion cloud frequency standard and related techniques, including analyses of trap geometries and parameters, modeling of the ion motion, and the practical operation of the clock.Comment: PhD Dissertatio

Gender Equality and Diversity Competent Research Excellence Standards: Guiding Principles

YesThe promotion of gender equality in research and innovation is a vital part of the GENOVATE project. The full participation of women and men in all aspects of research endeavour is key to positive career progression in academia. It is essential to ensure equal opportunities for women and men in access to promotion, research funding and decision-making positions in higher education institutions. This report seeks to provide higher education institutions, research bodies and funding institutions guiding principles on gender equality and diversity competent research excellence standards, ensuring in particular that the achievements of women and men researchers are assessed on the same basis. The report will help encourage a more systematic way of thinking about assessment of research excellence standards.FP