How policymakers and other leaders can build a more sustainable post-COVID-19 ‘normal’

The UN 2030 Agenda’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the COVID-19 pandemic share two important characteristics. They are global challenges that if not met, pose risks to all citizens. Furthermore, responses need to be system-level, rather than sectoral. COVID-19 has illuminated three complementary, compelling actions that can address these challenges—work across silos; visibly use science in policy; and harness simultaneous global interruption to habits. This commentary describes these using worked examples and suggests actions for policymakers and other leaders. Acknowledging that the full SDG agenda is of much broader multidimensional scope than the COVID-19 pandemic, the SDG examples focus on environmental sustainability

Knowledge network modelling to support decision-making for strategic intervention in IT project-oriented change management

This is the Accepted Manuscript version of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Decision Systems on 20 March 2014, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/12460125.2014.886499.This paper focuses on knowledge management to enhance decision support systems for strategic intervention in information technology (IT) project-oriented change management. It proposes a model of change management knowledge networks (CMKNM) to support decision by tackling three existing issues: insufficient knowledge traceability based on the relationships between knowledge elements and key factors, lack of procedural knowledge to provide adequate policies to guide changes, and lack of ‘lessons learned’ documentation in knowledge bases. A qualitative method was used to investigate issues surrounding knowledge mobilisation and knowledge networks. Empirical study was undertaken with industries to test the CMKNM. Results are presented from the empirical study on the key factors influencing knowledge mobilisation in IT project-oriented change management, knowledge networks and connections. The CMKNM model allows key knowledge mobilisation factors to be aligned with each other; it also defines the connections between knowledge networks allowing knowledge to be mobilised by tracing knowledge channels to support decision.Peer reviewe

Make the money work for health in sub-Saharan Africa

[No abstract available]Lette

A model of web-based follow-up to reduce assistive technology abandonment

The abandonment of assistive technology (AT) is strictly related to the subjective quality of the service delivery regarding the whole AT assignation process. Starting from this consideration, the aim of this work is to show the design of a Web-based follow-up model (WFM) aimed at overcoming the hearing aid abandonment in the Italian Umbria Region AT service delivery system. The WFM model described here is developed in two phases: an implementation phase, and an experimental evaluation which is still under development. The model meets the current objective of the Umbria Region's Units of Local Health Service to digitize their services in order to easily monitor the quality of the delivery service and evaluate the post-provision outcome

Public health decision makers’ informational needs and preferences for receiving research evidence

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify decision-makers’ preferences for the transfer and exchange of research knowledge. This article is focused on how the participants define evidence-based decision-making and their preferences for receiving research evidence to integrate into the decision-making process. Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 16 Ontario public health decision-makers from six Ontario public health units in this fundamental qualitative descriptive study. The sample included nine program managers, six directors, and one Medical Officer of Health. Participants were asked to define the term evidence-based decision-making and identify preferred research dissemination strategies. The interviews were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim, and coded for emerging concepts. Results: Participants defined evidence-based decision-making as a process whereby multiple sources of information were consulted before making a decision concerning the provision of services. To facilitate integration of research evidence into the decision-making process, public health administrators appreciate receiving, in both electronic and hard copy, systematic reviews, executive summaries of research, and clear statements of implications for practice from health service researchers. Conclusions: Although consensus exists among participants concerning the definition of evidence based public health decision-making, ongoing efforts are required to continue to promote the use of research evidence in program planning and public health policy. It is also important to continue to improve the ease with which public health decision-makers access systematic reviews, as well as to ensure the relevance and applicability of the results to the practice setting