KDNC

Discovering the Tacit Dimension of Global Health Leadership Using Systems Thinking

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:49:48 GMT

Discovering the Tacit Dimension of Global Health Leadership Using Systems Thinking
Start Date: 27-May-09 8:30 AM
End Time: 31-May-09 5:30 PM
Location: TBA, Philadelphia,, PA 19104
Speaker:

Event Details:

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 8:30 AM to Sunday May 31, 2009 5:30 PM Eastern Time

Discovering the Tacit Dimension of Global Health Leadership Using Systems Thinking

CALL FOR PAPERS

Macharia Waruingi, MD, DHA; Susanna J Dodgson BSc(Hons), PhD

Knowledge Development Network Central

Medical Journal of Therapeutics Africa

In sub-Saharan Africa, populations are becoming poorer and sicker even though international investment has increased. We want to know why, and we call on leaders to convene in Philadelphia to discuss leadership effectiveness in global health practice.

We see in sub-Saharan Africa a relevance paradox, in which highly relevant projects bring negative results, and unintended consequences. Relevance paradoxes occur because of implementation of projects without awareness of the social or individual tacit knowledge within a target community. The understanding of the individual and the social tacit knowledge in a given community, which is a function of knowledge emergence, is the foundation of effectiveness in leadership practice.

The specific problem is that the existing literature fails to address the process of emergence of relevant knowledge from within the stakeholders of global health in sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this conference is to assemble a systems thinking sensitive organizational model that would provide leaders with a process that can facilitate the emergence of relevant knowledge from within the stakeholders of global health.

Background of the Problem

Traditional salient stakeholders of global health include (a) members of the international development community (e.g., the World Bank, the World Health Organization, the International Financing Corporation, the United Nations Organizations, and the International Monetary Fund); and (b) country governments. Perversely, the fringe stakeholders of global health include the local nationals of developing countries, diaspora nationals of developing countries, and the business community. In this context, the members of the international development community design the global health programs such as the structural adjustment program, the poverty reduction strategic papers, the global fund, roll back malaria, and the millennium development goals. The national governments of the developing countries facilitate the implementation of the development projects.

Global health decisions directly affect the local nationals and the diaspora nationals of developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa. These two groups of stakeholders remain in the fringes, if not exterior to the decision-making organs. The business community is a stakeholder of health, because business is a social construct requiring a healthy society as a market for its products, and a source of a healthy workforce. In the current context, business is perversely considered a fringe stakeholder of global health.

Exclusion of the local people, the diaspora, and the business community from the design of solutions to problems that affect them excludes the possibility of gaining access to the tacit knowledge from these groups. Exclusion of the tacit knowledge from a community during the design of a project results in failure to incorporate important details in the design structure of the project, with attendant failure of the emergence of knowledge that is relevant to the success of the project. Projects that lack important details in their design structure are problematic, and fail at implementation because of not being relevant to the problem at hand.

Relevance paradox is the phenomenon of project failure that results from the lack of acknowledging the tacit knowledge within a target community in project implementation. Relevance paradox is a condition where interveners do not see the relevance of certain information that is of critical importance for making better decisions. Because the interveners are blind to this information, they do not seek it, resulting in inevitable, unintended, and undesirable consequences from project implementation. Focusing on the tacit knowledge provides the point of access to the knowledge resources of a human being, or a group. The problem is that, unlike the easily expressed explicit knowledge, the tacit knowledge is internal, not codifiable, and only transmitted through experience. Tacit knowledge does not lend itself easily to identification by project implementers. One framework for understanding the flow of tacit knowledge follows a process of socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization, on a special platform of knowledge emergence.

Platform for Knowledge Emergence

Knowledge emerges through the process of conversion of the explicit form to the tacit form in a time and space clearing known as ba. In a ba, interactions occur at the human level allowing deep knowledge to emerge through individual-to-individual, and individual-to-environment exchange. The ba sequesters and integrates knowledge disciplines, evoking transcendence and emergence of deeper awareness.

Statement of the Problem

The increasing rate of poverty and death due to preventable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa presents a major problem in the face of increasing global effort to reduce poverty and control the diseases. Global interventions designed to attend to the diseases and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa result in short term improvements of the conditions. Long-term perverse effects typically follow the transient improvements. Unintended consequences occur when interveners implement projects without the awareness of the individual and social tacit knowledge within the target community.

Literature fails to provide a process of emergence of relevant knowledge from within the stakeholders of global health in sub-Saharan Africa. The development of a process of emergence of relevant knowledge grounded on conversations among the fringe and salient stakeholders may provide a foundation for development of the criteria for the assessment of the effectiveness of project interventions in global health.

Purpose of the Conference

The purpose of this conference will be to bring together the traditional salient and fringe stakeholders of global health in order to elucidate a process of emergence of relevant knowledge from within the stakeholders.

The two underlying themes are to:

1. Explore the process of emergence of relevant knowledge from within the stakeholders of global health; and

2. Assemble a practical model that would provide leaders with a process of understanding how relevant knowledge emerges from within the stakeholders of global health.

Bringing together the traditional salient and fringe stakeholders will facilitate the construction of an inclusive community of practice for global health.

How to Participate

Click here to learn more about how to participate

TBA

7th Annual Echoes of Africa Program August 22 and 23, 2008

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 21:55:39 GMT

7th Annual Echoes of Africa Program August 22 and 23, 2008
Start Date: 22-Sep-08 6:00 PM
End Time: 22-Sep-08 8:30 PM
Location: Second Floor of City Hall - City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia,, PA 19103
Speaker:

Event Details:

Date: August 18, 2008

To: Member’s Mayor’s Commission on African and Caribbean Immigrant Affairs and Friends

From: Stanley L. Straughter, Chairman

Subject: 7^th Annual Echoes of Africa Program August 22 and 23, 2008

In my capacity as Chairman of the Mayor’s Commission on African and Caribbean Immigrant Affairs, I have the honor and pleasure of collaborating with the Honorable Jannie L. Blackwell, Chair of the Education Committee and the Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development and the Homeless for the City Council of Philadelphia to celebrate the 7^th Annual Echoes of Africa program. The theme of the year’s program is “Supporting Literacy in Africa and the Diaspora”. The program will take place on August 22^nd and 23^rd, 2008.

Councilwoman Blackwell and I would be honored if you would join us on Friday, August 22, 2008 at the African Diplomatic Reception. This event will begin at 6:00 pm and will be held on the second floor of City Hall. Our honored guest will be His Excellency Dr. Joseph D. X. Korto, Minister of Education the Republic of Liberia and the Lord Mayor of the City of Menji, South West Province, Cameroon, Rtd. Colonel Chief Fobella Yochembeng II Daniel.

On Saturday morning, August 23, 2008, the Echoes of Africa Program will be held at the Philadelphia Zoo, beginning at 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM. Councilwoman Blackwell will honor local leaders that have advanced the cause of African and Caribbean immigrants in the Greater Philadelphia Region. Philadelphia is one of the cities in the United States that has opened its doors to our brothers and sisters. It is estimated that the city has over 60,000 African and Caribbean immigrants and refugees, and many of them are professionals, scholars, medical doctors, scientists, entrepreneurs and prominent citizens of our City. After the formal program the zoo will be opened to the African and Caribbean community, their families and friends; some free tickets are available.

The Mayor’s Commission on African and Caribbean Immigrant Affairs is working to bring the African, Caribbean and African American communities together in Philadelphia. Echoes of Africa is a major initiative in this unity effort. Councilwoman Blackwell is a leading advocate in the City Council of Philadelphia promoting and giving voice to the issues confronting our African and Caribbean citizens. Please feel free to contact Ms. Anjali Chaimani on (215) 906-0480 or I can be reached on (215) 817-9887. We look forward to your participation in the 7^th Annual Echoes of Africa program.

Stanley L. Straughter, Chairman

Mayor's Commission on African and Caribbean Immigrant Affairs

City Hall, Room 112

Philadelphia, Pa. 19107

slstraughter@verizon.net

Tel: (215) 817-9887

Second Floor of City Hall - City of Philadelphia

1600 Arch St,

Philadelphia,, PA USA 19103

Gala Night 2008-Presented by Culturally Yours International

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:05:43 GMT

Gala Night 2008-Presented by Culturally Yours International
Start Date: 23-Aug-08 7:00 PM
End Time: 24-Aug-08 2:00 AM
Location: Mariott Houston west chase, Houston, TX 77042
Speaker:

Event Details:

Mariott Houston west chase

2900 Briar Park Dr

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:09:39 GMT

Start Date: 30-Aug-08 2:00 PM
End Time: 30-Aug-08 6:00 PM

Newton Friends Meeting House

305 Cooper St.

Camden, NJ USA 08101