This document summarizes discussions from Days 1 and 2 of an IMCHA mid-term meeting. Key points discussed include: - The importance of stakeholder engagement, policy relevance of research evidence, learning lessons from past projects, and strengthening implementation research capacity. - Participants discussed how to design rigorous yet flexible research, strengthen communication of results, and build sustainable capacity at all levels. - Cross-cutting issues like measuring innovation, scaling up successful approaches, and engaging new partners were also addressed. - Attendees made commitments to applying research findings, strengthening engagement with policymakers, and documenting lessons learned from their projects.

1. IMCHA Mid-Term Meeting
Recap Day 1 and 2

2. Our collective wisdom
Lessons
Policy Makers
Collective Reflection – KT
Roles and Mechanisms
IRTs

3. What is policy relevant evidence?
We are in this together
• Researchers have to show how the evidence can be used to change the
system and improve lives.
• Researchers need to understand the policy making process and the
national agenda
• Researchers should be able to understand the mind of the policy maker
• Policy makers need capacity to understand evidence that fits into the
national agenda
• Policy maker should demand for more evidence syntheses from IRTs and
HPROs
• HPROs can strengthen capacities around evidence-informed health policy
making

4. What have we learned?
Stakeholder engagement is the foundation – trust is everything
• Stakeholder engagement should be comprehensive, continuous,
cross-sectional, horizontal across peers and vertical across levels.
• Value of embedding research process in context and amongst
stakeholders
• Key stakeholders include:
• government – high-level decision-makers
• Community and local authorities – demand, accountability, sustainability
• Stakeholder engagement at international, national and local levels are
necessary fo rth success of the projects

5. What have we learned?
Keep the ends in mind
• Build the nation
• Address national priorities
• Put the community at the centre
• Support integrated development - adapt technologies to context; transfer technical
skills (Malawi, Mozambique)
• Build the system
• Link research with national health system and policy making processes
• Sustainability is key
• Ensure strong exit plans
• Give special consideration for conflict areas – just leaving can worsen situation

6. What have we learned?
How to do it – rigorous and flexible research design
• Context matters and influences conduct of research
• Take time to do a grounded baseline (South Sudan, Mozambique)
• test initial assumptions to refine and improve overall design
• Apply rigorous equity and gender analytical lenses
• Select appropriate methodologies –
• Not automatically RCTs – focus on implementation research
• Consider new approaches (satellite imagery for sampling)
• Use technologies to strengthen the system; GIS to track health workers; real-time
health information systems
• Importance of qualitative methodologies

7. What have we learned?
How to do it – communication and KT
• Understand and respond to the politics – who presents? Best timing?
• Create accessible interactive platform and clearing house of results,
experiences, lessons
• HPRO-designed platform ready by August/September 2017
• Social media, social media, social media

8. What have we learned?
How to do it – capacity strengthening
• Comprehensive capacity strengthening at all levels
• Community, policy makers, researchers
• Key elements: ability, authority, resources, responsibility
• Particular need for implementation research capacity and how to
continuously apply research results

9. What have we learned?
How to do it – monitoring, learning, evaluation
• Harmonized monitoring and evaluation to show the results
• Learning by doing - document learning process and contribute to
development of ‘good practices’
• Need harmonized tool to document experiences
• Build the field –
• take time to publish articles on implementation research experiences,
processes and challenges
• HPRO support needed

10. What have we learned?
The cross cutting issues
• Innovation – what does it mean? How to measure?
• Scale up – what mechanisms?
• Emerging issues – how to make a difference – ASRH, fragile states
• How to bring new actors on board – political scientists, mental health
experts, other funding and policy partnerships

11. Our commitments
Policy Makers
• Take the results and apply them
• Take to the governor
• Remember the communities
IRTs
• Strengthen engagement with policy makers
• Use the media
• Actively request support from HPROs
• Specific ideas of teams: national meeting of all Tanzania teams, taking Bauchi
experience to federal level, document changes in Bajenu Gox

12. Our collective wisdom
Lessons
Policy Makers
Collective Reflection – KT
Roles and Mechanisms
IRTs

13. Your plans?
• What is the Innovation your are hunting for?
• What does it mean?
• How to measure?
• Innovation is disruptive
• Who are your interested parties? How to align those?
• How will you manage disruption?
• Sustainability and Scale up – what mechanisms?
• Commitments and Next steps?