Happy 2020 from Databoom! As we reflected on 2019, we realized that we learned several lessons that will guide us into the new year. So instead of wrapping up 2019 by looking backward, we’ll start off the new decade by looking forward. We’ve put together five learnings inspired by projects we’ve worked on, things we’ve read and listened to, and lessons gleaned from our work, which will guide our work in 2020 and into the future.
Good insight makes sense of the messy, exposes entrenched problems or systems-level challenges, brings context forward, and allows decision-makers to right-size their solutions.
- We’re very proud of the work we did with R4D and PSI on considerations for integrating family planning into primary health care systems. We found that integration isn’t an all-or-nothing proposal, rather, it’s something that happens along a continuum, and in response to different system realities and in different operating contexts.
- We listened to a lot of Take As Directed, the podcast from CSIS Global Health Policy Center. This episode with Geeta Rao Gupta highlights the need for disaggregated data systems to successfully build and develop programs that meet the needs of underserved populations like women and gender minorities.
- This primer from MEASURE Evaluation shows how to develop health survey questions and methodologies that capture a fuller picture of gender and sexual identities. Such data are critical for designing effective programs that meet the needs of those who are underserved by existing programs.
- This report from Brookings Institution summarizes the thoughts of global development leaders on the current state of global development. They paint a picture of transition and uncertainty as climate change, migration, governments, and funding streams are in flux. They argue that we must be ready to adapt and shift paradigms that aren’t working.