Issue 48 | Parents as Consumers

Dear Reader,

This edition titled, Innovative Practices for Systems Transformations, of the Social Innovations Journal is sponsored by the Transformations Community, a generative space and catalyzing force for sustainability research and practice. This global community of transformation “pracademics” (both practitioner and researcher) is responding to a growing recognition that we need new approaches to address climate change and other existential threats to social-ecological systems.

In the spirit of the community’s pracademic identity, this edition lies between the formalistic rigor of scholarly peer-reviewed scientific articles and the advice and case histories and practical wisdom that are the lifeblood of communities of practice. This edition captures and shares what Aristotle called “phronesis”, or the practical wisdom of our members that is situated in specific time and place and requires deliberation, judgment, and choice, and above all, experience. This edition is divided into four sections, each with its own style, perspective on practice, and relationship between the authors and practitioner communities.

The first section, Social Innovation In a Time of Disruption, contains five articles that Guest Editor Bruce Goldstein wrote that consider how social innovation organizations can maintain the enabling conditions for productivity, commitment, creativity, and purpose in a time of disruption. These papers emerged from his three-year partnership with a group of highly experienced and effective “netweavers” who shared what they had learned about how to pursue social justice and ecological and economic well-being while working remotely within collaborative learning networks. The core of these articles are the verbatim words of the netweavers themselves, which he organized and accompanied with enough commentary to make them coherent and cohesive. These articles are very timely as we emerge into a world transformed by the Covid-19 pandemic and poised to move beyond the reactionary Trump years. They get to the heart of how to lead our organizations to address seemingly intractable problems (such as systemic racism and climate change), adapt to changing conditions and new contexts, scale innovation, and respond rapidly to crisis.

The second section, Transformation Workshop Papers, contains three articles written by Transformations Community members who facilitated interactive community online workshops. These papers provide guidance on how to organize and facilitate participatory visioning exercises to help diverse communities identify desirable social-ecological transformation pathways. They include a participatory food systems sustainability assessment framework from Europe, a method for people to reflect on their own social-ecological agency developed in a transformation laboratory in Mexico, and a scenario-building process that was developed in southern Africa for grappling with complex social-ecological issues and envisioning desirable futures. These approaches exemplify the focus of the transformative community on empowering diverse people to engage in knowledge co-production to enhance their ability to foster systems change.

The third section contains four articles that capture the diversity and richness of the work undertaken by members of the Transformations Community. The first considers how visioning and project evaluation imported from the developed north to the global south are an expression of colonization, and can be improved by taking a more systemic perspective grounded in local culture and context. The second considers how a systems approach to evaluation can address the field’s fixation on projects, short timeframes, quantitative solutions, and accountability. The third article describes a way to visualize governance transformations across a regional transect, in order to understand how government, civil society and market forces can create positive momentum to respond to ecosystem change. The final article considers how a whole person learning approach can enhance individual capacities for social innovation, and describes how the Wolf Willow Institute for Systems Learning is teaching social innovators about systems change

The final section, includes four contributions that complement the perspectives of the Transformations Community of Practice and suggest possibilities for collaboration and mutual learning. These four articles address the self-advocacy skills required of legal services clients in low-income communities, examine the work of the Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development (PHENND), propose how social innovation networks can advance the practice of social innovation diplomacy, and consider how online social enterprise directories can address diverse stakeholder needs by overcoming common challenges in the social enterprise sector.

Considered as a whole, the articles in this special issue provide a fascinating cross-section of the highly participatory and action-oriented work of the Transformations Community of Practice.

We conclude by offering special thanks to Lisa Smith, the production editor of this special issue and Tica Lubin, who created the Transformations Community website and Netweaver Network website that hosts the workshops and netweaver dialogue series.

Bruce Goldstein, University of Colorado Boulder, Guest Edition Curator and Editor

Nicholas Torres, Co-Founder, Social Innovations Journal

Articles 

Weaving Social Innovation Communities During Times of Disruption
Bruce Evan Goldstein

Love and Discord: Creating Passion Through Leadership
Bruce Evan Goldstein

Jumpstart Virtuous Cycles Within Social Innovation Communities
Bruce Evan Goldstein

Maintaining Innovative Potential Over Time
Bruce Evan Goldstein

System Weaving During Crisis
Bruce Evan Goldstein

Transformations towards food sustainability using the participatory Food Sustainability Assessment Framework (FoodSAF)
Aymara Llanque, Johanna Jacobi, Theresa Tribaldos, Stellah Mukhovi, Carlos Silvestre, Andreia Tecchio, Lidiane Fernandez, Freddy Delgado, Boniface Kiteme, Renato Maluf

Applying Technologies of the Self in Transformation Labs to Mobilize Collective Agency
David Manuel-Navarrete, Lakshmi Charli-Joseph, Hallie Eakin, J. Mario Siquieros-Garcia

Imagining better futures using the Seeds approach
Laura Pereira

Used Futures as Stumbling Blocks to Sustainable Development
Umar Sheraz

Evaluating Outside the Box: Evaluation’s Transformational Potential
Scott Chaplowe, Adam Hejnowicz

A Transformations Transect as Social Innovation: COBALT Network Forms in the Gulf of Maine to Develop the Concept
Glenn Page

Learning as Social Innovation
Julian Norris, Laura Blakeman

Building Self-Advocacy Skills of Legal Services Clients: Three Principles for Promoting an Innovation in Practice
Naomi Campbell, Luz Santana

Weaving Collaborative Networks in Philadelphia How The Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development Manages Networks
Dana Kayser, Hillary Kane

The Utilization, Benefits, and Challenges of Online Social Enterprises Directories: Online Social Enterprises Directories
Dr. Rasheda Weaver

Social Innovation Diplomacy: Connecting Social Innovation with International Affairs
Ana C. Aranda-Jan, Matias Acosta, Akhila K. Jayaram

Dear Reader,

This edition of the Social Innovations Journal was curated by The Network: Toward Unity for Health (TUFH), an official non state actor of the World Health Organization (WHO). TUFH is driven by a moral compact to mend the fabric of our communities upon which health depends. The Network: Toward Unity For Health is committed to drive communal interests by supporting local change agents work toward the adoption and implementation of global policy recommendations. TUFH concentrates its efforts on practical tools and solutions that can achieve action by local change networks.

TUFH does its work by bringing the "Partnership Pentagram" to life by supporting local change agents and Networks. TUFH’s "Partnership Pentagram" is framed within the sustainable development goals and social determinants of health emphasizing that creating a health system based upon people’s needs must not only involve the five key players in the change process, but must also do so within the context of where people live and work. TUFH engages policymakers, academic institutions, health professionals, and communities to collectively address the underlying barriers to healthy individuals and communities.

This edition highlights three policy action papers on social accountability and accreditation, interprofessional education and team-based care, and population health which were driven by TUFH’s policy fellows and guided by global thought leaders through TUFH’s Taskforces. Each policy action paper provides concrete policy recommendations and action steps for ministries of health, academic institutions, and health systems to adopt and implement. This edition also highlights best practices around the globe on the adoption and implementation of social accountability and accreditation, interprofessional education and team-based care, and population health.

Around the world, global health policy leaders and associations are convening global leaders, publishing research and policy articles, and releasing “call to action” initiatives for political leaders and health system institutions to adopt and implement. Many of these recommendations are framed within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, indirectly correlated with the social determinants of health, indicating that health is much broader than clinical interventions. Today, we witness hospitals and health systems being more like “repair shops,” trying to correct the damage of causes collectively denoted “social determinants of health.” The global fabric of our communities upon which health depends is torn and we must heal this fabric through communal interests.

We hope this edition is a first step toward healing the fabric of our communities. 

Sincerely,

Nicholas Torres
Co-founder
 

Articles 

Social Accountability and Accreditation
Titi Savitri Prihatiningsih, Yassein Kamal, Robert Woollard, Julian Fisher, Mohamed Elhassan Abdalla, Charles Boelen

Enhancing Social Accountability Skills in Medical Students Through Community School Projects
Mary Mathew

Experiential Learning for Social Accountability: Dhanvatari Seva Yatra by Government Medical College Bhavnagar Students and Faculty
Chinmay Shah

'Experiential Learning of Social Responsibility' -- A Case Study from D. A. Pandu Memorial R. V. Dental College, Bengaluru, India
Dr. S. Jyorsana

Linking Social Entrepreneur Education to Strengthen A Medical School’s Social Accountability Mission
Rachmad Bekti

Triggering the Art of Written Reflection in Medical Students
Dr. Anshu, Dr. Subodh S. Gupta

Interprofessional Education/Practice and Team-based Care
Samar Ahmed

Challenges and Strategies in the Construction of an Interprofessional Education Program: Collaborative Practice in the Context of Residency Programs
Luciana Branco da Motta, Celia Pereira Caldas, Liv Katyuska de Carvalho Sampaio de Souza, Neide Gomes Oliveira Miguel

Medical and Health Students Promoting IPE Using Innovative Approaches
Saad Uakkas

Development of Interprofessional Module in Dental Practice Management Education
Nanditha Sujir, Ciraj Ali Mohammed, Dilip G Naik, Ashita Uppoor, Animesh Jain

A Simulation-enhanced, Workplace-based Interprofessional Education for Patient Safety: Hacettepe University Undergraduate Experience
Melih Elcin

Establishment of the Centre for Dental Education, An Interprofessional Educational Initiative
Imran Pasha Mohammed

More than Bricks and Mortar: The Right to Healthy Housing
Brian Valdez, Dr Farah Shroff

Developing a Community Centered Approach in Public Health Advocacy: Utilizing Existing Community Social Groups ‘Chamas’ in Nairobi Urban Informal Settlements in Kenya
Daniel Waruingi

Engaging and Giving: The Role of Health Professionals for Social Innovation and the Care of Vulnerable Communities
Alejandro Avelino Bonilla, Maria del Mar Moreno Gomez

Multi-Sectoral Mapping for Nutrition (MS4N) in Sindh, Pakistan
Zahra Ladhani

Exceptional primary care for exceptional times in Chile
Philippa Moore, Klaus Puschel, Paulina Roajs, Paulina Pinto, Alvaro Tellez, Victoria Cuadra

Australian Aboriginal Community Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Rosalie Schultz

Addressing Students' Uncertainty During COVID-19 from the Social Accountability Standpoint, A Case Study of Menoufia Medical School
Nagwa N. hegazy, Rania M. Azmy, Naser A. Agizy

COVID19 Prevalence and Antibody Seroprevalence Among Individuals with Intellectual Disability
Scott Spreat; Tiffany Adams, Darlene Barnes, Jennifer Caputo, Dawn Diamond, Tine, Deborah Jones, Stephen Kolesk

Dear Reader,

We are excited to announce our partner organization, Woods Services (Woods), joined us to curate and launch our Spring 2020 edition, “An Insight into Social Innovations Within the Human Services System and Population Health.” This edition arrives, as we keep hearing everywhere, at an “unprecedented” time. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is changing the landscape for health and human services for our society on a daily basis, exposing many gaps and flaws in health care, public health, and other systems that govern this vital sector and affect all of us. While we don’t know what the full impact of COVID-19 will be, we do know that the social sector is helping pave the way for other organizations to think outside of the box while continuing to provide critical services -- and these supports are more important now than they have ever been. 

In the human services space, Woods is an organization that has started to make the shift to population health as part of a transformational process that recognizes the remarkable potential for social innovation lies where the human services system meets population health. The relevance and applicability of population health to the human services is often overlooked as it is predominantly associated with the health care industry. However, health and human service leaders are shedding the old ways of doing business in favor of new approaches that are innovative, efficient, effective, and responsive to the needs and demands of focus populations.  

Our work at the Social Innovations Journal is driven by the belief that “the potential for good ideas to inspire more good ideas cannot be underestimated.” In this edition, health and human services leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs share ideas on meaningful and inclusive strategic planning practices that disrupt the status quo; effective change processes that result in successful and sustainable changes at both the micro (organizational) and macro (state-wide systems) levels; technological innovations that engage people in the healing process; and much more.

As you read these articles (summarized below) we believe you too will gain a greater sense of the promise that the intersectionality of social innovation, population health, and change initiatives hold across the spectrum of the human services system. We also are excited to announce an exciting new development from our Journal – the launch of peer-reviewed articles. This edition includes our first four peer-reviewed articles that we hope provide a greater level of insight, best practices, and nuances in innovation for our readers across sectors. As the newest addition to our journal family, we are proud to publish these articles reviewed by peers within their respective fields who have expertise in the topic of the manuscript and that will be published as part of special editions of our Journal.

We hope that you are as inspired by the stories, policies, and work shared in this edition as we are, and that each of us finds a way to make a difference in our community and world as we come together to face the challenges of COVID-19. We are better together, and we will come out of this crisis even stronger than before.  

Yours in Innovation,

Tine Hansen-Turton
Special Edition Chair and Journal Co-Founder

Nicholas Torres
Journal Co-Founder

Dr. Scott Spreat 
Special Edition Chair

“An Insight into Social Innovations within the Human Services System and Population Health” 

Article Summaries 

KenCrest’s Journey into Something New; Improving Social Innovation through Our ‘WHY’
Marian Baldini, MBA, MS, CEO and President, KenCrest

Strategic plans in the nonprofit human services sector are often not used as living, functioning documents. KenCrest, a human service provider of supports for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, uses its strategic plan to guide daily conversations and drive strategic and operational decisions. This article describes how KenCrest uses its strategic plan to force important conversations about the challenges that are facing the industry and how it will respond to them. By reframing its mission and vision and building organizational capacity, KenCrest is reshaping how business can be done in a heavily regulated, compliance-minded industry by focusing on its “why.” Baldini illustrates how good planning facilitates innovation and leads to breakthroughs. 

Does More Staff Make Individuals Safer?
Karin Annerhed-Harris, Associate Director, Alliance of Community Service Providers

This article shares a process that was used to challenge and ultimately change long-standing assumptions and time-honored practices regarding the provision of services and supports to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. By convening a steering committee comprised of stakeholder representatives and piloting its recommendations, advocates invested in advancing “Everyday Lives” for individuals with intellectual and development disabilities were successful in eliminating the staffing grid, a tool which is commonly used by state intellectual disability departments to determine staffing levels, and replacing it with an innovative approach to ensure appropriate levels of services and supports.

Organizational Culture Change
Peter Shubiak, LCSW

The literature consistently cites a 60-70 percent failure rate in regard to organizational change efforts. Transitioning an organization from a current state to a desired future state, regardless of the scale, magnitude or duration of the project, requires that people at all levels of the organization understand, support, and adopt the changes. In other words, an organization’s capacity to achieve its goals correlates with its ability to shape its culture in support of them. This article provides examples of the ways in which Woods Services, a multi-service population health management and advocacy organization, set out to create an intentional organizational culture in support of its strategies and transformational initiatives. The culture shaping initiatives described in this article demonstrate the concerted efforts Woods made to align its corporate culture with its strategic and transformational goals in the areas of employee engagement and development; innovation; quality standards; and equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Philanthropy Disrupting the Human Service Ecosystem; Using Innovative Approaches to Strategic Planning and Grant-making
Vanessa B. Briggs, Brandywine Health Foundation and Tammy Dowley-Blackman, Tammy Dowley-Blackman Group, LLC

Committed to diminishing social, economic, and health disparities, the Brandywine Health Foundation adopted an innovative and community-inclusive strategic planning process that was designed to balance power by putting the voices of community residents front and center; achieve greater community impact by integrating issue areas; and facilitate integration among the more than 280 nonprofit organizations in its community. By embedding inclusion, diversity and equity into its strategic planning process, in addition to balancing intentionality with disruption of the status quo, the Foundation identified new priorities and transformed its philanthropic approach. This article invites other foundations to join forces by creating collaborative funding models across sectors, using this planning approach to drive disruptive change and to achieve deeper and sustained impact.

Creating Space for Processing and Healing: Amplifying Survivor Stories Through The Online Platform Our Wave
Laura Sinko, PhD, Director of Research and Evaluation, Our Wave and Kyle Linton, Executive Director, Our Wave

It is estimated that one in three women and nearly one in four men have experienced sexual violence at some point in their lives, bringing lasting feelings of shame, self-blame, confusion, and isolation. Our Wave is a recently formed 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and innovative online platform that allows survivors of sexual violence to anonymously and safely share their experiences. This article describes the features of the platform and future directions and implications of this organization. By giving survivors a platform and a direct bridge to accessible online resources, Our Wave hopes to encourage survivor engagement in the healing process.

A Population Health Approach for People with Intellectual Disabilities Using a Patient-Centered Medical Home Model
Tine Hansen-Turton, MGA, JD, FCPP, FAAN, President and Chief Executive Officer, Woods Services and Liz Hayden, MPH and MS Ed, Strategy Development Director, Woods Services

Despite advancements in the arenas of medicine and civil liberties, people with disabilities continue to experience significant barriers to care and health disparities. Woods Services adopted the principles and practices of population health management and implemented new service models that address the social determinants of health and incorporate the tenets of the Patient-Centered Medical Home. Results of a one-year pilot of the Patient-Centered Medical Home approach delivered by the Medical Center at Woods include a 35 percent reduction of in-patient hospitalizations and a 39 percent decrease of in-patient expenses. In addition, emergency room costs were down by 2.3 percent, and total costs declined by 8.7 percent.  

An Innovative Public-Private Partnership Addressing the COVID-19 Pandemic
Liz Hayden, MPH and MS Ed, Strategy Development Director, Woods Services and Nancy De Leon Link, MGA, Chief of Staff, Homestead Smart Health Plans

Woods Services, a nonprofit population health organization employing 2,000 people, and Homestead Smart Health Plans have been working collaboratively, with Homestead serving as Woods employee health benefits vendor. This unique collaboration arises out of the shared population health focus of each entity, and the willingness on the part of each to continually develop creative and innovative ways to enhance benefits for employees, improve their health, and optimize health care savings so that Woods can continue to deliver on its core mission -- to provide comprehensive services to people with intellectual disabilities, autism, behavioral challenges, and medical complexities. Homestead’s reference-based pricing model enabled Woods to save on health insurance costs, allowing savings to be reinvested in a robust employee engagement strategy. This strategy is showing positive results. Now more than ever a population health strategy is critical for both the clients Woods serves and the employees who care for them, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

America’s Silent Healthcare Army
Nathan Bronstein, MPA, MsED, MSSP and Michael Clark, MPA

Nearly 450,000 Nurse Practitioners (NPs) and Physician Assistants (PAs) work in virtually every health care touchpoint in the U.S., filling the nation’s health care gaps. These highly trained and certified medical professionals and the Convenient Care Clinics, in which many of them work, demonstrate the ability to lower health care costs, increase health care accessibility, reduce ER wait times, and improve the overall health outcomes of Americans everywhere. Research consistently reflects that the health care provided by NPs and PAs is comparable in quality to physician care. NPs and PAs are needed more than in ever in the fight against pandemics, natural disasters, and other health care crises. The authors make a compelling case for eliminating practice authority restrictions for NPs and PAs, a tactic that is used to limit their scope of practice and to curtail the expansion of Convenient Care Clinics. 

Pandemic Problems:  Remaining Positive and Finding Creative Solutions During Crisis
Joe Mancini, Executive Director, Region 2, KenCrest

In the spirit of social innovation, Joe Mancini describes KenCrest’s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, a crisis which represents a challenging obstacle “allowing for amazing opportunities in the future.” This article serves as a snapshot of a moment in time during the pandemic, the rapid-fire decisions that need to be made moment-to-moment to creatively manage staffing ratios and shortages, including redeploying staff to serve in residential group homes and using technology in innovative ways.

Restore, Repair, Renew: Remediating the Effects of Systemic Racism on Healthy Housing
By Cedric Steenberghs and Jill Roberts

Data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) shows that 76 percent of Philadelphians seeking loans of $10,000 or less to repair their homes are denied. The Restore, Repair, Renew (RRR) program is combating the racist legacy of redlining by providing capital for urgent home repair needs to homeowners across Philadelphia. Leveraging support from key organizations across Philadelphia, the City Government and City Council members, RRR is creating a new opportunity to support much needed repairs to older homes across Philadelphia to reduce detriments to the health and well-being of the community. 

An Update on Nonprofit M&A Strategies in Human Services
J. Kevin Fee, President, Angler West Consultants, Inc.

The human services industry is being disrupted, and will soon be transformed, by shifts in the technologies essential to delivering and collecting for services, and the basis on which services are purchased. With increasing frequency, the strategic responses of human services providers to disruption have included greater openness to business combinations. This essay focuses on the business model considerations relevant to nonprofit human services industry consolidators.

Planning for Independence & Integration: Equal Access to Everyday Technology for People with Cognitive Disabilities
Sherri T. Portnoy, MBA; Rene Burke, MS, BSN, RN; & Shaleea Shields

As many working in the field know, the current systems and infrastructure designed to support people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) is unsustainable. To meet the market challenges shaping the system, Merakey, a developmental, behavioral health, and education non-profit provider, is exploring technology to meet the needs of the IDD population, while adding the value to the system. Our goal is to use technology supports to empower individuals to be more independent, while using fewer staff and government resources. Using smart home automation, remote medical supports, remote passive supports, communication technology, and wearable technology, Merakey is solving industry-wide systemic problems, while at the same time helping the people we serve to living meaningful lives and to meet the goals they have defined for themselves as part of a person-centered plan.

Outcomes of Self-Determination in New Hampshire
James W. Conroy, PhD, President of Center for Outcome Analysis, Anita Yuskauskas, PhD, Assistant Teaching Professor and Coordinator of Health Policy & Administration Program, Penn State Lehigh Valley, & Scott Spreat, EdD, Vice President for Evaluation & Research Woods Services

With the seemingly inevitable movement towards managed care in Intellectual Disability and Autism services, this study illustrates the potential utility of an alternative approach. Enabling the service recipient (and his/her circle of friends) to control the dollars allocated for his/her support, a self-determination approach was demonstrated empirically to yield reduced costs and increased personal autonomy

The Mystery of Wide Variation in Rates of Inclusion: Does Money Make a Difference?
Kathryn Lee Christiana, PhD, Supervisor of Gifted Education Arcadia University & James W. Conroy, PhD, President of Center for Outcome Analysis 

This study reports on a wide variation in the inclusion of students with disabilities in Pennsylvania public schools. Statistical analyses using demographic information and fiscal information were able to explain only a small portion of this variability. The authors called for additional research on the variability of school-based inclusion efforts.

Alternative Approach to Recruitment and Retention
Dawn Diamond, M.S., Executive Vice President of Operations, Woods Services and Erin Drummond, MS, Training Director Woods Services

The Intellectual Disability field continues to face a workforce crisis in which programs are unable to hire a sufficient number of qualified applicants for the Direct Support Professional position. It appears unlikely that significant additional funding will be made available to create a balance between supply and demand with regard to DSP. This paper outlines a number of relatively inexpensive approaches to both address the workforce problem and to develop lifetime career opportunities for staff. While outcome data are preliminary, they suggest that the outlined approaches have promise.

The Rise and Role of the Oldest Old: Need for Study and Theory
Anita Yuskauskas, PhD, Assistant Teaching Professor and Coordinator of Health Policy & Administration Program, Penn State Lehigh Valley, Elias Cohen, JD, & James W. Conroy, PhD, President Center for Outcome Analysis

This article identifies persons over 85 years in age as the fastest growing age group in the United States. The authors explore the ramifications of this trend and call for a re-evaluation of theories of aging. A framework for future research is offered.

Dear Reader,

This edition of the Social Innovations Journal is curated by The Network: Toward Unity for Health (TUFH), an official non-state actor of the World Health Organization. TUFH is driven by a moral compact to mend the fabric of our communities upon which health depends. The Network: Toward Unity For Health is committed to driving communal interests by supporting local change agents toward the adoption and implementation of global policy recommendations. TUFH concentrates its efforts on practical tools and solutions that achieve action by local change networks.

TUFH does its work by bringing the “Partnership Pentagram” to life by supporting local change agents and networks. TUFH’s “Partnership Pentagram” is framed within the sustainable development goals and social determinants of health, emphasizing that creating a health system based upon people’s needs must not only involve the five key players in the change process, but must do so within the context of where people live and work. TUFH engages policymakers, academic institutions, health professionals, and communities to collectively address the underlying barriers to healthy individuals and communities.

This edition highlights three policy action papers on women, migrant and refugee populations, and aging society health which were driven by TUFH’s policy fellows and guided by global thought leaders through TUFH’s taskforces. Each policy action paper provides concrete policy recommendations and actions steps for ministries of health, academic institutions, and health systems to adopt and implement. This edition also highlights best practices around the globe on the adoption and implementation of best practices in women, migrant and refugee, remote and rural, and aging society health.

Around the world, global health policy leaders and associations are convening global leaders, publishing research and policy articles, and releasing “call to action” initiatives for political leaders and health system institutions to adopt and implement. Many of these recommendations are framed within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, indirectly correlated with the social determinants of health, indicating that health is much broader than clinical interventions. Today, we witness hospitals and health systems being more like “repair shops,” trying to correct the damage of causes collectively denoted “social determinants of health.” The global fabric of our communities upon which health depends is torn and we must heal this fabric through communal interests.

We hope this edition is a first step toward healing this fabric. 

Sincerely,

Nicholas Torres
Co-founder
 

Articles 

Geriatric Matrix Support for the Family Health Strategy: integrating a Medical Residency Program in Primary Care
Luciana Branco da Motta

Aging Society
Sun-Ming Jessica Pan, Yi Li

In the Era of New Discoveries Emerging Everyday About Healthy Aging and Complicated Disorders, Elderly Tribal Women of Rural Remote Communities are Living with Treatable Disorders
Shakunatala Chhabra Chhabra

Health of Migrant and Refugees
Mengchun Zhou, Julia Lechuga, Akiko Maeda, Arthur Kaufman, Laura Parajon

Community-based Health Insurance Among Refugees in Rwanda
Eric MUGABO

Eradicating the Pandemic of Violence against Women (VaW) during COVID-19: the critical imperative for health
kumi, prof., Isabelle Luzuriaga

Every Woman Counts Fighting Pregnancy-Related Sepsis
Dr. Sandra Dimitri, Dr. Rania Hassan Ahmed, Dr. Mohamed Hamed Salama, Prof. Dr. Ashraf Nabhan

The Role of Medical Students at the University of Gezira in Promoting Women’s Health in the Gezira State
Mohammed Ahmed AL_mogadam

The Genesis and Revelation on Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC): What We Know So Far and What We Expect to Know in the Future from Ghanaian Perspectives
Ephraim Kumi Senkyire

Maternal Mortality Reduction in Low-resource Settings, A Successful Story of University of Gezira Initiative for Safe Motherhood and Childhood
Elhadi Miskeen

Maternal Health Education Mini Campaign
Ala Khalid

The Influence, Choice and Use of Contraceptives by teenage girls in Sunyani west district, Ghana
Todd Nursing Maja

Building A Primary Care Center Through Interdisciplinary Collaboration
María de la Paz Grebe, Angel Centeno, Campos Soledad

A Case Study of Canada’s Rural Practice Training 21st-Century Journey
Dr. James Rourke, Dr. Ruth Wilson, Dr. Ivy Oandasan, Ms. Carmela Bosco

Mother and Child Health Suffers in Remote Villages with Extreme Poverty, Possibilities of Sustainable Services for Survival
Shakunatala Chhabra Chhabra

Dear Reader,

For more than 10 years; The Social Innovations Journal has connected and inspired local change agents through the sharing of knowledge, best practices, and research to reduce poverty. Concrete impact and change require more than education and engagement -- it requires strategic action. This edition of the Social Innovations Journal highlights the strategies of key actors within the Philadelphia ecosystem who are collectively moving the needle on poverty.

To provide context, nearly one in four Philadelphians is living at or below the federal poverty line. Philadelphia's poverty rate is the highest among the 10 largest cities in the United States; and is more than double the national average. There are numerous city-run programs as well as 384 nonprofit organizations with the word "poverty" included in their missions that provide assistance to the residents of Philadelphia. Philadelphia City Council released its Poverty Action Plan focused on three strategies: Social Safety Net, Housing, and Jobs and Education.

Legislators, government, not-for-profits, academic institutions, and to some extent private companies are all tackling poverty. Despite these efforts, agreed upon strategies, and an ongoing call to action, limited change has occurred for the simple reason that poverty is complex. What is needed is an agreed upon shared measurements and evaluation system that can assess the collective efforts and impact for all organizations. A shared measurement and a system-wide evaluation system would accomplish three things:

• Measure the collective impact of all organizations working on poverty in the region, with the understanding that poverty can be reduced if the collective is aligned on what is important to assess.
• Transparency in reporting that will provide organizations, and the collective, the opportunity to adjust their strategies/initiatives if the agreed upon measurements are not being achieved.
• Data gathering from the collective that can be used to influence local, state, and national anti-poverty policies.

Generally, local change is either driven by local change agents defined as individuals or institutions that are in a position to influence system behavior at their level OR policy change agents defined as governmental policymakers, regulators, or legislators who are advocating, organizing, and supporting change in a sustainable manner. Rather than local change agents working independently and often in isolation of each other, sustainable change will occur when change agents align their efforts towards collective impact through shared measurement goals.

At the Social Innovations Journal, we believe that if we create platforms for the fostering of dialogue, learning, new knowledge, and the creation of communities of practice then we will inspire local change and policy agents to take action locally through adopting and implementing policy and strategy recommendations.

We hope this edition inspires greater collaboration that results in collective action and impact to holistically address poverty in Greater Philadelphia as well as other ecosystems to ultimately help move individuals up the social mobility ladder to a living wage to reduce economic disparities. 

Sincerely,

Nicholas Torres
Edition Curator
 

Articles 

Will Philadelphia's Poverty Action Plan succeed in raising 100,000 residents out of poverty by 2024?
Bryan Wilkinson

Advancing the Economic Security of Women Through Equitable Community Engagement Practices
Diane Cornman-Levy, Cynthia Estremera Gauthier, Elizabeth Guman, Tashell Stevenson

The Greater Philadelphia 2020 College Rankings
Mike Clark

Helping Adult Learners Achieve Higher Education
David Castro, Cynda Clyde, Fernando Castro

Reimagining the Role of Post Secondary Education and Its Impact on Poverty
Carniesha, Dr. Owens

Advancing Learning Pathways and Economic Opportunity in the Era of COVID-19
Malik Brown

Financial Literacy Technologies Help Reduce Financial Barriers for First-Generation College Students
Fred Amrein

Virtu.us: Investing in Education and Human Capital in an Age of Government Decline
Eric Schnurer

Importance of a Place-based and Community-Moderated System of Research Oversight to Maximize Benefits for Social Change
Amy Carroll-Scott

The Importance of Small Business and Entrepreneurship as Strategies to Alleviate Poverty
Charlotte Merrick, Sylvie Gallier Howard

Investing Together to Build from Within
Jill Fink, Peter Gonzales

The Green Conservation Corp
Kimberlee Douglas, Drew Harris

Shifting Focus from Crisis to Goals
David Griffith

Cuantix: Innovating from Zones in Crisis
Adriana Mata

Cuantix: Innovando desde lugares en crisis
Adriana Mata

Queremos Graduarnos -- Growing with Quality
Ana Luisa Silva

Creciendo con Calidad: Queremos Graduarnos
Ana Luisa Silva

The Jenaro Aguirre Elorriaga Primary School and the Madre Maria Luisa Casar Foundation
Andreina Aguiar

Fundación Madre María Luisa Casar y Escuela Jenaro Aguirre Eliorraga
Andreina Aguiar

Dear Reader,

As we begin a new year full of aspirations and future goals, we must take a moment to reflect on the tireless efforts of our unsung heroes -- the social innovators and Changemakers whose work is reshaping our region and world today who we will recognize at our 2020 Social Innovations Awards. We are eager to celebrate the unparalleled wins of the social impact industry across Greater Philadelphia that continues to drive our collective desire for equity and opportunity as a common thread shared across sectors and industries, communities, families and people. In the words of Philadelphia’s favorite founding father, Benjamin Franklin, “A good example is the best sermon,” and we are in awe of the leadership demonstrated by this year’s cohort of nominees whose dedication to lifting up our brothers and sisters in need shines a light on a path forward for all people.

We also are proud to bring you our 59th edition and first publication of 2020. This edition curated by our co-founders, Nicholas Torres and Tine Hansen-Turton, and authored by graduate and professional degree students from the University of Pennsylvania, shines a light on the work and unwavering commitment of the social innovation leaders driving impact. These individuals work day-in and day-out not for glory or fame but to deliver opportunities to underserved communities across our region and communities beyond. These social leaders redefine how we think of leadership through their selflessness, and not seeking the spotlight but by instead shining a powerful light on the plight of individuals in need by offering a solution.

This edition, “LEADERSHIP,” is a collection of leadership profiles of 18 Leaders whose commitment to fairness, equity and upward mobility are what makes regions great. We have the honor of sharing the stories, inspirations, goals, and motivation behind the individuals pushing our communities forward through their own self-sacrificing examples. From David Thornburgh’s continued drive to ensure equity and fairness in the democratic process to Quibila Divine reshaping emergency services and housing solutions for the homeless to Peter Gonzalez’s tireless efforts in welcoming new immigrants and leveraging their talents to bolster the City of Philadelphia’s economics to Nora Lichtash working to empower women and developing the next generation of leaders to continue the fight for healthy and equitable communities. We are honored to be able to lift up the stories and work that continually reimagines our world and the social innovation leaders who invest their talent, passion and commitment to ensure equity for all people.

We hope you are as inspired by their good work as we are, and that each of us can find a way to serve and be an example in our own lives because we truly believe “that one good idea inspires another.” Thank you for your support of the Social Innovations Journal and we look forward to a new year of exploring the social innovations disrupting the status quo of the past while leading us into the bright future today and providing us with a vision for an even brighter tomorrow.

We want to extend a special thank you to all of this year’s nominees for leadership and advancing social innovation in their daily lives as well as  our co-founders for their unwavering commitment to social innovation that for more than 10 years has created a platform for social leaders, social entrepreneurs, Changemakers and grassroots social change agents to ensure our communities are  special places to call home for all people.

Yours in innovation,

Alescia Dingle, Managing Editor
Mike Clark, President
Nicholas Torres, Co-Founder
Tine Hansen-Turton, Co-Founder