High-Impact Growth

High-Impact Growth

By DimagiTechnology
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High-Impact Growth episodes

  • Reflections on Starting this Podcast

    High-Impact Growth podcast co-hosts Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro reflect on 9 months of podcasting, from finding their voice, to key insights, tools, and insider tips for those considering starting a podcast. Some topics covered in this conversation include: 

    • What it means to share non-obvious perspectives - why they matter and the tradeoffs

    • How to think about planning for your podcast - from choosing a co-host to creating the space for your podcast to evolve

    • Key podcasting tools to consider when starting out (including Descript, Riverside and Anchor.fm which is now Spotify for Podcasters)

    • Building out a podcasting team - roles to consider

    • Balancing the drive for perfection against getting your story and perspectives out

      • Related resources: 

      • Reid Hoffman in conversation with ChatGPT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=ATm9GxM3-n0 

      • Podcast hosting platform: https://anchor.fm/ 

      • Descript podcast editing tool: https://www.descript.com/ 

      • Riverside online recording studio: https://riverside.fm/ 

      • B2B Podcasting Course from SweetFish Media: https://sweetfishmedia.com/course/b2b-podcasting/ 

      • Gimlet Academy: https://gimletmedia.com/shows/gimlet-academy

        • 18 min
      • How to double the impact of your team with Liz Wiseman, author of Multipliers

        Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro sit down with Liz Wiseman, researcher, executive advisor, and author of New York Times bestseller Multipliers and three other books to learn about multiplier leadership. In this candid conversation, Liz discusses the research behind Multipliers and how to apply it within global health and development to ensure you are fully realizing your team’s potential.


        Some topics covered in this conversation include:

        • A breakdown of the Multipliers leadership style and how to utilize it within any team environment to create 2x the impact
        • Multipliers vs Diminishers vs Accidental Diminishers- where does your leadership style fall?
        • Decoupling intent from outcome when it comes to management
        • Creating a culture of empowerment where multiplier managers thrive
        • How power dynamics and organizational culture feed into diminishing tendencies
        • Finding the time to have a multiplier approach especially in a high-pressured environment
        • Striking the balance between empowering and micro-managing

          • Related resources:

          Liz Wiseman’s profile & books - https://thewisemangroup.com/who-we-are/our-team/liz-wiseman/

          45 min
        • Prioritizing better jobs for Frontline Workers in the digital health community with Jonathan Jackson: Dispatches from the 2022 Global Digital Health Forum

          Jonathan Jackson unpacks the session he led at the Global Digital Health Forum called “Is the Digital Health Community Creating Better Jobs for Users?” In it, he discusses the idea of introducing a 10th Principle for Digital Development  'Make the users’ job better.' Creating better jobs for better outcomes is at the heart of Dimagi’s work and 5 year strategy.


          Some topics covered in this conversation include:

          • Why supporting and elevating the Frontline Worker is critical to the future of the digital health community (and Dimagi’s 5 year strategy)
          • What would adding a 10th Principle for Digital Development look like?
          • How prioritizing  the end user influences the quality of the work they’re doing
          • The tradeoffs and nuances inherent in prioritizing the Frontline Worker when digitizing a health program

            • Related resources:

            Principles for Digital Development: https://digitalprinciples.org

            Announcing our five-year strategy for High-Impact Growth: https://www.dimagi.com/blog/dimagis-5-year-strategy/

            12 min
          • Meeting the Need for Global Mental Health Care with Digital featuring Lauren Magoun: Dispatches from the Global Digital Health Forum

            Jonathan Jackson sits down with Lauren Magoun, Dimagi’s Senior Health Strategy Specialist, at the Global Digital Health Forum to discuss the realities of the global mental health crisis, the lack of access to mental health care, and the innovative work Dimagi is driving to develop digital solutions that enable frontline providers  to address the gap in mental health care.

            Some topics covered in this conversation include:

            • Enabling non-specialist frontline providers to provide mental health care
            • The power in taking a protocolized approach to mental health treatment
            • An exploration of the ways that we can leverage digital innovation to scale mental health care programs
            • The impact of an integrated treatment program - incorporating mental health treatment into treatment programs for other illnesses for example
            • How digital can augment vs replace humans in mental health care
            • How the global health and development community is thinking about mental health

              • Related resources:

              • Vikram Patel, Sangath - https://sangath.in/our-people/dr-vikram-patel/
              • How Digital Solutions Can Help Scale Mental Health Care: https://www.dimagi.com/blog/digital-solutions-scale-mental-health-care/
              • Applications of Digital Technologies in Mental Health - #MQScienceFestival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmu1PQ1YrQw&list=PLVmwIEfrcKqnGhas9Vy4CmPEvG9xVvQdr&index=1&t=478s
              • Resilience working group and guide: https://sites.dimagi.com/guidebook-resilience-message-program
              • World Health Organization - depression stats: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression
              • Poverty, depression, and anxiety: Causal evidence and mechanisms; Science: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aay0214
              • Epidemiology of maternal depression, risk factors, and child outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries; The Lancet: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S221503661630284X
              • Bending the curve: The impact of integrating mental health services on HIV and TB outcomes: https://unitedgmh.org/knowledge-hub/bending-the-curve-the-impact-of-integrating-mental-health-services-on-hiv-and-tb-outcomes/
                • 21 min
              • How will advances in AI impact global health and development with Clayton Sims: Dispatches from the Global Digital Health Forum 2022

                Jonathan Jackson sits down with Clayton Sims, Dimagi’s Chief Technology Officer, at the Global Digital Health Forum, to discuss the opportunities, realities & future of artificial intelligence in the global health and development space.


                Some topics covered in this conversation include:

                • Exploring the highest impact use cases of AI for global health and development including language models, image processing, biometrics,  diagnostics, chatbots, and threat detection.
                • How AI tools can create more autonomy and expand the skillsets of an individual
                • Looking at ChatGPT training data and structures, and the impact of minimal global vetting on the global development space
                • The ethics around AI - and the impact it may have on data sharing
                • Exploring the future of AI from an infrastructure standpoint

                  • Related resources:

                  • GDHF 2022 - The Model is the Message - Clayton Sims - https://youtu.be/KaoXwfwNeBo
                  • GDHF 2021 Lightning Talk - Impossible is Normal - Clayton Sims- https://youtu.be/kzNXPsIlVaQ
                  • GDHF 2020 Lightning Talk - No One Else is Coming - Clayton Sims - https://youtu.be/PV3xWirg8S0
                  • ChatGPT by open.ai - https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/
                    • 23 min
                  • Partnering with the government to improve maternal health with Nick Pearson and Sathy Rajasekharan of Jacaranda Health: Dispatches from the 2022 Global Digital Health Forum

                    Jonathan Jackson sits down with Jacaranda Health’s co-executive directors Nick Pearson & Sathy Rajasekharan at the Global Digital Health Forum, to discuss challenges and learnings along their journey to impact in maternal and child health in Kenya.

                    Some topics covered in this conversation include:

                    • Navigating a major pivot as a digital health organization from running private health centers to partnering with governments to support gaps in maternal and newborn care
                    • Maximizing impact by improving communication with moms through a digital platform called Prompts
                    • Scaling capacity & exploring peer learning through a mentorship program for healthcare providers
                    • Amplifying the voices of Moms in the health system and closing service delivery gaps through feedback loops
                    • Implementing machine learning - the benefits and challenges

                      • Jacaranda Health partners with governments to deploy affordable and scalable solutions through government hospitals, where the majority of underserved mothers and babies receive care. In Kenya, they work with the National Ministry of Health and with 20 Kenyan County Governments, with solutions deployed across 1,100+ hospitals and health centers.


                      Related resources:

                      • Jacaranda Health - https://www.jacarandahealth.org
                        • 22 min
                      • Creating a Digital Ecosystem to Improve Frontline Humanitarian Impact: Mercy Corps’ Approach to Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

                        Jonathan Jackson sits down with Mercy Corps’ Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL) team – Meri Ghorkhmazyan, Senior Director MEL, Alex Tran, Senior MEL Advisor and Hanna Camp, Senior Advisor, Technology for MEL. They discuss how MEL is the next generation of M&E and how it has fuelled program adaptation and higher level learning to improve frontline impact at Mercy Corps.


                        Some topics covered in this conversation include:

                        • The difference between M&E and MEL
                        • The value of a MEL policy and the challenges of disorganized MEL technology
                        • How standardizing on technology for MEL allows teams to maximize comprehensiveness of data as well as timely action
                        • The ins and outs of creating enterprise technology agreements and the cost savings made possible
                        • Implementing a MEL technology training program with support from the Cisco Foundation
                        • Creating continuous buy in along the journey of change management
                        • How streamlining technologies can boost professional development opportunities for MEL technology practitioners.
                        • Empowering data practitioners to be able to make better decisions around program performance.
                        • The challenge of finding and retaining technically skilled staff

                          • Related Resources:

                          Mercy Corps: https://www.mercycorps.org/

                          Mercy Corps’ 10 year strategy: https://www.mercycorps.org/press-room/releases/pathway-to-possibility 

                          Mercy Corps’ Guide to Building a Digital Ecosystem for M&E at Scale: https://dimagi.com/blog/mercy-corps-guide-to-building-a-digital-ecosystem-for-me-at-scale/ 

                          CommCare enterprise offering: https://www.dimagi.com/commcare/enterprise/

                          49 min
                        • Advocating for Frontline Workers at Davos: Reflections from a Social Entrepreneur after the World Economic Forum

                          Jonathan Jackson shares his candid reflections and takeaways from his time at the recent World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, as well as his stance on some of the biggest problems we are facing and the biggest bets we need to make to create a better world.

                          Some topics covered in this conversation include:

                          • The background of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and its role at Davos 
                          • The reality of the state of ‘poly crisis’ - multiple complex crises that a lot of organizations are facing currently
                          • The increasing scope of social entrepreneurship and social innovation on the global stage
                          • Shedding light on some of the main stage topics at Davos such as the Global Debt Crisis
                          • Advocating for Better Jobs for Frontline Workers and why this is important
                          • Leveraging technology to scale a more responsive & adaptive workforce
                          • The potential around AI & ChatGPT to amplify frontline impact
                          • Some of the most compelling ideas shared from social entrepreneurs at Davos

                            • Related Resources:

                            World Economic Forum Annual Meeting: https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2023
                            Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship: https://www.schwabfound.org/

                            21 min
                          • Unlocking the Potential of AI in Public Health with Rebecca Distler of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation: Dispatches from the 2022 Global Digital Health Forum

                            Jonathan Jackson sits down with Rebecca Distler, Strategist for AI, Data and Digital Health at the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation at the Global Digital Health Forum, to discuss the challenges and opportunities of digital health and AI.

                            Some topics covered in this conversation include:

                            • Investing in enabling environments for digital health
                            • The need to plan for day 2000 on day 1, and the tension between short- and long-term thinking
                            • Uncovering effective entry points for building digital public infrastructure
                            • Putting the person at the center of health systems, not their disease
                            • Exploring "medical AI" vs "public health AI" and how to make use of insights that are generally unlocked from AI – an often forgotten step
                            • Creating a seat at the table for people who will be using digital tools and the importance of supporting health workers
                            • How technologies like ChatGPT are poised to fundamentally change workflows

                              • Related resources:

                              • The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation: https://www.mcgovern.org/
                                • 29 min
                              • Taking a whole-of-government approach to digital health in Zambia with Innocent Chiboma from the Zambian Ministry of Health: Dispatches from the 2022 Global Digital Health Forum

                                “If you want to get a holistic picture of a person's health, you have to look at everything that concerns them, including for instance the issues of the local authorities - sanitation…water, everything to do with that. So we should not limit digital health to ministry of health. It's something that will go to all the other government ministries and agencies and may I say including the private sector.” - Innocent Chiboma, Principal ICT Officer for Digital Health, Ministry of Health of Zambia

                                Jonathan Jackson talks to Innocent Chiboma, Principal ICT Officer for Digital Health at the Zambian Ministry of Health, to discuss taking a whole-of-government approach to digital health and what it looks like in practice to build coordination and collaboration across ministries and the private sector.

                                Some topics covered in this conversation include:

                                • The importance of good governance and strategic clarity in driving digital transformation of health
                                • Creating buyin and fostering respect across ministries
                                • Breaking down siloes to take a more holistic view of health
                                • How to introduce new ideas within a government ministry
                                • Lessons learned in Zambia’s journey towards better access to health services
                                  • 19 min

                                About High-Impact Growth

                                From the publisher's feed

                                A podcast for social entrepreneurs, global development funders, nonprofit leaders and anyone grappling with the challenge of how to build solutions that are both immensely impactful and also achieve high-growth. Join Dimagi CEO and co-founder, Jonathan Jackson, along with co-host Amie Vaccaro as we unpack learnings from 20 years building digital solutions for global health and development, explore barriers to and opportunities for high-impact growth, and speak with industry leaders from around the world.