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<p>On day 4 of the conference, I facilitated a roundtable discussion on what it takes to generate political will for supply chain improvements. At each table, participants shared their experiences generating political will and discussed in detail what it took to achieve meaningful change. Below are their observations, grouped into like categories:</p>
<p><strong>Seek global buy-in and funding for the issue</strong></p>
<p>Global buy-in and funding can be critical for implementing something in a country</p>
<p><strong>Collect local evidence and credible indicators of problem</strong></p>
<p>Create new evidence to “change the story” about the issue</p>
<p>Bring in different content experts to validate and contribute to the evidence so its not just one-sided</p>
<p><strong>Keep the momentum going (advocacy is a long process)</strong></p>
<p>Find ways to amplify the evidence and have many different people sharing it</p>
<p>This process takes a lot of time. To maintain the focus, share small milestones and “wins” along the way. Give frequent updates on progress.</p>
<p>Document government and partner commitments so you can hold them accountable later.</p>
<p><strong>Cultivate champions and key influencers--speak their language</strong></p>
<p>Transform leaders from forces of resistance to the heros—show them the difference they can make and give them credit</p>
<p>Map key influencers at MOH and understand who influences the influencers.</p>
<p>Learn what interests your key influencers, what their priorities are, what their background is, and what skills they have</p>
<p>Speak their language—translate your message into something they care about, consider their point of view</p>
<p>Be ready to educate and sensitize people to your issue and explain it in a way that makes sense to them.</p>
<p>Seek perspectives from ALL parties affected by an intervention (e.g., district managers, health workers, patients) to anticipate and address confusion and possible resistance.</p>
<p>Seek government ownership even if it takes longer</p>
<p>Cultivate 1:1 relationships. A lot of political support must be cultivated this way.</p>
<p><strong>Acceptable solutions</strong></p>
<p>Be clear and specific about the changes you want to see</p>
<p><strong>Be aware of context</strong></p>
<p>Understand the decision-making system, when are decisions made (e.g., what time of year are budgets decided), what committees and individuals are in charge of making decisions, who they report to and when they meet.</p>
<p>Target the right person and at the right time</p>
<p><strong>Partnerships</strong></p>
<p>Look for ways to lead in collaboration. Focus people on solving a problem together to get stronger buy-in and leadership.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Please add to this thread to describe any insights that I did not capture, but you felt were important. </p>
<p>Also, if you have specific experience generating political will for supply chain changes (and many of you do), let's share these experiences more broadly. PATH is interested in gathering these stories in short case studies or interviews. Please respond to this post with a summary of your project and three key lessons you learned about generating political will for supply chain change. If we have a quorum of responses, we will follow up directly with a proposed standard format for case studies.</p>
<p>-Heidi Lasher</p>
<p>PATH iSCL advocacy project</p>
<p><strong>Seek global buy-in and funding for the issue</strong></p>
<p>Global buy-in and funding can be critical for implementing something in a country</p>
<p><strong>Collect local evidence and credible indicators of problem</strong></p>
<p>Create new evidence to “change the story” about the issue</p>
<p>Bring in different content experts to validate and contribute to the evidence so its not just one-sided</p>
<p><strong>Keep the momentum going (advocacy is a long process)</strong></p>
<p>Find ways to amplify the evidence and have many different people sharing it</p>
<p>This process takes a lot of time. To maintain the focus, share small milestones and “wins” along the way. Give frequent updates on progress.</p>
<p>Document government and partner commitments so you can hold them accountable later.</p>
<p><strong>Cultivate champions and key influencers--speak their language</strong></p>
<p>Transform leaders from forces of resistance to the heros—show them the difference they can make and give them credit</p>
<p>Map key influencers at MOH and understand who influences the influencers.</p>
<p>Learn what interests your key influencers, what their priorities are, what their background is, and what skills they have</p>
<p>Speak their language—translate your message into something they care about, consider their point of view</p>
<p>Be ready to educate and sensitize people to your issue and explain it in a way that makes sense to them.</p>
<p>Seek perspectives from ALL parties affected by an intervention (e.g., district managers, health workers, patients) to anticipate and address confusion and possible resistance.</p>
<p>Seek government ownership even if it takes longer</p>
<p>Cultivate 1:1 relationships. A lot of political support must be cultivated this way.</p>
<p><strong>Acceptable solutions</strong></p>
<p>Be clear and specific about the changes you want to see</p>
<p><strong>Be aware of context</strong></p>
<p>Understand the decision-making system, when are decisions made (e.g., what time of year are budgets decided), what committees and individuals are in charge of making decisions, who they report to and when they meet.</p>
<p>Target the right person and at the right time</p>
<p><strong>Partnerships</strong></p>
<p>Look for ways to lead in collaboration. Focus people on solving a problem together to get stronger buy-in and leadership.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Please add to this thread to describe any insights that I did not capture, but you felt were important. </p>
<p>Also, if you have specific experience generating political will for supply chain changes (and many of you do), let's share these experiences more broadly. PATH is interested in gathering these stories in short case studies or interviews. Please respond to this post with a summary of your project and three key lessons you learned about generating political will for supply chain change. If we have a quorum of responses, we will follow up directly with a proposed standard format for case studies.</p>
<p>-Heidi Lasher</p>
<p>PATH iSCL advocacy project</p>
