A meeting was convened by the Communication Lead Ms. Catherine Spencer to form an Impact Group from 12:00-1:00 p.m on Wednesday, 3 May 2017 at the ED’s Conference room, icddr,b. The objective of the meeting was to discuss how we can measure impact at icddr,b and how icddr,b can achieve more impact.

A representative from all divisions was invited and the following participants were present at the meeting:  Ms. Catherine Spencer, Dr. Sharful Islam Khan, Dr. A.T.M. Iqbal Anwar, Dr. Sohana Shafique, Md. Jobayer Chisti, Armana Ahmed, Ms. Aneire E. Khan, Dr. Mohammad Aminul Islam, Shakeel Ahmed Ibne Mahmood.
Here is a summary of the meeting with highlights of the issued discussed:

  • Catherine moderated the meeting and introduced the concept of an Impact group
  • Iqbal shared history of Knowledge Translation (K-T) activities at icddr,b and his experience on K-T and evidence-informed health policy making (EIPM) in Bangladesh.
  • The participants provided feedback on the ToR and asked for further clarifications. The term ‘Impact’ and what it really means was discussed.
  • Sharful wanted to know where the ‘Impact Group’ would be hosted and who actually would perform the tasks outlined in the ToR. Ms. Spenser mentioned that it would be hosted in the Communications but it would involve representatives from all divisions and RA. Who actually would perform the tasks described in the ToR needs further discussion
  • Feedback was received on how thus newly formed ‘Impact Group’ can learn from the earlier ‘K-T’ initiatives of icddr,b and collect historical data on achieving impact
  • Sohana shared the ongoing ‘K-T’ activities  of SHARE project of HSPSD following WHO guidelines (establishing Systematic Review Centre (SRC) at BSMMU for generating evidence, Research Policy Communication Cell (RPCC) at DGHS for interaction between  policy makers and researchers, Public Engagement, Policy Dialogues, writing policy briefs etc)
  • Armana from RA shared that information of icddr,b’s impact can be collected from ‘List of Achievements’, executive summary, case-studies, and MEF, PMF and KPI prepared for donors
  • Spencer shared how Impact can be institutionalized within icddr,b system, using RA as a platform (e.g. incentive/disincentive for sharing/not sharing policy communications/briefs)
  • Shakeel shared icddr,b’s experience on K-T involving Library and RA; and suggested adding members to the team who already worked on K-T previously (namely, Dr. Shahed, HSPSD, Dr. Aftab, TTU and Mr. Nazim, Library)
  • Sohana shared relevant scientific documents and reports on ‘K-T’ (received from EU M&E team) and tools for assessing organizational capacity for Impact. Dr. Shakeel shared articles on icddr,b’s experience on K-T.

The following steps would be taken in the coming weeks:

  • Form a group
  • Receive feedback on ToR from members
  • Collect relevant documents from each groups previously worked on Impact
  • Conduct a situation analysis/review icddrb’s work and identify scopes of improvement.
  • Disseminate Information on RPCC and SRC of SHARE project among icddr,b researchers through communications and RA

The meeting was adjourned at 1:00 p.m. with the vote of thanks from Ms. Spencer.