Overview

The ThinkPlace project, part of DUP’s Workstream 3, is a collaborative initiative involving multiple international and local organizations, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ministry of Health, DUP, UoG-CBMP, and other key stakeholders. This project aims to enhance data quality and promote its effective use in decision-making at primary healthcare units and district levels. By focusing on transforming the culture of data use, it examines health facility expectations, values, and behaviors while working closely with selected health facilities and districts in the Amhara region. Running from November 2023 to June 2026, the project progresses through three phases: mid-fidelity prototyping (November 2023 – June 2024) to test desirability and efficacy, high-fidelity prototyping (July 2024 – June 2025) to refine feasibility and scalability, and piloting integrated interventions (July 2025 – June 2026) across three new regions to ensure contextual relevance and generate evidence.

A co-creation workshop

Objectives

Developing and prototyping scalable strategies to enhance data quality and the use of routine RHIS data at primary healthcare units and districts.

Scope

Apply human-centered and behavioral science approaches to prototype scalable strategies to enhance the use of reliable RHIS data, to enable district and health facility-level HIS performance

Work Plan/Activities

Conduct HCD training for university researchers and regional health bureau staff.
Collect baseline data and generate evidence.
Facilitate ideation, co-creation, and prioritization workshops for prototype development.
Test prototypes in two sprint phases and prepare synthesis reports.
Establish demonstration sites, including innovation labs.
Organize and conduct project implementation dissemination workshop

Test Sprint-2 Launch Workshop
at Haile Resort, Gonder

Methodology/Approach

The project will use human-centered design and design thinking approach and they use a variety of methodologies to understand human behavior. Understanding end users preference and ensuring their active engagement in all process of the project implementation is central point for the project.

Beneficiaries

University of Gondar, health facilities and districts with in Amhara region and also healthcare workers and researchers working with in these institutions will be benefited from the project

Dissemination Plan

The project will share its implementations through results and learning dissemination workshops. Additionally, it will communicate key achievements and findings through publications in reputable journals and by regularly preparing and submitting performance reports to stakeholders

Capacity Building

ThinkPlace will roll out Human-centered Design (HCD) and behavioral sciences methods training to build the CBMP cohort’s design capability and empower them to use design thinking in their day-to-day work. The design thinking capacity building will utilize a combination of theoretical and practical methodologies, allowing both in and out-of-class approaches for participants to learn and put their learnings into practice. In addition to the above capacity building training virtual training focusing on behavioral aspects that will have impact on both long and short term impact on data quality and use performances will be given. In addition to the above capacity-building training, virtual sessions will be offered, focusing on behavioral aspects that will have both short-term and long-term effects on data quality and utilization performance.