A Tool for Sharing Internal Best Practices

Released in 2006 by the Information and Knowledge for Optimal Health Project (INFO) Project at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health/Center for Communication Programs, this 23-page resource is a tool designed to foster the sharing of internal best practices. The idea is that identifying the "best practices" can help staff members of an organisation - particularly one that involves multiple units - learn from each other and replicate proven practices. In reproductive health organisations, for example, service delivery points (such as hospitals, clinics, or individual community-based health agents), functional units (such as warehouses and training centres), or district, regional, and country offices could potentially benefit from the step-by-stop process, tips, case studies, and links to additional resources offered here.

The resource begins by reviewing what a best practice is, noting that, despite much discussion, there is no universally accepted definition. At a minimum, a best practice must: demonstrate evidence of success; contribute to the organisation's mission or programme goals; and have the potential to be replicated or adapted to other settings (Advance Africa, 2005; United Nations Population Fund, 2001). However, "best" practices can vary over time and depend on what people want (e.g., as Skyrme (2001) noted, a family planning programme manager might value practices that bring more clients to the clinic for services, while clients value the option of being visited at home). That said, this resource is premised on the idea that reflecting on what has worked (and/or what has not worked) is valuable for an organisation, despite the obstacles (described here) associated with that process.

The tool then outlines a process for identifying an organisation's best practices, validating and documenting them, preparing a plan to share them throughout the organisation, and then adapting and applying them. To illustrate these key steps in practice, Part III features 3 case studies of organisations that have worked to share best practices internally: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific; the Delivery of Improved Services for Health (DISH) Project in Uganda; and the National Health Services (NHS) Clinical Governance Support Team in the United Kingdom.