Peer-reviewed article

127 Reciprocal Innovation Workshops: Identify Shared Health Challenges for Mutual Benefit in Global Health

Sors T, Wools-Kaloustian K, Chauhan O’Brien R, Bermel L, Kiplagat J et al. · 4 Jul 2022

Abstract

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Our concept of reciprocal innovation (RI) supports global health (GH) research partnerships that address shared health challenges for mutual benefit in both high and low- and middle-income (LMIC) settings. To advance this GH approach, the Indiana CTSI launched a RI program building on longstanding global health partnerships in East Africa METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: A core component of the program is annual RI workshops to promote reciprocal approaches in GH, identify priority areas for reciprocal research, and link investigators and stakeholders across settings. The first meeting in 2019 was in-person and focused on identifying health priority areas from the perspective of Indiana stakeholders. The second meeting was held virtually and focused on priority areas in East Africa. The third meeting focused on shared priority areas and discussing potential RI research projects. Agenda sessions include (1) presenting successful examples of funded RI projects; (2) breakout groups to share proposal ideas in preparation for the RI grants program; (3) building partnerships with colleagues in similar fields RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: As of 2021, three RI workshops have been held with an average of 60 attendees at each workshop. Participants identified several overlapping priority areas for research and RI in Indiana and East Africa, including research in chronic disease, substance abuse, infant and maternal health, and access to healthcare. A Global Health Innovation Exchange of RI projects was created to support connections between locally- and globally-focused investigators. The repository is used to share updates on project progress, outcomes, and published materials. Workshops have also been used to explore a reciprocal innovation virtual platform to facilitate and foster more regular collaborations between globally and locally-focused investigators and pursue research projects on shared health challenges for mutual benefit DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The collaboration at the stakeholder meetings set the foundation for continued partnership building, strong proposals for RI grants, and dissemination and translation of successful RI projects. To leverage momentum from the meetings, we are building a virtual RI platform to connect PIs across multiple CTSAs and increase the footprint of RI efforts