Join our twitter chat on reverse innovation – Friday at 5pm (UK time)

Can ‘developed’ countries learn from the lessons of ‘developing’ countries? How can we move away from the fatuous ideas associated with being labelled a ‘developed’ or ‘developing’ country? These are just a few of the questions that Globalization and Health hopes to address through its series, ‘Reverse innovation in global health systems: learning from low-income countries’.

In August 2013, Globalization and Health attracted widespread attention by launching a dedicated open-access series that would challenge conventional thinking about health systems by drawing on lessons from around the world. The first six published papers spanned multiple dimensions of the subject, bringing the dialogue on reverse innovation to the ’global health table.’

In order to capture the full potential of reverse innovation we need to move quickly and continue to develop the global knowledge pool on how innovations in the ’developing’ world can inform and contribute to strengthening health systems  in the ’developed’ world. We need to reset mindsets, encourage critical thinking, and hear all sides of the debate.

So, what are your views on reverse innovation in global health? Do low-income countries hold the key to creating the future’s most important strides in innovation?

For a chance to have your say, join Globalization & Health (@ghjournal), Shams Syed (@Shams_Syed), Viva Dadwal (@vivadadwal) and Greg Martin (@drgregmartin) for a one hour twitter chat on 28 March at 5pm (UK time). Prior to the twitter chat we will use the hashtag #reverseinnovation to get the conversation going. During tweet chats replies tend to come thick and fast, and every character counts, so for purposes of brevity we will be switching to the hashtag #revsinv during the chat, which will be moderated from the @GHWindow account.

The questions we’ll be asking during the chat will return to the three questions we asked ourselves when launching the special series in Globalization & Health:

Q1 Can health innovations designed for a ‘developing’ country setting be applied in a ‘developed’ country setting?

Q2 Is it time for ‘developed’ countries to learn from the lessons of ‘developing’ countries? And if so, what are the barriers to such learning?

Q3 How can we move away from the synthetic barriers to progress and the boundaries associated with being ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ countries?

In light of the future work programme on this subject, we add a fourth question:

Q4 How can we reset mindsets and promote reverse innovation thinking in global health systems decision-making? 

Please join us to share your views on these topics using the hashtag #reverseinnovation ahead of the day or #revsinv during the chat. If your question or comment is directed at a specific individual, include their @name at the start of your tweet.

We look forward to your participation! If you’re unable to join us for the chat, please feel free to tweet your comments to @GHWindow with the #revsinv hashtag beforehand. An edited summary of the twitter chat will be published soon after the session.