Spring 2009

Ipas – NPOKI’s Newest Member

Ipas, an international organization that works around the world to increase women’s ability to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights, has become NPOKI’s eleventh member. Representing Ipas on the NPOKI Board of directors will be Eric Jones, Director, Information Technology & Resources. Acting as a backup Board member will be Julia Cleaver, Information Services Manager.

NPOKI Executive Director William “Bill” Lester welcomes the addition to the collaborative, saying “We are thrilled to have Ipas join our family of international health organizations. Ipas is one of the most innovative NGOs, especially around its use of knowledge management tools. We know that this will be a beneficial relationship for Ipas and for all of our members.”

For more information about the Ipas membership, visit IPAS – NPOKI’s Newest Member.

MERIT – NPOKI’s flagship application – successfully finished its beta test in 2008. In February, the MERIT team worked with usability experts in a planning session where we took the results from the MERIT beta tests in Tanzania, Nigeria, and Rwanda, to develop the blueprint for MERIT 2.0. Planned features for version 2.0 include:

• Geographic and site based data-entry and analysis
• Simple data entry via an excel-like web form
• Easy data import and export
• Mobile phone access
• Robust “pivot table” viewer for data analysis.

MERIT II is on target to be completed in late 2009. Look for further announcements.

International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has engaged NPOKI as a trusted advisor to select, customize, and project manage the development of a group of information systems to support and extend the IPPF Knowledge Systems across its global program roster. Enterprise Portfolio Management Systems are at the heart of NPOKI’s mission and vision, and in partnering with IPPF (one of NPOKI’s founding members), we will have the opportunity to test some interesting new technologies in very difficult areas around the world.

The INKS Project draws on NPOKI’s collaborative framework and on our strengths in project management and training.

All of our members will benefit from the lessons learned from this project.

NPOKI continues to build resources and knowledge management tools through partnerships with key organizations. These partnerships are based upon shared results and respect for intellectual property. They allow NPOKI to extend its reach beyond the international health community and allow the larger global community to benefit from the work we do. One of our principal partners is InsideNGO, an association dedicated to strengthening the “inside” staff of international NGOs. With InsideNGO, we have hosted presentations, workshops, trainings, and summits (see EVENTS). At the Annual InsideNGO Membership Meeting in July, we’ll be presenting in the track “Operational Support for Program Success”. We are also co-designing a workshop around “Choosing an Enterprise Finance System“. Look for future announcements about this workshop.

NPOKI has a suite of programs in development – all based on member requests. One is NCLIX, a web-based resource that provides reviews and recommendations of county-based goods, services and providers of particular interest to NGOs. We are designing and implementing this proof of concept project with our partners, InsideNGO and Aspiration. NCLIX is currently in proof of concept stage and will be tested in Kenya and the US. Reviews are written by and for local and headquarters staff of international NGOs that work around the world and provide the valuable and difficult-to-find information that staff needs.

For more information about NCLIX, visit NCLIX: The Non-Governmental Organization Cooperative Local Information Exchange.

Proofs of Concept

Do you have a project in mind? NPOKI’s Proof of Concept framework enables us to rapidly roll out pilot projects (3 to 9 months) designed to demonstrate impact and to scale-up. Email us to discuss your concept at: info@npoki.org.

NPOKI has hosted several interactive presentations and meetings since the beginning of the year and the response to these events has been incredibly positive. NPOKI will continue to provide this service for our members, partners and the global health community. Recent and upcoming events include:

A special event in 2009 will be NPOKI’s 1st Annual NPOKI Community Conference. NPOKI plans to host its first annual meeting for members and our international NGO community September 14 – 15, 2009 in London, UK. This two day event will address key topics of interest to our members, provide a constructive forum to share knowledge and experience, and identify areas of interest for future presentations and discussion. Some of the proposed topics include:

• Monitoring and Evaluation 2.0
• Next-Generation Tools and What They Mean for Your Organization
• SharePoint 2007: Fact or Fiction?
• Cohort – Overview and Users Group Discussion
• Field Office Resources
• Technology & Web in Support of Programs

Stay tuned for more information, and save the dates!

Stacey McKeever, Project Manager, joined NPOKI in October 2008. She strategizes proofs-of-concept for new NPOKI projects and organizes NPOKI’s Current Developments in Global Public Health presentation series. Most recently she worked on the Global Pediatrics Team at the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative to increase access to quality care and treatment for HIV affected children worldwide. She has also worked at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in the Patient Centered Care department, as an internal consultant.

Stacey is a dual degree student at Columbia Business School and the Mailman School of Public Health. Prior to graduate school Stacey served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Lesotho, Southern Africa, where she helped build her community’s first secondary school.

Larisa Bomlitz, Communications Manager and Member Liaison, joined NPOKI in January 2009. Her responsibilities include communications, serving as NPOKI’s member liaison, and supporting NPOKI Development. Prior to joining NPOKI, Larisa provided technical assistance at the Yunnan Health and Development Research Association, a local organization in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. She has also worked with an international clinical mentoring program designed to strengthen knowledge and skills among the local health care workforce in developing countries.

Larisa holds an MPH from the Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine from Hebrew University and an MS in International Affairs from The New School.

Stacey and Larisa each bring a depth of understanding of global health challenges in the field combined with academic, consulting and professional experiences that dovetail with the program needs of our membership. NPOKI is delighted to welcome Larisa and Stacey to our team.

Mary Katherine (MK) Cope joined NPOKI in March as Director of Business Development. MK focuses on expanding NPOKI’s work with member organizations, identifying new development opportunities, and strengthening existing relationships with funders, partners, and clients.

Prior to joining NPOKI, MK was Vice-President, Africa, for the International Executive Service Corps (IESC). In this role, she designed and managed IESC’s activities in 40 of the 48 countries in Sub Saharan Africa. Key among these activities was her work with the development of BizAIDS, a cross sectoral methodology designed to mitigate the economic impact of HIV/AIDS on microenterprises and informal businesses, their employees and their communities. She was also instrumental in positioning IESC’s Geekcorps programs in the countries of Mali, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Ghana.

Building on her experience in designing and managing field based programs throughout Africa, MK brings an innovative, practical approach to NPOKI’s new business development activity.