Fresh insights and collaboration at the OECD

Louise Baker-Schuster, chief foundation partners' officer, reflects on network meeting in Paris

The Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysee, maybe even a boat trip down the Seine? For Sciana Fellows and their whistle-stop tour of Paris earlier this month, the packed itinerary looked just a little different.

An afternoon at the French Ministry for Health and Prevention (yes, and Prevention), a reception hosted by Giancarlo Kessler, the Swiss Ambassador to the OECD at UNESCO, and a meeting with the Health Division at the OECD ensured the 45 participants from across all five cohorts were given food for thought for their journeys home.

Not even a national train strike was going to stop Sciana from finally holding their international meeting in Paris. The long overdue event, which was originally planned for 2020 and had to be postponed for reasons we are all very much aware of, was the brainchild of Ilona Kickbusch, Sciana Chair and renowned expert on global and public health issues.

Supported by Mary Helen Pombo and Charlotte Müer, Sciana Programme Director and Manager respectively, the Network gave its fellows the opportunity to connect outside of the residential meetings in Salzburg and focus on current hot topics in each of the participating health systems in the UK, Switzerland, and Germany: digital transformation, resilient health systems, workforce shortages, and wellbeing.

Discussing and debating with their colleagues in Paris enabled the Fellows to gain insights and inspiration from outside their daily professional environment and political constraints. It soon became clear that the representatives from all countries present were experiencing the same challenges in their respective health systems. It also became very clear, very quickly, that the answers to those challenges are dependent on the national context, making it impossible to find that one perfect solution.

Over 24 hours, burning questions were raised and discussed with the international hosts. How can we use the tools already available to ensure we respond to future crises better? When responding to a future pandemic, what knowledge besides science and economics should influence policy? How can you measure wellbeing and integrate this information into effective policy decisions? How can we support growth in our countries which is also of good quality? How can we address the needs of our health workforces and ensure flexibility to meet current and future care needs?

The Fellows appreciated this exploration of international perspectives and the bilateral exchanges.

“When we're all together, we neutralise each other’s potential conflicts of interest, allowing us to discuss as ‘critical friends’. From my perspective, this is the most strategically useful 24 hours I've spent this year,” said Tim Taylor, Cohort 4.

Facilitating out-of-the-box thinking and providing time and space to reflect strategically is just one of the Network’s strengths, something that was very much present at this international meeting. In just over a day, the Fellows, the foundations, and our hosts experienced debate, connections, exchanges, and inspiration, confirming once again the need for international collaboration to tackle national issues head-on.

View photos from the Sciana OECD Network Meeting