Cohorts 6 and 7 convene in Salzburg for May residential meetings

Sciana Fellows use time to focus on Sciana Challenge, network, and exchange innovations and experiences from day-to-day work

"Trust the process" was one of the key messages shared and reaffirmed when Sciana Fellows convened in Salzburg earlier this month.

Between May 11 and 17, Schloss Leopoldskron welcomed Cohort 6 back for their third residential meeting and Cohort 7 for their very first residential meeting.

As is tradition, both cohorts met on an overlap day during the week. This day featured reflection, discussion, a barbecue, and opportunities for network building.

In the morning, Cohort 6 shared insights from their experience with the Sciana Challenge: "Systems leadership for new forms of health, care and wellbeing".

An afternoon discussion on the challenges and opportunities for value-based healthcare followed this session. Christoph Napierala moderated a fishbowl discussion, which included reflections from Valerie Kirchberger, Lars Clarfeld, and Dimitra Panteli.

The day's activities concluded with a masterclass on population health by Dominique Allwood —a fitting topic for discussion with Cohort 7's Sciana Challenge, "Systems leadership for population health in times of scarcity."

Fellows attempted to build a common understanding of the concept and explore future megatrends. Sciana Advisor Lothar H. Wieler contributed to this discussion by presenting on "Precision Public Health in the Digital Age."

Following a barbecue on the Schloss Terrace, Fellows joined Sciana Advisors Alwen Williams and Bettina Borisch for a discussion in Schloss Leopoldskron's Max Reinhardt Library. Sarah Holloway moderated a conversation that saw both Sciana Advisors reflect on their career journeys and thoughts concerning leadership, diversity, and inclusion.

Systems leadership for new forms of health, care and wellbeing

But "Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start," as Julie Andrews once sang in "The Sound of Music".

Cohort 6 arrived on May 11 to build on their existing Sciana Challenge work and brainstorm what their final outputs might be.

Fellows began their first full day by considering several questions, including what they'd already learned from the Sciana Challenge, their leadership approach to communications, and how they perceive their emotions influencing their leadership work.

This exercise was followed by a session on "Polarisation, democracy, and employee-led change in the workplace". For this session, we were delighted to welcome Sarah Hughes (Cohort 3) back via video link to offer her reflections on the topic.

Fellows were then tasked with addressing three different scenarios of employee activism. The session aimed to provide Fellows with insights into their conflict management style, handling resistance and pressure in the face of social movements and leading in polarising environments.

In the afternoon, Fellows heard from John Thomson, Stefanie Becker, and Katharina Kappelhoff as part of a "Fellow Strategy Showcase". Each facilitated a discussion highlighting examples from their day-to-day work advancing new forms of health, care, and wellbeing.

The day's events concluded with a presentation and discussion led by Dimitra Panteli on "Innovations in Europe: New forms of health, care and wellbeing". Dimitra provided Fellows with greater insight into the work of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, including its Health Systems in Transition series (HiTs).

Participants of Cohort 6's third residential meeting pose for a group photo on Schloss Leopoldskron's Terrace

Following an action-packed Monday, Cohort 6 continued their work and conversations on Tuesday by focusing on new heights in leadership and communication for systems change.

The day began with Sciana Advisor Peter Berchtold sharing his thoughts on navigating complexity and overcomplexity in health. Fellows then took turns offering their experiences in this area as part of a fishbowl exercise in the Max Reinhardt Library.

After this session, Fellows reflected on editorial leadership and health communication in times of new media and the health equity agenda. They were guided in their discussions by guest speakers Jono Hoogerbrug and Jocalyn Clark.

Jono reflected on the growth of his podcast, "Clinical Changemakers," his vision for it, and the metrics used to measure its impact. He also provided a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into making an episode, including the time involved in production. Jocalyn, meanwhile, provided Fellows with a masterclass on writing for impact.

She explored the core principles behind why we communicate, why commentary is effective for systems change, and how Fellows can successfully pitch their work.

This feedback and guidance were constructive for Fellows as they prepared to pitch their Sciana Challenge work, which focuses on health prevention, childhood obesity, and reimagining end-of-life care.

Towards the end of the day, Fellows gave five-minute presentations to past, present, and future Sciana Fellows on the work they've undertaken so far, the number of people they've interviewed, and their plans for outputs.

Systems leadership for population health in times of scarcity

On May 15, Cohort 7 began their second full day reflecting on what they can offer to the Sciana Network, what they're looking for, and what they'd like to achieve. This conversation progressed with Fellows then exploring their purpose, leadership style, and personal development.

They considered where they draw energy from, how they lead, and how they respond to pressure and lead in complex and uncertain environments.

After a refreshment break, the Fellows examined the concept of "teaming," exploring how it is an ongoing process and the challenges they've encountered. David Behan added to this discussion by illustrating the five dysfunctions of teams.

In the afternoon, Bola Owolabi, Carlo Fabian, and Mridul Agrawal participated in a "Fellow Strategy Showcase" to highlight initiatives advancing population health in times of scarcity.

The day concluded with a look to the future. Fellows were asked to reimagine population health and consider the opportunities for communities and health systems to hasten progress and overcome limited resources.

Fellows mapped trends from the recent past, present, and future, identifying key patterns and high-level themes in society, technology, politics, and beyond, shaping the future of health. This visioning exercise was designed to shift Fellows' thinking towards the emerging future, which serves as a foundation for the Sciana Challenge process.

On May 16, Cohort 7 concluded their first residential meeting by agreeing on the initial concepts for their Sciana Challenge working groups. Fellows will investigate how to:

• Encourage political empowerment at an individual, community, and system-based level
• Reduce health inequity through innovative solutions enhanced by public-private partnerships
• Build trust in health and care through positive narratives

In addition to working on the Sciana Challenge, Fellows spent time on Friday reflecting on systems leadership and what it means to them in their context. As part of this session, Fellows received further guidance on this topic via a pre-recorded message from David Nabarro.

During the day, Fellows also participated in two sessions focusing on the health systems of Germany, Switzerland, and the UK. They explored how each system works, the key priorities and challenges, and wider megatrends that will shape the future of health. These sessions aimed to help Fellows consider where they may wish to focus their attention as part of the cohort's Sciana Challenge.

It was towards the end of Friday afternoon that the initial concepts for the three Sciana Challenge working groups were finalised. Each group outlined a path forward after several hours of brainstorming and conversation. These conversations will continue online ahead of Cohort 7's next residential meeting in November.

Participants of Cohort 7's first residential meeting pose for a group photo on Schloss Leopoldskron's Terrace

View more photos from both meetings on Flickr