Global Reproductive Health IT Support list

["Dykki Settle" <dsettle AT intrahealth.org>]

Hi Bill!  Yes, it has been a little while since I have had the opportunity to discourse at length, so I trust you will forgive the irony when I suggest that the reason isn’t mistrust at all.  Rather, the issue is affected by the nature of how busy we are.  I have noted of late that our international purview gives us immense scalar complexity problems, both in terms of the contexts where we work and the headcount cost differential:

Labor costs are low in the countries we work, so we tend to have more staff per dollar, yet ICT costs are equally, if not more, expensive to provide the same level of support in the field as we do domestically.  This creates a situation where we have  x million in ‘revenue’ has x*10 in staff spread throughout the world.  This would not be supportable in the domestic corporate world.  No WONDER we in IS/ICT don’t have time (or energy) to collaborate well.  Classic case of cobblers children, to be a bit alliterative.

This means I treasure all the more the opportunity to see colleagues this week in Baltimore at the npoki conference!  Shannon Turlington and I will be arriving tonight at about 7:30, please do give us a call 919-360-4011 if anyone on this list will be there and is up for dinner tonight!

Dykki Settle

Director, ICT/IS

IntraHealth International, Inc

 

 

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From: grhits-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:grhits-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of William Lester
Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2005 10:10 AM
To: grhits AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [grhits] Listserve

 

Interesting topic, Dykki. Let me pose a hypothetical statement (not necessarily what I actually believe):

 

"While the program staff of our organizations have been collaborating for years - sharing best practices, lessons learned, and various tools-of-the-trade - the operations staff, and in particular the IT staff, have been reluctant to make the same effort at outreach. Attempts at collaboration are met wit indifference or suspicion."

 

Does this statement have any validity? Is mistrust the reason we don't "...communicate and share as much as we might..."?

 

Bill Lester

>>> dsettle AT intrahealth.org 11/3/2005 9:55 AM >>>

You know, as professionals at the heart of information and knowledge sharing in an industry of sharing knowledge, we really DON’T communicate and share as much as we might.  Any thoughts as to why that is?  Is this OK?  Can we grow and excel as a result of better communication and sharing of knowledge between us?  How might we improve and expand on such activity.

I, for one, am very much looking forward to the NPOKI meeting in December as an all-too-rare opportunity to meet face to face with some of my colleagues and discuss some of these issues more interactively.

In the meantime, I would love to hear any thoughts on this topic…

-
Dykki

 

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From: grhits-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:grhits-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of William Lester
Sent: Wednesday, November 02, 2005 5:38 PM
To: smierzwa AT popcouncil.org
Cc: grhits AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [grhits] Listserve

 

Hi Stan,

 

I'm glad Vivian mentioned the list to you. It's called GRHITS for Global Reproductive Health IT Support

 

It hasn't been very active lately, but here's how to join:

 

http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/grhits

 

Cheers,

 

Bill

 

--------------------------

 

William A. Lester
CIO/Director of Technology
EngenderHealth
440 Ninth Avenue
New York, NY 10001
(Office) 212.561.8002
(e-Mail) walester AT engenderhealth.org
(URL) www.engenderhealth.org
"There are two kinds of light: the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures."


>>> "MIERZWA, STANLEY" <smierzwa AT popcouncil.org> 11/2/2005 9:24 AM >>>

Hi Bill,

Greetings.

My name is Stan Mierzwa and I work in the IT department at the Population Council.  Vivien Rabin in our HR department attended a meeting/conference a few weeks back and she told me you mentioned there exists a Listserve for IT staff in non-profit population organizations.   Would you be so kind as to let me know if this Listserve is open to new members and if so, can you let me know the name of it? 

Thanks much.
Stan Mierzwa