Weblog/Opinion

New Blog: "Working as a team is something you can learn"

April 2012, by Marieke van der Vliet - A team that delivers tangible results in the field and that is based on collaboration, trust, effectiveness and transparency. That is what I would like to achieve in Burundi. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done as real teamwork takes changing long established patterns and routines people have. How do I make that happen? Knowledge management literature provides interesting guiding and methods to change behaviour.

‘The HR and IT approach of Knowledge Management’

March 2012, by Marieke van der Vliet - Within Knowledge Management (KM) there are two approaches, each with their specific view on how KM can succeed. There is the HR-approach and the IT-approach. I my view one approach is not better than the other. Instead, I want to embrace both approaches for a successful implementation of KM within HealthNet TPO.

‘Mutual learning’

February 2012, by Marieke van der Vliet – “There is no universal understanding of what knowledge is. We all ‘know’ the world through a combination of our education, culture, language and belief, and just as importantly, our actual physical realities, gender and socio-economic environment. How life is known, is how it is experienced and understood. For anyone dealing with ‘knowledge’ the question is how to act effectively in an environment of multiple knowledges.”(Powell)

‘Showing what we do’

January 2012, by Marieke van der Vliet - As I wrote in my last blog, most of the work of HealthNet TPO (HNTPO) takes place in the field. To be more precise: it takes place in the communities of people that lead their daily life in the villages in the rolling hills of Burundi.

Knowledge Management tools

By Marieke van der Vliet - “These priorities will now be translated into activities tobring us in a ‘learning mode’ that will contribute to the quality of our work.” With this sentence I closed my first blog in September. This month I have been studying and experimenting different ways in which I can put the Burundi office in a learning mode with more staff interaction and better links between the various activities that HealthNet TPO implements.

‘Me, myself and knowledge’

By Marieke van der Vliet - ‘Knowledge goes further than data and information. The first link in the chain is data. Add context and interpretation and the data becomes information. Information only becomes knowledge when it is combined with skills, attitudes and experiences. In other words: knowledge is about how information is used. That is why knowledge cannot be seen in isolation from the people who have to use it, or from the social, political and cultural contexts that give meaning to information’. (M. Weggeman)

Piraten en hongerlijders (Dutch)

By Willem van de Put, General Director HealthNet TPO - Unfortunately this blog is only available in Dutch - In vakantieperiodes is het extra ongemakkelijk om over het acute lijden van anderen te horen. Nog erger is het, wanneer achter dat dagelijks nieuws erg onsmakelijke verbanden schuil gaan. Zoals bij de catastrofe in Somalië, die gewoon het gevolg lijkt van enorme droogte. Maar dat is maar een deel van het verhaal – en jammer genoeg het deel dat het makkelijkst opgelost had kunnen worden.

“Justice, Liberty, Prosperity”

By Aletta Jansen, Organisational Development Officer at HealthNet TPO - After the many years of civil wars in former Southern Sudan, the day has finally come for all South Sudanese; their independence. The Republic of South Sudan has been formed on the 9th of July, and was celebrated by all. Jubilation was palpable, even 5 days after the Big Day; a day where no major incidents occurred and the focus was on celebrating this achievement.

Challenges in Kunduz

By Stefan van Laar, contextadvisor with HealthNet TPO - A recent visit to Kunduz has made some things painfully clear: the trust of the Afghan population in the international forces has been reduced to zero, the security situation has further deteriorated and even the Afghan authorities in Kunduz do not believe in building their own security apparatus - like the West is aiming for - anymore.

Meanwhile in Cambodia...

By the CBHI project team of Achmea Zorg and HealthNet TPO –
Recently, staff of Achmea Zorg and HealthNet TPO visited the Community Based Health Insurance (CBHI) project in Cambodia. The project supports local partners in developing and implementing a health insurance system, to prevent unnecessary high health expenditures.

Social fundraising - the future in fundraising?

By Debra Schumacher, Marketing & Fundraising officer at HealthNet TPO -
Twenty years ago girl scouts would sell cookies door to door to raise money for a good cause. Nowadays ‘social fundraising’ seems to be the next best thing in fundraising when you take a look around the Internet. Doesn’t ring a bell when you hear the term social fundraising? Don’t worry, it’s becoming more and more popular every day so don’t stress out…yet!

Thinking of the 3D approach…

By Stefan van Laar, context advisor of HealthNet TPO -
Thinking of ‘3D’, some people might get the movie Avatar on their retinas, but this is really about the relations between the representatives of Defense, Diplomacy & Development. We belong to the latter D. There has been ongoing discussion about this issue, but what is our role, as an aid organization in the debate?