Implementation 101 and how to fail well

05/14/25 • 45 min

Implementation. What does it mean? Why is it hard? How do we get it right?
Failure. Are we, in Global Digital Health, thinking and acting in a way that doesn't help us move forward?

Caroline Perrin, Director of the Geneva Digital Health Hub joins us on the Global Perspectives on Digital Health podcast to share her views on this.

This episode is for the people doing the work to ensure digital health tools actually work for people.

It's about the messy realities - people, process, managing change and looking to constantly improve as our assumptions get updated. How to work through the hard, day to day challenges towards real outcomes for people experiencing and delivering care.

We hear about:

How the Geneva Digital Health Hub's Implementome maps out implementations across the world, especially the Global south and brings together a Community of people wrestling similar problems for knowledge exchange and connection
The key challenges in getting digital health tools adopted, and how to use good implementation principles to get through the messy, day to day realities
Challenges in Monitoring and Evaluation, and how to get the balance right between impact on what matters and what is in your locus of control.
How our industry and ecosystem needs to rethink how we talk about failure, and how we're opening up this conversation at the Geneva Digital Health day on 22 May 2025
Plus some great examples and ways you can share challenges to contribute to the ecosystem.

Links:

Building and Implementing? Join Implementome: https://gdhub.unige.ch/implementome/main
Digital Health Atlas: https://gdhub.unige.ch/implementome/projects
Geneva Digital Health Day: https://gdhub.org/25gdhd/
Implementation Reports: https://medinform.jmir.org/themes/145-implementation-report
iCHECK-DH Guidelines: https://www.jmir.org/2023/1/e46694

Chapters (with quick links)

00:00
Introduction to Digital Health and Geneva Digital Health Hub

07:40
Understanding Implementation in Digital Health

12:22
A community of implementors

20:09
Approaching Implementation as Founders and Developers

26:19
Monitoring and Evaluation Challenges

32:45
Future of Digital Health in Underserved Communities

35:31
Navigating Uncertainty in Digital Health Projects

38:45
Rethinking Success and Failure in Health Evaluations

45:46
The Need for a Paradigm Shift in Global Health

49:53
Creating Safe Spaces for Sharing Failures

54:04
Building Communities of Practice for Learning

57:30
Finding Hope in the Face of Challenges

About Caroline

Caroline Perrin is the Executive Director of the Geneva Digital Health Hub (gdhub) and has over 15 years of experience in digital innovation, programme management and multi-stakeholder collaboration. She specialises in using technology to improve the efficiency, sustainability and impact of health care.

With a PhD in Global Health, a Master's in Information Systems Management, and a Bachelor's in Business Administration, she has led large-scale digital health initiatives and worked with governments, international organisations, and the private sector to drive innovation and policy alignment.

Previously, she was a project manager for the RAFT telemedicine network and the Geneva University Hospitals eHealth and Telemedicine Service, focusing on the development and evaluation of digital health solutions to strengthen health systems. Caroline is passionate about bridging technology, strategy and policy to create scalable, high-impact solutions.

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Find out more about me and read my Substack: https://shubstack.substack.com/

Implementation. What does it mean? Why is it hard? How do we get it right?
Failure. Are we, in Global Digital Health, thinking and acting in a way that doesn't help us move forward?

Caroline Perrin, Director of the Geneva Digital Health Hub joins us on the Global Perspectives on Digital Health podcast to share her views on this.

This episode is for the people doing the work to ensure digital health tools actually work for people.

We hear about:

How the Geneva Digital Health Hub's Implementome maps out implementations across the world, especially the Global south and brings together a Community of people wrestling similar problems for knowledge exchange and connection
The key challenges in getting digital health tools adopted, and how to use good implementation principles to get through the messy, day to day realities
Challenges in Monitoring and Evaluation, and how to get the balance right between impact on what matters and what is in your locus of control.
How our industry and ecosystem needs to rethink how we talk about failure, and how we're opening up this conversation at the Geneva Digital Health day on 22 May 2025
Plus some great examples and ways you can share challenges to contribute to the ecosystem.

Links:

Building and Implementing? Join Implementome: https://gdhub.unige.ch/implementome/main
Digital Health Atlas: https://gdhub.unige.ch/implementome/projects
Geneva Digital Health Day: https://gdhub.org/25gdhd/
Implementation Reports: https://medinform.jmir.org/themes/145-implementation-report
iCHECK-DH Guidelines: https://www.jmir.org/2023/1/e46694

Chapters (with quick links)

00:00
Introduction to Digital Health and Geneva Digital Health Hub

07:40
Understanding Implementation in Digital Health

12:22
A community of implementors

20:09
Approaching Implementation as Founders and Developers

26:19
Monitoring and Evaluation Challenges

32:45
Future of Digital Health in Underserved Communities

35:31
Navigating Uncertainty in Digital Health Projects

38:45
Rethinking Success and Failure in Health Evaluations

45:46
The Need for a Paradigm Shift in Global Health

49:53
Creating Safe Spaces for Sharing Failures

54:04
Building Communities of Practice for Learning

57:30
Finding Hope in the Face of Challenges

Find out more about me and read my Substack: https://shubstack.substack.com/

Previous Episode

From crisis to revolution. Why Africa's moment is now, a healthtech VC's case.

A healthtech investor's view on healthcare in Africa in the next 10 years.

If you’re building or investing for impact with underserved communities in Africa, this episode is for you.

Rowena Luk has walked the talk. She is the ‘OG’ of creating visibility on digital health in Africa, and has built and scaled for impact in over 40 countries on the continent, and has now scaled her own impact to support founders through her VC firm Africa Health Ventures.

This episode covers so much, especially the challenges that Africa faces through development aid funding cuts.

Rowena is bullish about where healthcare in Africa can get to, and makes a measured and compelling case for why this is a real moment to turn crisis into opportunity, and how the right mindset from VCs can help create resilient businesses that can scale and realize real health outcomes.

I’ve often been vocal and skeptical about how hyper-fixated our industry is on financial aspects of value, and we discussed this at length.

Rowena definitely altered my perspective.

My highlights:

This is Africa’s moment. Rowena’s case for investing and the hard metrics business case is pretty compelling.
It is not always the case that VCs look at the short term only. In fact, philanthropy and development funding cycles themselves are short, and good VCs have a 10+ year view and look at broader value.
You have to meet the market where it’s at. My takeaway: Africa is not homogenous. Do the work to know what is needed right now, and build a path to where you want to get.
If you’re a US or Europe based investor looking to invest in Africa, check your biases and leave your mental models at the door. Things are different here, in a good way.
Useful advice for people building and investing in Africa
The importance of investing in distribution and infrastructure. My read: You might have the perfect tool, but it’s hard to get hospitals and institutions to even know about them, let alone maintain, find payment models and have a path to adoption.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Digital Health in Africa

04:36 Rowena's Journey in Digital Health

06:43 The Investing landscape in Africa

13:19 The case for VC investment over philanthropic funding

20:47 Reimagining healthcare in Africa : building resilient health systems

26:00 Do VCs see value beyond financial returns?

29:08 Myths and Realities of Investing in Africa

36:14 Understanding Investment Biases in Africa

38:39 Identifying Market Needs and Product Diversity

40:44 Evaluating Healthcare Solutions and Market Readiness

42:22 Spotlight on Innovative Startups

46:26 Learning from Past Experiences

51:56 Key Tips for Building in Underserved Communities

54:30 Getting Started with Impact Investing

54:54 The Future of Healthcare in Africa

Additional Resources

If you're a healthcare founder, investor, or donor in Africa, check out the Africa Health Ventures monthly newsletter. It includes grant and investment opportunities, events, deals, notable startups, and industry news. Subscribe at AfricaHealthVentures.com/Newsletter.

About Rowena
Rowena Luk is the Managing Partner of Africa Health Ventures, a pan-African seed fund investing in healthcare innovations that will dramatically improve access and quality of healthcare on the continent and around the world. She is a healthtech founder, entrepreneur, and software engineer. She has deep experience scaling healthtech in 40 countries across Africa, including products adopted at national and international scale. Previously, Rowena was a Director at Madiro, an impact fund investing in healthcare in Africa; CSO at Dimagi, a social enterprise deploying digital health to 130 countries, and founder of a digital health nonprofit in West Africa. She hosts the Africa Health Ventures Podcast and lives with her family in beautiful South Africa.