Jessica Solomon Fisher, MCP, Public Health National Center for Innovations
Jessica Solomon Fisher, MCP, is the Chief Innovations Officer at the Public Health National Center for Innovations (PHNCI), the newest partner to join the All In network. Fisher joined the podcast to explain how PHNCI is working to make innovation a useful tool for public health departments rather than a buzzword. She shared examples of innovative initiatives happening in communities across the country and gave advice for overcoming the many challenges to driving meaningful change. PHNCI continues to work to foster a multi-sector learning community to help identify and test new and innovative practices to improve public health capacity.
This podcast is also available on iTunes, Stitcher, and TuneIn.
Additional Resources:
- Learn more about PHNCI and follow @PHInnovates
- Sign up for the PHNCI newsletter
- Share your innovation story
Takeaways from the Interview
In the words of Jessica Fisher…
Multi-sector partnerships can help accelerate innovation.
“People aren’t innovating for the sake of innovating alone. They innovate because there is a necessity. There is a need to change something, to do something differently…In order to do that, you need partnerships…especially when we’re operating with the limited resources that public health has available.”
Empathy and learning from those with lived experience is key.
“Public health practitioners are accustomed to working with communities and trying to best serve them. So when we think about innovation and what differentiates that as a process, it’s that focus on empathy and really understanding the user or the community.”
Don’t be afraid to take risks.
“The hard part can be sometimes to take risks, because that’s what innovation ultimately often is. It’s thinking outside the box in a way that might be a little risky, which is uncomfortable for people in public health who are used to basing decisions only on data and evidence. All of that is still important and can be complementary to innovation, but I would just say dip your toe and learn a little bit more about what practices peers are learning across the country.”