ITP programme update December 2020

The SPIDER and PTS programme teams are currently wrapping up the final stage of the Online Swedish Phase for 2020B. This is the second iteration of the Sweden phase online and the team has incorporated lessons learned from the first Online Round.

When conducted on site the Sweden Phase of the capacity building programme was two weeks full time. Participants had mostly full days of lectures, workshops and study visits. As the material and the sessions were adapted to the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic the course spread out over four weeks.

A 9-5 session in zoom is very draining. While sessions were considerably shorter already in the previous round it quickly became obvious that it is also hard to have online sessions every day. In the second iteration of the online programme there is more “free space” in the schedule with half days and days without online session.

To be able to give enough time and attention to each project the 2020B round only welcomed 5 country teams, a clear restriction compared to previous rounds. But this ensures that the SPIDER and PTS team could have more focused follow ups.

Here the online format provided one clear advantage over previous live rounds. As a part of the project management sessions were held in break out rooms the SPIDER team could focus more intensively on each Change Initiative project and more progress was accomplished.

Another benefit of the digital interface is that certain sections of the round can be made available to a wider audience. The Way forward presentations of the round 2020A were opened up to all Regional Regulatory Organisations and the Way forward presentations of round 2020B on Dec 9 will be open to all Alumni, that is all previous participants. There will be no opportunities for guests to ask questions but this is an excellent opportunity to have an update about the programme and the work of various National Regulatory Authorities on the continent.