Sciana: The Health Leaders Network, Cohort 7 Meeting 2

Cohort 7’s second residential meeting brought Fellows together for three days of focused collaboration, reflection, and systems-leadership development.  

Building on the foundations of their first gathering, this meeting aimed to give Fellows the opportunity to deepen their work within newly formed working groups, sharpen their problem framing, and advance the early stages of their two-year Sciana Challenge.

The programme began with an overlap day with Cohort 6, creating space for learning between cohorts. Fellows heard from experienced leaders and Sciana Advisors, gaining insights into innovation, crisis leadership, and population health:

Pedro Delgado, and Sciana Fellows Bola Owolabi and Minal Bakhai (both Cohort 7) shared perspectives from IHI on emerging innovations in population health.

Lothar H. Wieler, Sciana Advisor for Germany and Chair of the Digital Global Public Health Department at the Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam, along with João Rangel de Almeida, Global Health Emergency Corps Partnership Officer at the World Health Organization, offered insights into leadership for health emergencies and crisis response.

The first day concluded with the Sciana Lecture, “Leadership Lessons in the COVID Response,” delivered by Lothar H. Wieler and Jennifer Dixon, Chief Executive of the Health Foundation.  

Their reflections on navigating uncertainty, mobilising systems under pressure, and making decisions with limited resources aimed directly at Cohort 7’s theme of population health in times of scarcity.  

The remainder of the meeting focused on the three dimensions of systems leadership—the personal, the relational, and the structural.

Fellows participated in reflective exercises, leadership discussions, and a session with Fieke Oostvogel on structural approaches to health promotion, with examples from the city of Amsterdam. Working groups had dedicated time to clarify their challenge questions, explore what success could look like, and begin shaping their next steps.

By the end of the programme, Fellows worked to strengthen their group foundations, deepen their leadership practice, and build momentum for the next phase of their Sciana journey.