CGHI Action Tank

Pre-Incubator Program for Young Professionals and Students in Global Health and Development with an idea for a meaningful project

From ideas to solutions, together.

Many early-career professionals have great ideas about how to solve the problems faced in global health, but have little means or influence to do this, and also may not know how to approach building a project. It is here that CGHI would like to assist, by supporting the Ideators to act on their ideas.

An Ideator is a young professional who has an idea or an early stage project in global health and/or international development.

Through the CGHI Action Tank process, we hope to give potential Ideators the tools, guidance, network, support and confidence to build upon their ideas and contribute to building healthier spaces. 

What is the CGHI Action Tank?

The CGHI Action Tank is a Pre-Incubator program that aims to upscale an idea which is not yet fully formed into an implementable and presentable project, in collaboration with CGHI and through our peer-mentoring sessions.

How does the CGHI Action Tank work?

CGHI will help Ideators through the process of the Action Tank by having 6 sessions to introduce different topics of the process and help the idea become a prototype or an early-stage project. This will take place over a 12-week cycle, with a meeting approximately every 2 weeks.

The CGHI Action Tank Sessions

  • This session will help the Ideator identify the overall project purpose, goals and indicators of the success of the project. It will aid in building a project to more fully cater for the greatest number of people, while reducing the unnecessary, unwanted and unplanned missed value.

  • Projects which are prototyped, piloted or scaled up have a higher chance of entering an accelerator, getting partners, funds, visibility or other forms of support necessary for further project development. Having said that, the sooner the idea is prototyped and tested, the sooner it will be clear if the idea brings value and how it should be optimised for the project to succeed and reach its goals.

  • The Ideator’s pitch should provide the stakeholders with a better understanding of what the project will be, its history and goals, and your motivation. It will create room for discussion.

  • It can be overwhelming to cope with all the new insights and angles, especially because, at this point, one can be forced to face how much the prototype is lacking; however, everything that the project currently lacks is where room for improvement lies. This is where the Ideator will put valuable new information into their project plan and elevate the prototype.

  • The Ideator may repeat the steps taken in previous chapters until they are happy with the stage their project is at. In parallel, it will become clear what additional resources they need for the continuous growth of the project as well as the openings in their team for new team members.

  • It is time to formatively assess whether the Action Tank is relevant, coherent, effective and efficient with high impact and sustainability.

What happens after?

After finishing a cycle of the Action Tank Process, an Ideator may expect to have a firm, presentable prototype or a pilot project that can be pitched to an incubator, potential partners, sponsors, donors and other stakeholders. 

How to get started?

How to get started?

In order to enter the CGHI Action Tank process, one should apply by filling out the application form. The application form asks potential Ideators to provide a brief summary of their idea, the global health issue they are trying to tackle and the stage of development of their idea. This is formulated as a set of basic questions to get an insight into the scope of the project and the ideas of the Ideator around how they hope to build solutions for healthy spaces in global health.