1
People before logos
We are relationship-first. We care more about who is in the room, how they feel, and what they leave with than about branding, job titles, or metrics.
Practically, this means:
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We welcome individuals, not just organisations.
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We design for warmth, accessibility, and psychological safety.
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We measure success in trust, belonging, and collaboration sparked…not just numbers.
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We keep a low ego. Credit is generous and airtime is shared.
2
Welcoming by design
We do not treat diversity as a side project. It is the point. We do not police or pre-define who gets a seat at the table. Diversity is shaped by what you are trying to achieve and the mix of people needed to help get you there. We build spaces where anyone, from any background or role, can participate meaningfully. Equity is the starting point, not a retrofit.
Practically, this means:
We continuously ask who is missing, and why? Then we change what we do and how we do it.
We make deliberate choices that help people meaningfully participate, rather than just trying to look inclusive on paper.
3
Local roots, global imagination
We’re a global-first network with strong local shoots. We grow as a constellation of communities, some place-based and some online, connected by shared values rather than rigid rules. Our people think internationally, collaborate across borders, and remix ideas for their context. Power is everywhere, so we build locally rooted and globally connected communities.
Practically, this means:
Volunteer leaders have autonomy to experiment in their context, with guidance from the other Fellows and core team
We share tools, guides, and stories so that everyone can learn from one another.
4
Co-created with our Fellows, not top-down
Our Fellows steward co-creation. They set priorities with members, shape content and culture, and share accountability for outcomes across the network. We treat the community as the expert: each one holds history, relationships, and practical wisdom about what matters and how things work. OHT’s role is to create spaces where those assets surface, and to build with them.
Practically, this means:
Open calls for topics, speakers, and partners; clear routes to join in, give feedback or collaborate.
We work in the open. Decisions, drafts and notes are visible by default so anyone can comment, contribute, or course-correct.
We recognise that our Fellows are volunteers; we provide the tools and support so they can focus on community-building.
5
Playful seriousness
The topics may be serious, so we approach them with curiosity, creativity, and play. We use warmth and experimentation to make hard conversations easier to enter, easier to stay in, and more likely to produce action. Play is not frivolous. It lowers barriers, invites many kinds of expertise, and helps us imagine better futures at the intersection of inequity and health innovation. Our spaces are joyful, serious, messy, and meaningful.
Practically, this means:
We experiment with formats that are fun, experimental, and human.
We avoid jargon-heavy gatekeeping. We communicate in a warm, clear, and often cheeky voice.
We make room for joy and celebration as legitimate outcomes.
6
Learning as a shared practice (and accepting we’ll get it wrong)
We treat learning as collective, continuous, and imperfect. There is beauty in chaos, trial and error and improving. We will continually evolve, be open to change and not hold things too tightly so that we can allow for fresh ideas and emergent moments to appear that bring the unforgettable.
Practically, this means:
We acknowledge when we get things wrong, and we correct course.
We invite feedback, even when it’s uncomfortable, and close the loop by acting on it.
We share what we learn across the network so others can build on it, not repeat it.
7
Reciprocity and responsibility
Being part of One HealthTech is an active choice: to give as well as receive, and to use our collective power ethically.
Practically, this means:
We encourage members to support each other with intros, opportunities, and honest feedback.
We partner with organisations that share our values and hold them (and ourselves) to account.
We are not here to grow for growth’s sake. We back people and ideas that do not usually get backing and give them the structure to thrive.
8
Impact through connection
Our community-building is not “nice-to-have”; it’s infrastructure for better health innovation. We don't just wait for connections to happen; we engineer purposeful collisions.
Practically, this means:
We connect people who wouldn’t usually meet.
We track stories of collaboration, career shifts, products, policies, and research that emerge from the network.
We create low-hierarchy networking that makes connection easier and human.
Want to be part of this?
Join the community, explore our communities or apply to become a Community Building Fellow.
Come for the values. Stay for the people. Help us build the thing.
✨ New website, who dis? If you spot a broken link or anything behaving oddly, we'd love to know: info@onehealthtech.com. 🛠️