.png)
How did the idea of the The HealthTech Toolkit come about?
Based on our collective experiences among the One HealthTech community it became apparent that there are barriers to career progression within the healthtech sector that disproportionately affect people from underrepresented groups.
Through OHT's established and growing platform we felt we could, and should, do something to address some of these barriers. And so began the HealthTech Toolkit campaign.
Can you tell us about the campaign and its goals in 3 sentences?
The campaign is a 12-18 month project during which our team of OHT Toolkit volunteers aim to:
increase understanding and awareness of barriers to career progression in healthtech
identify specific barriers which could be reduced through the (development and) provision of the toolkit
develop and test the impact of an initial version of the toolkit
Campaign timeline
Meet the team
We asked the Toolkit team members 5 questions and here are some of the highlights…
Why did you want to be part of The Toolkit Campaign?
“I've been involved with the OHT community for years and have therefore had the pleasure of meeting many of its incredible members. Over this time, I've so often had occasion to think "wow, her job sounds so cool!" and I don't think I'm alone in that. One of the benefits of a community like OHT is that it provides insight into the vast array of ways you can get up each day and go to work doing something you're excited about. Of course, progressing in or moving into a "cool" new job often requires new skills or training. The original idea for the toolkit came from my own desire, and at the request from our London community, for the acquisition of such skills and training to be, well, just a bit more OHT! i.e. high quality, inclusive, accessible to all and of course, with a sprinkling of OHT fun!
That was really only the beginning of the story though. Since then, the campaign team have assembled (and comprise of, I kid you not, some of the most badass, super smart people in healthtech) and we've started to explore and expand the idea of the toolkit. I wanted to be a part of this because I thought we could run a few interesting courses, I can now see I'll be getting a LOT more than I bargained for and having a wonderful time on the way there. Watch this space for some exciting developments!”
“Coming from a healthcare background - where there are well defined career paths and resources to support career progression - it’s been a culture shock for me in healthtech where there is less structure and it can feel like you’re on your own figuring out your next steps.
To add to that, the lack of diversity in healthtech leadership roles makes it harder to find people in senior positions who you identify with and who can help guide you.
It makes sense to me that we do something to change this - by creating an accessible resource we hope we can start to provide support to people who are finding it difficult to navigate their healthtech career.”
What do you hope will be the impact of this campaign?
“I hope this campaign will help put a spotlight on the barriers people like me can face just trying to get into health tech. The area is new and unstructured, finding people you identify with and can help guide you isn't easy!
So by creating an accessible resource will level the playing field. With the OHT community I'm excited about how this will fit our needs!”
“I really hope that we can create something genuinely supportive to people. I am very driven by meaningful impact and am keen to build in some metrics to measure the effectiveness of the toolkit and to inform how we continue to build it out. We have already embarked on our first step of data collection via a survey (shameless plug!), which we will use to inform how to build out the toolkit to provide the most value. All off to a very exciting start!”
What do you enjoy about being part of OHT?
“We usually meet weekly in the morning and I have found it is such a refreshing way to start my day. The enthusiasm and passion people have is infectious!”
What skills do you bring to the team?
“My innate data wrangling skills. And my prowess in using Smart Home to run my home whilst I'm changing the world in my spare time.”
What's your superpower?
“Well, every good team needs a redhead - we can’t help being passionate (if a little fiery)! Plus you can always count on me to have suncream in my bag :)”
“I'm an excellent active listener. Also the team don't know this cos it's all been virtual meetings so far, but I've got a banging fashion sense too.”
“I'm an excellent party planner, particularly fancy dress parties. We've not yet had much reason to call on these skills for the Toolkit Campaign but if we ever did decide to deliver some sort of Healthtech Party Planning course, I'm your gal!”
What’s next?
We’ve tested our survey during a pilot phase and we're now looking to get as many responses as possible throughout September. The survey is intended for anyone, anywhere who is currently, previously or hopes to work in or close to healthtech, and all contributions are anonymous. The more responses we receive the more equipped we will be to develop a useful, impactful HealthTech Toolkit. So please do complete the survey and share it across your networks…
Link to survey → HealthTech Toolkit Survey
