Evaluating a health equity programme in Washington D.C.
How could we improve an accelerator programme run by Johns Hopkins Medicine and ensure it meets the needs of the participants?
Overview
Sibley Memorial Hospital, part of Johns Hopkins Medicine, runs Ward Infinity - a social innovation programme supporting underserved communities in Washington D.C. The goal of the programme is to improve long-term health and wellbeing for residents facing structural inequities.
After two programme cohorts, the hospital wanted a rigorous evaluation to understand what was working, where there were gaps, and how future cohorts could be improved.
Impact:
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A defined evaluation framework used to assess programme effectiveness
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Structured synthesis of participant voices and patterns
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Strategic recommendations that informed the third programme iteration and beyond
My role
Research Lead
I worked alongside a project manager, public health consultants, and visual designers to plan and execute a qualitative evaluation that balanced research rigour with real-world constraints. I led:
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research framing and planning
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interview design and training
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qualitative data collection and analysis
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insight synthesis and recommendation development
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reporting and stakeholder alignment
Research goal
Understand how past participants (Innovators) experienced programme phases and outcomes, in order to identify actionable opportunities to improve future programme design and increase long-term community impact.
Approach
Research planning
I developed the research plan and trained the team in qualitative interviewing, ensuring consistency across interviews and minimising bias.
Journey mapping
Workshops with programme organisers helped map the intended participant journey, surface assumptions, and refine interview focus areas.
Qualitative interviews
Conducted in-depth interviews with 20+ participants, which made up ~40% of past participants (across two cohorts) via Zoom, focusing on:
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initial awareness
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onboarding experience
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programme activities
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perceived value and gaps
Open-ended questions were used to generate rich, participant-driven data.
Synthesis process
I I developed a framework for synthesising qualitative patterns that worked well in collaborative digital workshops. I led workshops to categorise insights into:
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success statements (what worked)
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problem statements (barriers, unmet needs)
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corresponding ”How might we…” opportunities
Interview guides
Research synthesis: workshop activities
Workshop feedback
Actionable insights
Key insights centred around:
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Participant understanding of programme goals
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Variation in onboarding clarity
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Mismatch between expectations and activities
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Barriers to sustained engagement
For example, some Innovators reported strong value in peer networking, while others found early orientation unclear or overwhelming. Patterns were systematically mapped to stages of the Innovator journey, highlighting where improvements could have the greatest impact.
Impact and outcomes
The structured evaluation led directly to:
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Strategic adjustments in the programme design for the third cohort
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A clearer articulation of programme goals and success measures
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Prioritised recommendations that were adopted by Ward Infinity leadership
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A shared language and framework for ongoing monitoring and evaluation
Deliverables
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Research plan and interview protocol
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Journey maps and synthesis frameworks
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Interview transcripts and coded themes
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Strategic recommendations and prioritisation framework
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Final evaluation report (designed with visuals by the team)
The final evaluation report - authored by me in collaboration with Sibley Memorial stakeholders - became the basis for ongoing programme improvement discussions.
The evaluation report:
(please click the arrows to turn pages)
