Awards 1998-2003 | February 2020

UN/UNDP Mongolia Development Portal (www.un-mongolia.mn)

I launched this portal in 1997, in the middle of a major economic crisis in Mongolia. This award-winning (winner in 1998 of the People's Choice WebSite 500 award and the CyberTeddy Top 500 Website award) and pioneering United Nations Mongolia development web portal was singled out by UN headquarters as an example of what a country office website should be like.

At this time, Mongolia was still recovering from the chaotic and turbulent transition from Communism to free markets and democracy begun at the start of the 1990s, called by some "one of the biggest peacetime economic collapses ever" (Mongolia's Economic Reforms: Background, Content and Prospects, Richard Pomfret, University of Adelaide, 1994). There was a thirst for information: access to the Internet was still limited and access to mobile phones was just the preserve of the rich. As a legacy of the past, information, especially that about the outside world and the country’s true economic and social conditions, was restricted. During the years of Communism, even simple travel from one place to the next was strictly regulated.

While today we can take it for granted that the Internet, and mobile and smart phones, deliver the world’s information in seconds, this just was not the case in the late 1990s in Mongolia.

"Cyber-Teddy's Top 500 Web Site" was an online award from the late 1990s.

 The UN/UNDP Mongolia development web portal addressed the urgent need to communicate what was happening in the country during a major crisis, and to transparently show what the UN was doing to address the crisis. It made critical data on the country’s development easy to find, and informed the wider world about the country and its people and culture. While the Internet had only just arrived in Mongolia, from the start the UNDP Mongolia Communications Office was experimenting with this powerful new technology to reach a global audience. This included Mongolia’s first web magazine, Ger (launched in 1998). After the www.un-mongolia.mn website launched in 1997, a media campaign began to inform readers of its presence. This ad appeared regularly in magazines, newsletters and newspapers.

"A UN System site. A very nice, complete, professional site. Lots of information, easily accessible and well laid out. The information is comprehensive and up-to-date. This is a model of what a UNDP CO web site should be."

I was head of communications for the United Nations mission in Mongolia from 1997 to 1999. The mission had to primarily tackle three major crises: the country's turbulent transition from Communism to free markets and democracy, the social and economic crash this caused, and the Asian Financial Crisis (Pomfret 2000) (Quah 2003)*.

UNDP Mongolia staff photo 1997. I served for two years as the UNDP Mongolia head of communications (1997-1999). I am sitting front row centre left of the UN Resident Coordinator Douglas Gardner.

Richard Pomfret said in 1994 "In 1991 Mongolia suffered one of the biggest peacetime economic collapses ever (Mongolia's Economic Reforms: Background, Content and Prospects, Richard Pomfret, University of Adelaide, 1994)."

From Curbing Corruption in Asia: A Comparative Study of Six Countries by Jon S. T. Quah: "The combined effect of these three shocks was devastating as 'Mongolia suffered the most serious peacetime economic collapse any nation has faced during this century'. Indeed, Mongolia's economic collapse 'was possibly the greatest of all the (peaceful) formerly'" Communist countries. 

"The years 1998 and 1999 have been volatile ones for Mongolia, with revolving door governments, the assassination of a minister, emerging corruption, a banking scandal, in-fighting within the ruling Democratic Coalition, frequent paralysis within the Parliament, and disputes over the Constitution. Economically, the period was unstable and rife with controversies." Mongolia in 1998 and 1999: Past, Present, and Future at the New Millennium by Sheldon R. Severinghaus, Asian Survey, Vol. 40, No. 1, A Survey of Asia in 1999 (Jan. - Feb., 2000), pp. 130-139 (Publisher: University of California)

Writing in 2018, author John West  found, in a chapter titled Mongolia's Corruption Curse (Transparency International and the World Bank had found corruption worsened in Mongolia after 2001), "In many ways, Mongolia has everything going for it. After being a satellite state of the former Soviet Union for much of the twentieth century, Mongolia regained its independence with the end of the Cold War. A relatively peaceful political revolution in the early 1990s ushered in a multi-party democracy and open society which have remained in place. ... And it is blessed with vast reserves of copper, gold, coal, molybdenum, fluorspar, uranium, tin and tungsten deposits. True, Mongolia experienced great upheavals as the breakup of the Soviet Union saw its trade decline by 80%. But Mongolia was also perfectly placed to benefit from the commodity super cycle driven by China, which is now the destination for the vast majority of its exports.

"However, despite much hype about the Mongolian "wolf economy", this country of so much promise is being dragged down by massive corruption. ...

"Mongolia's corruption is greatly weakening its attractiveness as an investment destination, is fracturing society and weakening its fragile political institutions. Its culture of corruption has also fed its love-hate relationship with foreign investors, which has destabilized the economy." Asian Century ... on a Knife-edge: A 360 Degree Analysis of Asia's Recent Economic Development by John West, Springer, 24 January 2018.  

In this role, I pioneered innovative use of the Internet and digital resources to communicate the UN's work and Mongolia's unfolding crises. The UN called this work a “role model” for the wider UN and country offices. A survey of United Nations country office websites in 2000 ranked the UN Mongolia website I launched in 1997 and oversaw for two years (1997-1999), third best in the world, saying: “A UN System site. A very nice, complete, professional site. Lots of information, easily accessible and well laid out. The information is comprehensive and up-to-date. This is a model of what a UNDP CO web site should be.” (http://www.scribd.com/doc/274319690/UNDP-Mongolia-United-Nations-2000-Survey-of-Country-Office-Websites)

As part of a strategic plan to raise awareness of Mongolia’s development challenges and to spur action on meeting them, a Communications Office was established for the UN mission in 1997. Acting as a strategic hub, the Communications Office and its dynamic and talented team, were able to leverage the existing budget to spur action on many fronts.

In 2001, the UN won the Nobel Peace Prize for “their work for a better organized and more peaceful world” and its communications innovations, with work such as that in Mongolia being cited as a contributing factor to the awarding of the Prize. 

The Nobel Peace Prize 2001 joint winners.

GOSH Child Health Portal (www.gosh.nhs.uk)

In 2001 I undertook a two-year contract to modernise the online resources for the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust (GOSH)/Institute of Child Health (ICH). My strategy was inspired and informed by initiatives encountered while working as a health and medical journalist in 1990s Canada - a time where government austerity spurred a need to experiment and try new ways of doing things.

Having seen the impact first-hand of pilot experiments in Toronto aimed at widening access to information and resources for patients and their families, I applied this knowledge to the GOSH Child Health Portal Project (2001 to 2003). Drawing on the wider NHS Modernisation Plan, and a multi-year consultation process undertaken by the hospital, the Project was launched in three phases. 

How far the UK had fallen out of step with global developments with the Internet became clear from the start. The distance that had to be traveled in the span of two years was vast. Essentially, to go from being a web laggard to a web leader. 

Award-winning (http://www.scribd.com/doc/35249271/Childnet-Awards-2003-Brochure), the GOSH Child Health Portal was called by The Guardian newspaper one of the “three most admired websites in the UK public and voluntary sectors,” and a UK government assessment called the overall GOSH child health web portal a role model for the NHS. At the time, Prime Minister Tony Blair (whose wife, Cherie Blair, was an early supporter and champion of the project) had this to say: “Making sure that your child has helpful, easy-to-read information will make a significant difference to their time in hospital. I am sure that this website will prove very useful for children and their families.”

The project was delivered in three phases. At every stage, progress was communicated to the wider public and colleagues in various ways, via in-house media and through constant engagement with British news outlets. Screen grabs and other resources from the project can be found online here: 

Phase 1: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=g826gFjEXWsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=gosh+health+phase+1a&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj5u__dqIHLAhVJOxoKHZ3IDZcQ6AEIJTAA#v=onepage&q=gosh%20health%20phase%201a&f=false 

Phase 2: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=E2ZVlFbrCzsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=gosh+health+phase+2a&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjEodr0qIHLAhWK2BoKHStJB7QQ6AEIJjAA#v=onepage&q=gosh%20health%20phase%202a&f=false

Phase 3: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=KVE6QqDp1HsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=gosh+health+phase+3&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiXwe-FqYHLAhVBvxoKHXhOCooQ6AEIJjAA#v=onepage&q=gosh%20health%20phase%203&f=false

Project documents: https://books.google.ca/books?id=4aeDBgAAQBAJ&dq=gosh+child+health+portal+key+documents&source=gbs_navlinks_s

The Cable and Wireless Childnet Award called Children First “an outstanding example of how a hospital can create quality, authoritative information on issues relating to health in a fun, child-centered and accessible way.”

More here from The Guardian and CBS: Hospital unveils international website for children and Web Projects For Kids Get Their Due 

The Childnet Awards in 2003 were awarded by Trond Waage, the Norwegian Ombudsman for Children, at the Science Museum in London (and hosted by British media personality Carol Vorderman) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Vorderman).

The GOSH Child Health Portal team receive the Childnet Award in 2003 at London's Science Museum (Photo: CBBC Newsround).

"Web Projects For Kids Get Their Due", CBS News, April 25, 2003. "First place in the not-for-profit category went to Britain's largest children's hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital here in London (www.gosh.nhs.uk/kidsandteens). There is nothing fun about being sick, yet this child-friendly site is both entertaining and educational. It also gives young patients an opportunity to interact in a secure environment."

ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5311-1052

© David South Consulting 2020

Interviews for the GOSH Child Health Portal 2001-2003 | 15 March 2016

Roundabout, November 2001 Issue No. 18

Joint Website Launched

A two-year project to turn our joint institutions' website (www.gosh.nhs.uk) into a respected child health portal got underway with the launch of the first phase of development in September. The second phase of content development will get the site ship shape for a UK-wide publicity campaign as the hospital’s 150th birthday celebrations begin in January.

The site’s web editor, David South, has been working on the project since arriving here in June, having worked on award-winning websites for the United Nations.

“The first phase saw collaboration from staff across both institutions,” he says. “An impressive amount was done, and we have now laid the foundations for future improvements to the content on the site. I really want to offer more for children. Over three million children in the UK now surf the internet.”

The opportunity for both institutions is enormous. As the internet has evolved, it has become increasingly clear that the future of its development lies in the public sphere. US government sites now outstrip commercial operations, selling far more books than the largest online bookseller, amazon.com. Here in the UK, the www.ukonline.gov.uk site is working to offer one-stop access to all government services, including health care.

Unlike commercial operations, the hospital and the Institute are an unbiased resource for the public to turn to. Currently, the joint site has more than 180 factsheets for families covering tests and procedures, illnesses and diseases and operations. It also has the complete archive of Dr. Jane Collins’ Times column, with its jargon-free look at child health issues.

“This being London, we have the unique advantage of being at the centre of so many developments, and having the opportunity to communicate this through our website,” says David South.

Across the NHS the Modernisation Plan involves the largest data collection exercise in its history. More and more resources will be offered online, and the content produced by individual trusts like ours will be linked with national sites like NHS Direct.

New GOSH/ICH website

With over three million children in the UK now using the internet, and a total of 33 million UK citizens accessing it through work, school or the home, no organisation can afford not to make the most of this valuable communications tool. Estimates vary, but some put the number of health-related websites at more than 100,000. Trust is an even more important issue, as users search for accurate information. It is in this context that the new hospital and ICH website, www.gosh.nhs.uk, launched in September. Web editor David South puts us in the picture.

The new site reflects the hard work and collaboration of staff across both institutions, and it is hoped it will quickly make its mark as a trusted resource on complex child health issues. The site also becomes one of the most visible signs of our on-going modernisation programme, and can uniquely tie together the breadth of our work in a way that no other medium can. The site development project spans two years and will fit in with the wider move across the NHS to offer a wide range of services online.

The next phase of the site’s development is aimed at getting the site ready for a larger publicity campaign slated to coincide with the hospital’s 150th birthday celebrations with start in January. In preparation for this public launch, a number of improvements will be made to the site’s content, interactivity, platform and design. To put it simply, the site should become a critical first stop for anybody seeking our services, or wanting to learn more about the latest research and care developments in the field of complex child issues.

The joint site will also be available via Gosweb for staff in the hospital who don’t already have internet access.

As the project evolved, regular updates were communicated to colleagues and the public through the media.

© David South Consulting 2017

Innovating with the Web to Transform Child Health Resources | 18 February 2016

In 2001 I undertook a two-year contract to modernise the online resources for the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust (GOSH)/Institute of Child Health (ICH). My strategy was inspired and informed by initiatives encountered while working as a health and medical journalist in 1990s Canada - a time where government austerity spurred a need to experiment and try new ways of doing things.

Having seen the impact first-hand of pilot experiments in Toronto aimed at widening access to information and resources for patients and their families, I applied this knowledge to the GOSH Child Health Portal Project (2001 to 2003). Drawing on the wider NHS Modernisation Plan, and a multi-year consultation process undertaken by the hospital, the Project was launched in three phases.

How far the UK had fallen out of step with global developments with the Internet became clear from the start. The distance that had to be traveled in the span of two years was vast. Essentially, to go from being a web laggard to a web leader.

Award-winning (http://www.scribd.com/doc/35249271/Childnet-Awards-2003-Brochure), the GOSH Child Health Portal was called by The Guardian newspaper one of the “three most admired websites in the UK public and voluntary sectors,” and a UK government assessment called the overall GOSH child health web portal a role model for the NHS. At the time, Prime Minister Tony Blair (whose wife, Cherie Blair, was an early supporter and champion of the project) had this to say: “Making sure that your child has helpful, easy-to-read information will make a significant difference to their time in hospital. I am sure that this website will prove very useful for children and their families.”

The project was delivered in three phases. At every stage, progress was communicated to the wider public and colleagues in various ways, via in-house media and through constant engagement with British news outlets. Screen grabs and other resources from the project can be found online here:

Phase 1: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=g826gFjEXWsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=gosh+health+phase+1a&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj5u__dqIHLAhVJOxoKHZ3IDZcQ6AEIJTAA#v=onepage&q=gosh%20health%20phase%201a&f=false

Phase 2: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=E2ZVlFbrCzsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=gosh+health+phase+2a&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjEodr0qIHLAhWK2BoKHStJB7QQ6AEIJjAA#v=onepage&q=gosh%20health%20phase%202a&f=false

Phase 3: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=KVE6QqDp1HsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=gosh+health+phase+3&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiXwe-FqYHLAhVBvxoKHXhOCooQ6AEIJjAA#v=onepage&q=gosh%20health%20phase%203&f=false

Project documents: https://books.google.ca/books?id=4aeDBgAAQBAJ&dq=gosh+child+health+portal+key+documents&source=gbs_navlinks_s

The Cable and Wireless Childnet Award called Children First “an outstanding example of how a hospital can create quality, authoritative information on issues relating to health in a fun, child-centered and accessible way.”

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Strategic Change and Design-led Innovation | 5 February 2016

Since 1997, David South Consulting (DSC) has been working in the international realm around health, human development and innovation. A number of significant and timely successes were able to leverage far greater change and inspire wider action. Some examples are below:

Southern Innovator 2011-2014

Beginning in 2007, DSC undertook work with the then Special Unit for South-South Cooperation (now the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation - UNOSSC) within UNDP (the UN’s development organization). Through the e-newsletter Development Challenges, South-South Solutions (https://www.scribd.com/collections/2521424/Development-Challenges-South-South-Solutions-English), DSC was able to identify numerous trends that were at the time being overlooked or under-reported; trends that could radically re-shape international development. This included the rapid rise of mobile phones in the global South and their powerful impact on economic development, the rush to cities and urban areas that was turning the world into a majority urban place, and the shift to greater South-South trade, investment and contact. Whereas the past involved people always looking North for inspiration, capital and business and trade relationships, this was shifting to South-South arrangements. And there were plenty of inspirational, modern, 21st century examples of economic, social and human development achievements across the global South to report on. By consistently tracking and chronicling a quiet revolution underway in the global South, the e-newsletter was able to draw attention to a rising 21st-century global innovator culture being shaped by the use of mobile phones and information technologies. Few at the time had grasped how much this was going to reshape the international development paradigm.

To start, the e-newsletter Development Challenges, South-South Solutions (begun in 2006), was used to gather together as many stories, data, trends, and contacts as possible and get this message to as wide a group as possible. Luckily, this coincided with the very moment whole swathes of the global South were coming online, either through connecting with mobile phones or through the Internet. Quickly, it became clear there was not a lack of inspiring stories and innovations and solutions to share, but a lack of resources to communicate them. One solution was to utilise a new publishing tool that emerged in 2007: crowd-powered news services. It became a great way to bypass the stranglehold on news and information held by traditional media. Read more on this here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/251968773/Southern-Innovator-Summary-of-Impact-2011-to-2012

In particular, the e-newsletter caught the eye of those looking for inspiration in the wake of the 2007/2008 global economic crisis:

“Great economic and business reporting! Very helpful for us.” Africa Renewal, Africa Section, Strategic Communications Division, United Nations Department of Public Information

“I just went over your June newsletter. It’s very well done and far reaching. Congratulations!” Violette Ruppanner, Director, 3D -> Trade – Human Rights – Equitable Economy, Geneva, Switzerland

“Just to let you know I enjoyed the newsletter a lot – it was interesting to learn about things going on that I would never otherwise find out about, and also the listing of future conferences and events proved very useful.” Ian Sanderson, Deloitte, Geneva, Switzerland

“Congratulations on another great newsletter that’s packed with fascinating information! I really enjoy getting it each month.” Whitney Harrelson, Making Cents, Washington D.C.

In 2011, a new magazine, Southern Innovator was launched, using the insights gleaned from the e-newsletter. The first issue on mobile phones and information technology was called “a terrific tour de force of what is interesting, cutting edge and relevant in the global mobile/ICT space…”. A further four issues were published on different themes (and launched at global expos around the world), culminating in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) adopting innovation and South-South cooperation as its guiding approach in its new strategic plan for 2014 to 2017 (http://ssc.undp.org/content/dam/ssc/documents/Key%20Policy%20Documents/N1362177.pdf) (UNDP’s second ever). Southern Innovator was cited as one of the reasons for this. Issue 2 of Southern Innovator, on the theme of youth and entrepreneurship, was also cited as a resource in the first-ever UNDP Youth Strategy 2014-2017 (http://www.pnud.org.br/arquivos/Youth%20Strategy%202014-2017.pdf)  (http://www.youthpolicy.org/library/wp-content/uploads/library/2014_UNDP_Youth_Strategy_Eng.pdf).

In 2013, the global Human Development Report took on the theme “The Rise of the South”: a theme first mooted as a potential cover story for Southern Innovator’s launch issue while in development in 2010 (http://www.davidsouthconsulting.com/blog/2015/7/27/you-heard-it-here-first-influencing-perspectives-on-the-glob.html).

In September 2015 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-34372188), China's President Xi Jinping announced China would spend US $2 billion on South-South cooperation initiatives. This has been called “a ‘game changer’ in international relations” (http://www.ipsnews.net/2015/11/opinion-chinas-new-south-south-funds-a-global-game-changer/). President Xi also said of South-South cooperation, it is: “a great pioneering measure uniting the developing nations together for self-improvement, is featured by equality, mutual trust, mutual benefit, win-win result, solidarity and mutual assistance and can help developing nations pave a new path for development and prosperity.”

Southern Innovator has always tried to inspire others to take action and this has turned out to be the case.

"Beautiful, inspiring magazine from UNDP on South-South innovation. Heart is pumping adrenaline and admiration just reading it”

Once blazing a lonely trail, there are now many places to find stories on global South innovation (The Guardian, SciDev, Devex, Business Fights Poverty, Zunia etc.). Mainstream media have also woken up to the energy and change sweeping across the global South, disrupting its regular diet of negative news stories focused around war, disasters and failure (unfortunately, still the majority of what most people see on their TV).

"I liked your latest Southern innovator! Always inspiring.”

"Btw, I really enjoyed reading them, impressive work & a great resource. Looking forward to Issue 6. My best wishes to you & your team at SI.”

"The magazine looks fantastic, great content and a beautiful design!"

Most importantly, it is the young who have told us they ‘get’ Southern Innovator. It portrays a world they know - comfortable with new technologies, looking to solve problems, open to doing things in new ways. And it is that audience that excites us the most: the youth of the global South (Africa’s young population will be a huge contributor to the world's working-age workforce by 2050): they are shaping the new world we live in and seeking a role in it.

On Twitter, comments included: From @CapacityPlus Nice job RT @ActevisCGroup: RT @UNDP: Great looking informative @SouthSouth1 mag on South-South Innovation; @UNDP Great looking informative @SouthSouth1 mag on South-South Innovation; @JeannineLemaire Graphically beautiful & informative @UNDP Southern Innovator mag on South-South Innov.

The phases of this project have been compiled in two e-books and published online here:

Phase 1: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=llSeBQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:6eHzE10XqZIC&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjSlZz3hv_KAhUDNhoKHetuA6EQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

Phase 2: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=lK4jBgAAQBAJ&pg=PP4&dq=southern+innovator+compilation+of+documents&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwicqc3yhv_KAhVGPxoKHc5KC08Q6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=southern%20innovator%20compilation%20of%20documents&f=false

Phase 3: Scale-up Southern Innovator by seeking funding and support.

Citations

Autonomous Systems in the Intelligence Community: Many Possibilities and Challenges by Jenny R. Holzer, PhD, and Franklin L. Moses, PhD, Studies in Intelligence Vol 59, No. 1 (Extracts, March 2015)

Chile in Transition: Prospects and Challenges for Latin America's Forerunner of Development by Roland Benedikter and Katja Siepmann, Springer, 2015

Edible Insects and the Future of Food: A Foresight Scenario Exercise on Entomophagy and Global Food Security by Dominic Glover and Alexandra Sexton, Institute of Development Studies, King’s College London, Evidence Report No 149, September 2015
   
Export Now: Five Keys to Entering New Markets by Frank Lavin and Peter Cohan, John Wiley & Sons, 2011

High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation Seventeenth Session: Framework of operational guidelines on United Nations support to South-South and triangular cooperation: Note by the Secretary-General, 22-25 May 2012, New York

New Directions in Children’s and Adolescents’ Information Behavior Research edited by Dania Bilal and Jamshid Beheshti, Emerald Group Publishing, 2014

Recasting 'truisms' of low carbon technology cooperation through innovation systems: insights from the developing world by Alexandra Mallett, Innovation and Development, 5:2, 297-311, DOI: 10.1080/2157930X.2015.1049851, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2015

A Sociological Approach to Health Determinants by Toni Schofield, Cambridge University Press, 2016

Strategic Framework of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, 2014-2017, Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations Office for Project Services, 27 to 31 January 2014, New York

Wearing Your Map on Your Sleeve: Practices of Identification in the Creation and Consumption of Philippine Map T-shirts by Pamela Gloria Cajilig, paper presented at the 6th Global Conference (2014): Fashion: Exploring Critical Issues, Mansfield College, Oxford, United Kingdom, 15th to 18th September 2014

Youth Empowered as Catalysts for Sustainable Human Development: UNDP Youth Strategy 2014-2017, United Nations Development Programme, Bureau for Development Policy

The first five issues of Southern Innovator from 2011 to 2014. Called a "Beautiful, inspiring magazine from UNDP on South-South innovation." GOSH Child Health Portal 2001-2003

As the information technology revolution swept across the world, it was clear the UK had a lot of catching up to do. This was no more apparent than in its National Health Service (NHS). The Government at the time set about a Modernisation Plan for the NHS, based on widespread public consultation, with a significant component centered around communicating better. The Internet offered a great opportunity to rectify gaps in communication with patients, their families and professionals.

I was hired to lead a two-year project to radically transform access to online resources for the UK’s top children’s hospital and child health research institute. In order for this to effectively use the available resources, and to build public and professional confidence, a clear strategy was required, while the use of modern design was crucial to upgrading the brand image for the 21st century and maintaining relevance in the online age.

In order to do this, rapid prototyping was used to develop and test content and respond to users. At every stage of the project, each milestone was communicated, not only using in-house media but with the wider UK media.

The award-winning content was praised for its quality and how much it inspired others in the UK public and charity sector when developing their own online resources. The website drew praise for its content, design and accessibility.

Guardian: In 2003, the UK’s Guardian newspaper called the Children First website one of the “three most admired websites in the UK public and voluntary sectors.”

Cable and Wireless Childnet Award: Called Children First “an outstanding example of how a hospital can create quality, authoritative information on issues relating to health in a fun, child-centered and accessible way.”

The Times: In 2006, The Times of London called Children First the Top Child Health Website in its Wellbeing on the Web: The Best Portals survey (November 11, 2006).

Prime Minister Tony Blair: “Making sure that your child has helpful, easy-to-read information will make a significant difference to their time in hospital. I am sure that this website will prove very useful for children and their families.”
UK Government:

The project’s three phases can be reviewed online here:

Phase 1: http://www.scribd.com/doc/47241951/GOSH-Child-Health-Portal-Project-Phase-1a

Phase 2: http://www.scribd.com/doc/47242473/GOSH-Child-Health-Portal-Project-Phase-2a

Phase 3: http://www.scribd.com/doc/47242267/GOSH-Child-Health-Portal-Project-Phase-3

Citations

GOSH Child Health Portal Phase 1a by David South, 2003

GOSH Child Health Portal Phase 1b by David South, 2003

GOSH Child Health Portal Phase 2a by David South, 2003

GOSH Child Health Portal Phase 2b by David South, 2003

GOSH Child Health Portal Phase 3 by David South, 2003
 
GOSH Project Launch Brochure and Screen Grabs, 2001-2003 by David South, 2003
 
The Great Ormond Street Hospital Manual of Children's Nursing Practices by Susan Macqueen, Elizabeth Bruce and Faith Gibson, John Wiley & Sons, 2012

Help! My Child's in Hospital by Becky Wauchope, Marbec Family Trust, 2012

Oxford Desk Reference: Nephrology by Jonathan Barratt, Peter Topham and Kevin P. G. Harris, Oxford University Press, 2008

Research Review 2001: A Year of Excellence and Innovation, Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, 2001

Research Review 2002: Building on Success, Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, 2002 

UNDP Mongolia Communications Office 1997-1999

As Head of Communications for the UN mission in Mongolia during a major crisis (1997 to 1999) (called at the time the largest post-WWII, peacetime economic collapse) (Pomfret 2000)*, I was able to use a clear strategy to transform access to information and resources on the country’s development. By quickly embracing the newly emerging benefits of Internet technology, the mission was able to communicate what it was doing in a timely fashion, and become a source for the latest updates on Mongolia’s development challenges, not only to the wider global development community but also to international and Mongolian media. By being transparent in the face of a crisis, hundreds of stories were followed up on by the media. A sample of stories were eventually published in the UN book In Their Own Words: Selected Writings by Journalists on Mongolia, 1997-1999 (ISBN 99929-5-043-9).

In order to bring greater focus to the rapidly growing UN mission and also to better meet Mongolia’s needs in a major crisis, a Communications Office was established and a highly talented team assembled. The Office acted as a strategic hub to lead on communicating and meeting Mongolia’s crisis needs while also serving as a role model and champion for publishing and design, including for the Internet. As an example, an ad by the Office regularly ran in local media declaring the Office was “Where the Steppe Meets the Internet” (www.un-mongolia.mn).

The UN conducted a global survey in 2000 and placed the award-winning website launched and overseen by the Office as third-best in the world and had this to say: “A UN System site. A very nice, complete, professional site. Lots of information, easily accessible and well laid out. The information is comprehensive and up-to-date. This is a model of what a UNDP CO web site should be.”

UN Mongolia Annual Report (1998), editor and designer. Called by Under-Secretary-General Nafis Sadik “a clear, well-written, attractive and colourful report.”

In 2001, the UN was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “their work for a better organized and more peaceful world”. Communications achievements, such as above, were cited as a reason for the Prize.

The work has also been documented in numerous works of journalism, academic papers and books, including Wild East: Travels in the New Mongolia (ISBN 1459645782, 9781459645783) and Modern Mongolia: From Khans to Commissars to Capitalists (ISBN 0520938623, 9780520938625).

Proof, if there ever was, that transparency and a clear strategy in a crisis will pay off dividends in the end. Don’t fear getting the message out but do it with a clear idea of what your objectives are.

*Transition and Democracy in Mongolia by Richard Pomfret, Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 52, No. 1 (Jan., 2000), pp. 149-160, published by Taylor & Francis, Ltd. (http://www.jstor.org/stable/153756?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents)

Citations

Dateline Mongolia: An American Journalist in Nomad’s Land by Michael Kohn, RDR Books, 2006, ISBN 1-57143-155-1

The Devil and the Disappearing Sea: A True Story About the Aral Sea Catastrophe by Robert Ferguson, Raincoast Books, 2003, ISBN 1-55192-599-0

The Horse-head Fiddle and the Cosmopolitan Reimagination of Mongolia by Peter K. Marsh, Taylor and Francis, 2008, ISBN 041597156X, 9780415971560

Modern Mongolia: From Khans to Commissars to Capitalists by Morris Rossabi, University of California Press, 2005, ISBN 0-520-24399-4

Mongolian Rock and Pop: In Our Own Voice (in Mongolian), ISBN 99929-5-018-8

Wild East: Travels in the New Mongolia by Jill Lawless, ECW Press, 2000, ISBN 1-55022-434-4 (www.wildeast.ca)

Blue Sky Bulletin

Bounty from the Sheep: Autobiography of a Herdsman by Tserendashiin Namkhainiambuu, Inner Asia Book Series, White Horse, 2000

Modern Mongolia: From Khans to Commissars to Capitalists by Morris Rossabi, University of California Press, 2005

Mongols from Country to City: Floating Boundaries, Pastoralism and City Life in the Mongol Lands edited by Ole Bruun and Li Narangoa, Issue 34 of NIAS Studies in Asian Topics, Nordisk Institut for Asienstudier, NIAS Press, 2006

Ger Magazine

A Complete Guide on Celebrations, Festivals and Holidays around the World by Sarah Whelan, Asteroid Content, 2015

Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media by Jeff Summer, Gale Group, 2001

Mongol Survey, Issue 8, The Society, 2001

Mongolian Culture and Society in the Age of Globalization by Henry G. Schwarz (editor), Center for East Asian Studies, Western Washington University, 2006

Nations in Transition: Mongolia by Jennifer L. Hanson, Infobase Publishing, 2003

Teen Life in Asia by Judith J. Slater, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004

World Press Encyclopedia: A Survey of Press Systems Worldwide, Volume 1 by Amanda C. Quick, Gale Group, 2003

Human Development Report Mongolia 1997

Change in Democratic Mongolia: Social Relations, Health, Mobile Pastoralism, and Mining, 2012

Curbing Corruption in Asian Countries: An Impossible Dream? by Jon S. T. Quah, Emerald Group Publishing, 2011

Diseases of Globalization: Socioeconomic Transition and Health by Christine McMurray and Roy Smith, Routledge, 2013

Economic Institutions and Democratic Reform: A Comparative Analysis of Post-communist Countries by Ole Norgaard, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2000

Educational Import: Local Encounters with Global Forces in Mongolia by Gita Steiner-Khamsi and Ines Stolpe, Palgrave Macmillan, 2006

Group Behaviour and Development: Is the Market Destroying Cooperation? by Judith Heyer, Frances Stewart, Rosemary Thorp, OUP Oxford, 2002

Higher Education in the Developing World: Changing Contexts and Institutional Responses by David W. Chapman and Ann E. Austin, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002

Modern Mongolia: From Khans to Commissars to Capitalists by Morris Rossabi, University of California Press, 2005

Precious Steppe: Mongolian Nomadic Pastoralists in Pursuit of the Market by Ole Bruun, Lexington Books, 2008

Rethinking Development in East Asia: From Illusory Miracle to Economic Crisis by Pietro Masina, Routledge, 2012

Truth, History and Politics in Mongolia: Memory of Heroes by Christopher Kaplonski, Routledge, 2004

Mongolia Update 1998

Bounty from the Sheep: Autobiography of a Herdsman by Tserendashiin Namkhainiambuu, Inner Asia Book Series, White Horse, 2000

Selection and Preparation of Australian Expatriates and Business People for Postings in Mongolia by Gantsetseg O’Brien and Greg Trotman, Department of Marketing, International Business and Tourism, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia, Working Paper 99/3, December 1999. Website: http://research.usc.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/usc:2914

Semi-Presidentialism Outside Europe: A Comparative Study edited by Robert Elgie and Sophia Moestrup, Routledge, 2007

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www.un-mongolia.mn

Asian Perspective, Volume 25, Insitute for Far Eastern Studies, Kyung Nam University, 2001

Modern Mongolia: Reclaiming Genghis Khan, An Exhibit of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

Rethinking Development in East Asia: From Illusory Miracle to Economic Crisis by Pietro Masina, Routledge, 2012
 
Tulsa Journal of Comparative & International Law, Volume 7, 1999

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Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Bringing Modern Design to British Healthcare | 7 November 2010

Expertise: Strategy, vision, team leadership, managing suppliers, design vision, digital strategy, content creation, editing, project management, innovation, child health, public health, modernising large institutions. 

Location: London, UK 2001 to 2003

Project Manager: David South

Charity Content Coordinator: Ramita Navai

Click here to view images for this case study: CASE STUDY 5: GOSH/ICH Child Health Portal | 2001 - 2003 Images

From 2001 to 2003, I led a transformational project simultaneously bringing a modern child health web portal and a modern online brand image, to the UK’s top children’s hospital. For younger people, it will be difficult to recall how out of step the UK was with the wider developments in new media and design at the start of the 2000s. My work in Mongolia, an isolated Northeastern Asian nation undergoing the worst post-WWII economic crisis in the 1990s, proved valuable in guiding the GOSH Child Health Portal project. Understanding the value of the internet as a communications tool, and how critical design and strategy were to the successful use of this technology, came about from raw need. The combination of geographical isolation and the urgent desire to communicate with the wider world, meant innovation was the only route to take. I dug out this image from the archive that sums it up nicely: on the left is before the launch, on the right after the launch:

Another key element to the success of the project was communication. It was highly unusual at the time for a health service project to so publicly and transparently communicate its progress and achievements. At every stage and milestone, the project team informed the wider public, the national and international media and colleagues and patients and their families about what was happening and what needed to be done. Below is a typical excerpt from the hospital’s newsletter:

Fast-paced and award-winning, the GOSH Child Health Portal deployed a number of techniques pioneered in my work in Mongolia. It partnered with high-quality content-makers such as the BBC and drew on the talent and expertise embedded in the organisation. It created a cascading cycle of success and achievement. Some of the design from the project is below:

© David South Consulting 2017