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Building capacity to assess scalability of innovations in primary healthcare for equitable and humanistic impact: Workshop proposal

Odilon Quentin ASSAN, Claude Bernard UWIZEYE, Roberta DE CARVALHO CORÔA and France LÉGARÉ

Globally, interest in equity and humanism in healthcare is growing. Scaling innovations through systematic, evidence-based processes is key to achieving this goal. Scaling means increasing the impact of proven innovations by disseminating, replicating, or adapting them across contexts—a process that involves multiple steps. One critical step is scalability assessment, which determines whether innovations can achieve impact at scale. This step helps identify strengths, gaps, and contextual factors that influence success before scaling. In this workshop, we will present and apply the Innovation Scalability Self-administered Questionnaire (ISSaQ 4.0), a tool designed to assess scalability.By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to: 1. Define scalability assessment and explain its role in achieving greater equity and humanism in primary healthcare within the scaling process. 2. Apply the Innovation Scalability Self-administered Questionnaire (ISSaQ 4.0) to evaluate the scalability of an innovation.Teaching methods Interactive strategies, including expectation mapping, small-group discussions, table-based reflections, and plenary exchanges: Participants will engage in practical exercises and collaborative analysis to reinforce learning. Workshop schedule (60 minutes) 1. Opening (5 min): Welcome participants, introduce facilitators, collect participant expectations. 2. Presentation of objectives (2 min): Outline learning goals. 3. Reflective activity (5 min): Discuss scalability assessment and its importance. 4. ISSaQ 4.0 overview (8 min): Components, users, using principles. 5. Break (5 min) 6. Case study (30 min): Apply ISSaQ 4.0 in groups, analyze results and share insights in plenary. 7. Closing (5 min): Key takeaways and next steps.At the end of this workshop, participants will understand why scalability assessment is a critical step for achieving equity and humanism in primary healthcare. They will gain practical experience using ISSaQ 4.0 and learn how scalability assessment results can guide decision-making on scaling aligned with equity and humanism. This knowledge will empower participants to integrate scalability assessment into scaling processes.Scalability assessment helps innovations in primary healthcare achieve equitable, humanistic impact by confirming they are suitable for diverse contexts and populations. ISSaQ 4.0 offers a structured approach to guide decisions, foster collaboration, and align scaling with equity and humanism.