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Each of the integrated initiatives of the VHL develops in the geographic institutional and thematic scopes, in a complementary way.

• Regional Thematic Instances – In the regional thematic instances a set of countries assumes the responsibility of mobilization and coordination of the institutions that are producers, intermediaries and users of information of a particular thematic area for operation in the VHL.
• National Thematic Instances – In the national thematic instances, a set of the institutions that are producers, intermediaries and users of information about of a specific country meets to ensure the representativeness of a particular subject in a certain area in a national context in the VHL.
• National Instances – In the national instances of the VHL, the set of more representative institutions producers, intermediaries and users of health information of a particular country meet to ensure the development of the VHL in a national scope, accompanying the development of national thematic initiatives in the country.
• Institutional Instances – The institutional instances of the VHL are linked to relevant and numerous scientific and technical production health institutions that adopt the VHL model as policy and operational framework for information management produced institutionally.
• Biographical Instances – The Biographical instances of the VHL are dedicated to register professional trajectories of personalities that marked the history of health and biomedicine. Therefore their social network has the compromise to assemble contents and develop the VHL, considering the person and its realization and production as main subject.

The participation in the instances of the VHL is always institutionalized; therefore, network members are integrated as legitimate representatives of institutions which are linked to them. This characteristic preserves the continuous participation of the institutions on the network, even though their representatives can be changed. The participation of institutions in the network is formalized through document commitment and of justificative institutional, as an adhesion term,
cooperation protocol or minutes of meeting.

In this sense, the adoption of the model by leaders of the areas related to the instance is strengthened, as well as hold up the support of the related authorities, manifested inclusively in the elaboration of a positioning document on behalf of VHL.

The VHL proposes a change of paradigms of work of the social network, since it requires the use of methodologies and technological tools of collaboration in network. This change of paradigm increases the abilities and competences of social subjects in the production and application of knowledge in health, also increasing the participation of these social subjects as producers, intermediaries and users of scientific and technical information in health.

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The representatives of the Advisory Committee, with the support of the Executive Secretariat, should develop an initial concept project and specific action plans to guide the activities of the VHL Network instance. In general, they include actions for maintaining and updating sources of information and the portal, communication and dissemination actions, inter-institutional technical cooperation activities, etc.. Projects should define priorities according to the needs and available resources, as well as the distribution of responsibilities and networking.

 

The planning, definition of scope, schedule, budget, execution, monitoring and closure of projects and/or action plans with documentation of the activities developed are important tools for strengthening the VHL, positioning it favorably in technical cooperation actions and funding opportunities with development agencies, ensuring and strengthening its sustainability.

Support material

 Guide to elaborate a project proposal (in Portuguese)

 Model of a VHL project proposal

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Establishing governance Instances

Once the institutions that will collaborate in the development of a VHL instance are mapped, they are organized following a pre-defined governance structure, taking different functions, namely:

Coordination and/or Executive Secretariat

• Represented by an institution that has favorable political, economic, and human and technological resource conditions to lead the operation of the VHL Network instance.
• Responsible for monitoring the actions deliberated by the Advisory Committee, expressed in its project and action plans, especially related to the promotion of cooperative and networking work for the operation of sources of information.
• Responsible for promoting the effective operation of the Advisory Committee, including the organization of periodic face-to-face and/or remote meetings.

Advisory Committee

• Formed in an equitable manner by a group of institutions of the scope to which the VHL Network will be developed, represented by its specialists. It is recommended that different profiles of institutions compose the Advisory Committee, (research, academia, government, scientific societies, etc.) to consider the needs and interests of different types of users.
• Responsible for the projects and work plans that define the priority lines of action of the VHL, as well as its development, continuous evaluation, and definition of quality criteria for sources of information.
• Responsible for guiding the creation of groups for specific themes, such as the Selection Committee for the evaluation of scientific journals, thus contributing to the quality and representativeness of relevant scientific literature at the VHL.
• It is the deliberation forum of the VHL instance.

Technical Committee

• Composed by information and information technology professionals from institutions that make up the VHL Advisory Committee.
• Responsible for the operation of sources of information and their continuous updating.
• Its composition can be validated by the Advisory Committee.
• Also called Executive or Operational Committee.

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The responsibility for the management and operation of the collections of sources of information developed within the VHL Network instance is shared by the participating institutions. It is up to them to define their form of insertion and participation in the development of projects/action plans.

 

The definition of these different roles is made explicit and consolidated in the Matrix of Responsibilities, a document that indicates the coordinating institution and the cooperating organizations of each source of information of the VHL Network instance.

Support material

 Matrix of responsibility

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The promotion and dissemination actions are considered an integral part of the development of the VHL. These actions position the VHL as an updated and reference space for access to information, knowledge, and scientific evidence, and make the target audience aware of the strategic importance of the VHL. They are also mechanisms to strengthen technical cooperation and expand partnerships with other networks.

 

The main lines of action in promoting and disseminating the VHL are presented below.

Courses and Training

Courses and training on the VHL are activities developed in partnership with the VHL Network in the face-to-face and online modes. These activities are directed to health and information professionals, in the geographic and thematic scope of the VHL.

 

The training fulfills the demand of countries and of the region for training and fosters the VHL in universities, research institutes, hospitals, secretariats, and other public agencies with a focus on health care and the training of professionals.

 

The training events from the VHL Network are disseminated at: http://red.bvsalud.org/eventos-rede-BVS

Production and reporting of news

The drafting and reporting of news about the VHL and its contents contributes to its promotion and expands the communication channels with users and potential partners. In this direction, several communication and social interaction functionalities and tools, such as newsletters, hotsites, blogs, social media, among others, should be considered.

Preparation of graphic products

To support the above-mentioned action lines, the VHL makes use of different graphic products to visually communicate concepts, projects, products and services through pamphlets, banners, etc.. These products are made in a decentralized manner by the VHL's institution network using the materials available at: https://logos.bireme.org/.

Participation in Events

The promotion of the VHL in the main events in the field of health, librarianship and information science should be a constant activity. The participation in fairs, exhibitions, congresses, conferences, seminars, forums, workshops, among other types of events, are opportunities to demonstrate the sources of information and resources of the VHL, whether with the presentation of scientific-technical works or through stands in these events.

Studies and publications

Publications such as books, guides, and reports systematically document and disseminate the work carried out within the VHL with producers, users, and intermediaries of health information.

 

Moreover, as the object of work with a large volume of information, technology and health professionals distributed in the VHL Network, the VHL is the target of a large number of pieces of research on its different facets. These studies feedback into the work plans of the VHL and its instances by indicating paths and solutions for the challenges encountered in its mission.

 

To know about the studies, publications and statements already made for an on the VHL visit: http://red.bvsalud.org/modelo-bvs/en/publications-about-the-vhl/

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