Project approval

During its deliberations, WFPI's Executive Committee strives to:

1. Address pediatric imaging needs regardless of the race, religion, creed or political affiliations of the parties involved
2. Strike a balance in the geographical spread of its project work in order to represent its global membership, in so far as this is possible
3. Refer to its strategic framework for guidance, which among others specifies its intention to bolt on to existing projects (reflecting WFPI's areas of expertise and resource-constraints), and form a clear idea of a meaningful operational interface for WFPI (its role in/contribution to the project via tele-reading, teaching, training, tools, guidelines, advocacy, networking, promotion or other) in alignment with WFPI's cross-regional federating approach. 
4. For projects run under the auspices of a WFPI member organization that are deemed non-affiliated to WFPI, WFPI wilingly offers them visibility via its social media platforms, newsletters and website - see here - and hopes to learn from them and collaborate with their leaders. It will however specify that for these projects WFPI acts as a vehicle for visibility alone. They and all other non-affiliated projects count hugely in the global efforts to spread pediatric imaging services worldwide. WFPI aspires to fuel inter-ogranizational synergies whenever it can. But in terms of its own institutional momentum and effective governance, limits on its own project affiliations must be set down. 
5. Rely on individuals among its member societies to identify project opportunities with implementation over time (considered far more likely to secure impact than "fly in, fly out" projects) and lead/assist with project implementation, at least during the start-up stage. To avoid operational disconnect, it is crucial to have personal familiarity with the project site/context within the project steering team. 
6. [If you would like to suggest a WFPI-affiliated project, please ensure you have this critical factor in mind. WFPI does not have the resources to study a country/region's health system, disease burden, work force, infrastructure, sources of support etc. and then dispatch a team to explore the facility in question. Yet such prior assessment is key to operational success. So we look for "bolt-on" proposals built upon existing initiatives, driven forward by a WFPI-associated pediatric radiologist familiar with the context and the site. This physician then takes a lead role in the project team. Here is a form to help any tele-medicine suggestions through the approval process - please contact us for the Word version.]
7. Secure collaboration from the facility/organization receiving WFPI assistance at institutional level (facility management and imaging/imaging affiliated staff)  [If projects are set up with an individual associated with an institution as opposed to directly with the institution's management - or at least with its imaging/imaging-affiliated staff - there is a risk of low institutional buy-in & compromised sustainability.] 
8. If onsite visits are entailed (teaching, training, other), identify volunteers from the same region or at least the same continent whenever possible/it makes sense in terms of contextual coherency/familiarity, enhancing regional society ties and simple cost effectiveness. 
9. Refer to a number of external reference points during deliberations, e.g.

• RAD AID's "radiology readiness" tool for measuring the challenges entailed in providing imaging services per country 
• diverse information sources, mapping and indexes on disease burden, health services, pediatric populations & other indicators (click here for the UNDP inequality-adjusted index, takes into account not only the average achievements of a country on health, education and income, but also how those achievements are distributed among its population by “discounting” each dimension’s average value according to its level of inequality; click here for the World Bank index, country and lending groups)
• information gathered from its partners
• information gathered from its own physicians on the ground
• 
  Handle calls for outreach involvement in "emergency" contexts with caution. The operational demands of providing support in acute conflict settings or in the immediate wake of natural disasters are likely to outstrip our capacities. But we do provide MSF/Doctors without Borders imaging support through its tele-medicine platform and Diagnostic Imaging Unit.