SUMMER INTERNSHIP 2005
		Pallavi Jain - Sauder UBC, MBA CEI Host Organization - CDN Women's Health Network CEI Funding partner - UBC Sauder School of Business

The real challenge of delivering much of the organization’s expectations has just begun but I can state confidently that working here is going to be an extremely satisfying experience.

I hail from India and came to Vancouver in August 2004 to join the full time MBA program at the Sauder School of Business, UBC. I was greeted with many pleasant surprises when I joined, for example I enjoyed the caring attitude of colleagues (being the youngest in a class of 130) and the friendly, honest and straight-forward nature of Canadians and people from other nationalities which was indeed very welcoming.

The not-for-profit industry in Canada struck me like never before. The idealism followed and promoted here is quite unlike my country. Although Indian not-for-profit industry has certainly gained a strong foothold in recent years, the abundance and high visibility of this industry in Canada fascinated me. I had not worked towards community development before, although I was involved in voluntary work for some student organizations in India, but to a much lesser degree.

Before finally accepting the offer from the Canadian Women’s Health Network (CWHN), I pondered a great deal on the idea of working for an all women’s organization. I have always found myself perform better when in a diverse team, both gender-wise and professionally. I am of the belief that each team member brings with him or her, a unique set of skills which compliments that of others. However, the Knowledge Transfer project that I will be coordinating at CWHN appealed to me enough and I decided to give it a shot. It remains to be seen if the staff at CWHN can convert me into a feminist (a joke we now share)!

CWHN works to better the health of all Canadian women and girls by sharing information and resources on issues related to women’s health. It plays a key role in transferring women’s health research related knowledge to the general public and public policy makers. The knowledge exchange between information providers and users is done essentially through tools such as the CWHN website (www.cwhn.ca) which facilitates an exhaustive online database, a quarterly publication called ‘Network’ and an electronic newsletter called ‘Brigit’s Notes’. Active participation in national conferences and forums further enables CWHN to impact policy decisions and deliver policy advice programs. CWHN is the only national, bilingual, voluntary, women’s health organization and has played a vital role in the development of policies on many critical issues such as assisted reproduction for women and gender-specific effect of HIV/AIDS.

Knowledge transfer of women’s health research related information is CWHN’s core responsibility. While this is being done very successfully through a number of channels and excellent media relations, the organization has faced significant cut backs in government grants. Now they hope to launch knowledge transfer services as a revenue generating exercise. Selling an established but mostly free service is not only exciting but quite challenging too. I will need to develop a program to extend this service to an alternative market, which I first need to identify and determine. I plan to engage current partners of CWHN in this practice and develop a strategy which will aid the organization in the long term to attain financial sustainability and reduce their dependence on grants. Further, a review of the goals and objectives of the organization will be required so that I know the financial expectations from this program and hence price their services accordingly.

I have already begun the research and admittedly going through tons of reports and proposals is more reading than I did in the MBA. But the extremely friendly environment here has made it all very much fun. I am also looking forward to the summer folk festivals which first attracted me to this city.

The warm welcome and hospitality I have received in the first week here has been in agreement with the kind I felt in Vancouver. I am excited to deliver not only my best in management skills but also my dedication to the cause CWHN is so devoted to. I wish all of you the best too.

Sincerely
Pallavi Jain

Pallavi with colleague Mona at CWHN