About the course

In any great problem-solving process, it is important to clearly define the problem you want to solve before you spend time and resources building solutions. A great definition of a problem will guide you and your team's work, and kick start the ideation process in the right direction.
Through this course, we will teach you how to define a problem effectively or, in other words, how to create a clear Problem Statement. A problem statement is an actionable and concise description of a problem that summarises who is facing the problem, in which context they face it, and why it is important to solve it.
The course is based on the methodology of Human Centred Design, which is an approach to problem solving which develops solutions to problems by involving the human perspective in all the steps of the problem-solving process. Human involvement typically takes place when observing a problem within context, brainstorming, conceptualising, developing, and implementing a solution. The course will use some of the tools available in the Creative Toolkit.
This course is aimed at anyone who is interested in building their analytical and problem solving skills. No prior knowledge is required to benefit from this course. 
The course will be taught over 2 weeks and an 8-hour commitment is expected from participants.
The training approach used during this course is mixed. Mostly, you will work in teams with the support of a tutor. Participants will be required to enrol in a team at the beginning of the course. You will receive instructions to organise a set of workshops in which you will experience different methods to organise information and build a problem statement. You will also conduct some basic research to understand the perspective of those who face the problem.
Teams will then be assessed based on the outcome produced during each workshop.
The tutor will be available to respond to participants' questions and will provide feedback to all the assignments.

Enrolment

If you are interested in applying, you need to:

1. Select the team members who will participate with you in the course. This may consist of a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 5 people. To select your team members, bear in mind the main challenges you are facing, as you will need to choose one to work with as a team throughout the course. Say you, as FC, have perceived that in a certain service in your health facility you have very little attendance and you do not know why. You might suggest then that your PMR and MAM should do this course with you.
2. Fill out the application form, explaining in the Motivation section: why you want to do the course, and who your team is. The application form needs to be submitted to the Learning Unit at learningunit@barcelona.msf.org. The deadline to submit the application is 5 weeks before the start of the course. Dates will be periodically posted on this page. 
3. A selection committee will review all applications and you will be informed if your team has been recruited to do the course.