IBP Knowledge Gateway 

In 2002 WHO Departments of Reproductive Health and Research, (WH/RHR), Application, Management and Engineering (WHO/AME) worked with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Communication Programs, INFO Project and other  partners of the Implementing Best Practices (IBP) Initiative  to develop the IBP Knowledge Gateway.   

This system is a simple and powerful tool that has been designed to support multiple virtual Communities of Practice and functions in technically challenged areas. It aims to bring individuals and groups together at the global and country level to exchange, communicate and share knowledge on reproductive health issues.  The system has been designed to:

• Improve access to information, resource materials, guidelines, research papers tools and other publications. 
  
• Provide opportunities to network with experts and colleagues from your own and other countries
  
• Encourage the sharing of knowledge, expertise and practical experience in, among and across countries
  
• Create opportunities to share experience, success stories, innovations and lessons learned with local and international colleagues
  
• Offer forums to ask questions discuss issues, share opinions and work together to use our knowledge and experience to improve and scale up effective practices
  
• Participate in Communities of Practice focused on either discussing or working on specific issues or assignments
  
• Establish and manage your own Communities of Practice

2003 saw the launch and rapid adoption of the IBP Knowledge Gateway by  it's key audience and the purveyors of information, WHO and IBP in-country and international partners.   

The system supports a global Community of Practice in Reproductive Health in which anyone interested in reproductive health may join.  It has many features that  are open to use by all members. The community is moderated and regular information updates and Global Discussion Forums on specific topics of interest are held at regular intervals.  The global community reaches over 7000 people from 190 countries.  

In addition the IBP Knowledge Gateway support multiple sub communities of practice which are designed for specific interest groups, may be moderated or un-moderated depending on the purpose of the group and is only open to invited members.    

Since 2006 the IBP Knowledge Gateway has been further developed in response from feedback from users and now has the capacity to create customized, branded, owned and managed global and sub-communities of practices for individual organizations and agencies, such as WHO, the Global Alliance for Nursing and Midwifery, MedNet and others.    

WHO and partners help to establish the networks that support each global and sub-community of practice, the preparation of the communities, the training of moderators and facilitators, the launching of communities, management of global discussion forums and the management of communities.