Objectives:
This special session aims: to describe novel approaches for evidence translation and evidence use for capacity building at local, national and international levels; to solicit stakeholder feedback on newly developed approaches; and;,to discuss the value of developing implementation research capacity to influence intervention design and policy.

Description:
Novel approaches to be presented and discussed include:

1. The Indonesian experience with a National Evidence Summit on Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction, highlighting the process of coordinating national technical and policy stakeholders to review and grade evidence and determine gaps. 
2. The Kenyan experience with launching a national Health Data Collaborative, the first government to do so, bringing together a range of national and local stakeholders to support a unified 'One M&E Framework', to streamline the process of packaging and utilising national health data. 
3. Experiences with participatory case example and case study development to translate of current research into useful forms, including through CaseMaker and the Implementation Research and Delivery Science (IRDS) Collaborative’s IRDS Case Study Compendium;.
4. The Pan American Health Organization’s Policy Guideline Development Course to build capacity among policymakers in evidence grading in support of evidence-based national health policy guidelines. 
5. The USAID Health Evaluation and Applied Research for Development (HEARD) Project’s IRDS agenda development process, which systematically solicits sub-regional and global community of practice implementation science priorities through participatory consultation, with support from Sub-Regional Anchor institutions, to better align evidence production with need.

The participatory session will involve a roundtable discussion with contributors experienced in implementing and supporting novel approaches to enhance evidence use through continued technical support and collaboration with policy makers and senior officials. The session is intended to be interactive and draw from audience inputs and participation. The facilitators will moderate a dialogue between round table contributors and audience discussants. The facilitators will open with a 5-minute introduction of the topic and session objectives. The roundtable contributors will be asked to speak on their experiences for 5 minutes each. This will be followed by a moderated conversation with the audience (50 minutes). The moderator will facilitate audience participation to elicit questions, comments and other examples from audience members’ experiences.