At The Synergist, we have a vision of a world in which we tackle societal issues in the most efficient manner possible. We seek to accelerate progress on issues by creating collaborative platforms that collectively address inefficient, fragmented and broken systems. Currently, too many systems address only in part the issues they are meant to solve, and duplication and waste is endemic.

Maternal health, dengue fever and patient engagement are all societal issues approached from different perspectives in different countries by different stakeholders. Across each of these, we are breaking down artificial and limiting boundaries. By applying a systematic approach and building efficient, digitally native ecosystems, we are able to address issues through collaboration and aggregation of other initiatives and approaches that so far have operated in isolation.

Our programmes - Patient Focused Medicine Development, Break Dengue, the Motherhood Collective Impact Programme - are not just another set of initiatives on these topics. Rather, they complement what is already in motion: efficiently bringing together all the current pieces of the puzzle and filling any gaps that may exist.

In 2017 we have further developed our co-impact model by building on its strengths (including the methodology, collaborative leadership, tools) and by applying learnings from one project across all our projects to build economies of scale. Combined, this has helped us develop a more sustainable model to deliver real impact.

I am pleased to share our activities and results for 2017 with you. Our partners, members and volunteers have brought so much to all our programmes through their activities and support for our approach. It has truly been a collective effort. Alongside them, the team at The Synergist has worked extremely hard to bring our vision to life, overcoming development challenges and navigating very different perspectives, needs and expectations. I am immensely proud of our platforms, members and our team, who together truly reflect change and are driving meaningful action on essential societal issues.