Through a flexible Helpdesk model, the TCoE provides rapid, demand-driven technical support to support inclusive, sustainable and responsible technological transformation. The TCoE Helpdesk offers short-term technical assistance across a range of thematic areas, including artificial intelligence, digital governance, digital public infrastructure, cyber resilience, climate, engineering biology, technology ecosystem development, and the responsible and inclusive use of technology.

The Helpdesk model — which Results for Development pioneered — is designed to provide flexible and responsive support tailored to country needs. Drawing on a combination of independent specialists and institutional partners from the UK and globally, the TCoE can rapidly mobilise technical expertise with both sectoral and contextual knowledge relevant to country priorities and emerging opportunities. The TCoE helps translate expertise and evidence into actionable support for development objectives, including supporting policy development, capacity building and strengthening institutions, and enabling longer-terms systems change.

During its pilot phase (January – March 2026), the TCoE Helpdesk provided support for initiatives related to AI ecosystem mapping, innovation cluster development, and digital health and AI landscape analysis, demonstrating the value of rapid access to specialist expertise and building the foundations for future partnerships.

Building on the pilot phase, the TCoE is now expanding its support across a broader range of countries and thematic areas (see below) through March 2027. The model is intended to support more connected, responsive, and collaborative approaches to science and technology engagement across the FCDO network.

Thematic Areas:

• AI, digital, data & tech governance
• Addressing the gender digital divide & standards
• Tech start-up sector growth
• Accessible, responsible, ethical & inclusive use of technology
• Engineering biology
• Digital public infrastructure
• Environment​ & climate
• Cyber-resilience and space

R4D is proud to partner with FCDO on the delivery of the Tech Community of Expertise and help connect partner countries with expertise and practical support that contributes to inclusive, sustainable and responsible technological transformation and development outcomes.

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Adaora has led and contributed to high-impact initiatives that strengthen health systems, accelerate digital innovation and expand access to quality health care across Africa. In her most recent leadership role, she designed and implemented digital health and AI-enabled programs that improved patient-centered care for people living with chronic and routine health conditions while leading multicountry capacity-building initiatives that have reached more than 16,000 health care workers, managers and policymakers. She has also spearheaded innovative models that combine digital technologies, human-centered support and sustainable financing to improve continuity of care, health literacy and equitable access to health care.

Previously, Adaora led the Nigeria Health Innovation Marketplace, bringing together government, development partners, investors and health innovators to accelerate scalable health solutions. She designed innovation acceleration and investment readiness programs that helped health ventures secure more than US$1 million in funding and expand services to more than 280,000 beneficiaries. She also curated innovations that formed part of Nigeria’s investment case for the Global Financing Facility. A Commonwealth Professional Fellow, she continues to advance the responsible adoption of AI and digital transformation in health systems through user-centered design, policy engagement and implementation support.

Adaora serves as a board adviser to Hillbridge Consulting. She holds a Master of Science in public health from the University of Bedfordshire in the United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Science in applied microbiology from Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Nigeria. She also holds PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner certifications, a Project Management in Global Health certification from the University of Washington, and was awarded a Commonwealth Professional Fellowship.

Publications

• Baldridge et al. Formative Evaluation and Adaptation of a Hypertension Extension for Community Health Outcomes Program for Healthcare Workers within the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. Global Heart Journal of the World Heart Federation (2023).
• Baldridge et al. Enhancing Hypertension Education of Community Health Extension Workers in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory: the impact of the extension for community healthcare outcomes model on primary care, a quasi-experimental study. BMC Primary Care (2024).
• Baldridge et al. Implementation of the Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes Model for Hypertension Education of Frontline Health Care Workers in the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria: Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Evaluation. JMIR Publications (2025).

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Ms. Zues has extensive experience supporting ministries of health and national purchasers to design and implement strategic purchasing reforms. She has led the development of service specifications, payment mechanisms, contracting arrangements, and performance monitoring systems under Programs of Medical Guarantees, including reforms for PHC, hospital care, maternal and child health, and noncommunicable diseases. Her work includes designing risk-adjusted capitation models for PHC in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan; leading costing studies for rehabilitation, telemedicine, and TB services in Ukraine and Uzbekistan; and supporting DRG-based hospital payment reforms in Ukraine, Ghana, Vietnam, and Uzbekistan. She has also modeled annual budgets to assess financial risks for providers and purchasing agencies and advised governments on policies related to pooling, provider autonomy, and benefit design. In addition, she has strengthened ministry capacity to coordinate cross-sector reforms within sector-wide approaches (SWAp) and supported the use of costing data and National Health Accounts to inform resource allocation.

Ms. Zues brings deep expertise in TB financing and service delivery reform. She has led TB system mapping and facility-level costing; designed case-based payment models and laboratory payment approaches; and developed incentives to strengthen TB detection and treatment within PHC. She has supported the inclusion of TB services in State Medical Guarantee Programs and the design of TB contracting arrangements for national purchasers. She has also facilitated regional learning exchanges across Eastern Europe and Central Asia to build capacity in TB payment reform and contributed to multi-country assessments in Sub-Saharan Africa to address financial barriers to TB, HIV, and malaria services.

As a senior fellow at Results for Development (R4D), Ms. Zues supports the Rehab4U project, leading a national rehabilitation costing study in Ukraine to inform revisions to payment systems under the Program of Medical Guarantees (PMG) and supporting strategic purchasing dialogue with the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) and development partners.

Publications:

• Estimating Resources Associated with Delivering Telemedicine Services at Facility Level in Ukraine | Local Health System Sustainability Project, 2024
• Ukraine: Review of Health Ukraine Health Financing Reform: Progress and Future Directions. 2022
• Ukraine: Review of Health Financing Reforms 2016–2019: WHO–World Bank Joint Report, 2020

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Phase one of this partnership (2023-2024) helped the Ministry of Health design a bold approach to scaling up health innovations as a core function of the health system. Key achievements included:

• Developing the strategic architecture for sourcing and scaling health innovation that builds on the good practices and learning of others around the world. This has helped embed innovation within ongoing health system reform processes, and has ensured a demand-led approach that enables the Ministry of Health to identify entry points where innovation can be impactful.
• Helping the HSIQ team to develop and deepen relationships with actors in the wider health innovation ecosystem (both national and global) and establish a shared language around innovation and scaling to enable more effective collaboration.
• Creating a government-led, demand-driven innovation policy that starts from system challenges, not donor project ideas.
• Developing of key platforms enabling health system actors to learn about and directly contribute to the development of homegrown innovations, including the National Innovation Lab Ethiopia (NILE) within the Ministry of Health in Addis Ababa, the National Healthcare Innovation & Quality Steering Committee (NHIQ-SC), and an annual National Healthcare Innovation and Quality Summit.

Reflecting on Phase One, Dr. Abas Hassen, Lead Executive Officer for Health Systems Innovation and Quality in the Ministry of Health noted:

“Working with the R4D team has been a pleasure throughout this partnership. We have found them to be very collaborative, responsive, and sensitive to government needs, priorities and ways of working, as well as extremely knowledgeable around innovation and scaling processes. Their support has been instrumental in the design and Ministerial adoption of our inaugural National Health System Innovation Guidelines; the creation of a demand articulation process to help identify innovation priorities across technical directorates; the establishment of a dedicated Innovation Hub within the Ministry; and our team’s engagement with the wider health innovation ecosystem at both national and global levels.”

A key component of this success has been Ethiopia’s official adoption of the Mountain Model — a six-stage framework for scaling innovations — as the backbone of its national strategy and approach for scaling public-sector innovations. The Mountain Model was developed by Results for Development and Kenya-based Insight Health Advisors for the International Development Innovation Alliance (IDIA). Today, the Mountain Model is also being used by the Ministries of Health in Kenya and Tanzania, and provided the basis of the World Health Organization’s first-ever ‘Global Call to Action for Health Innovation Scale-Up by the Public Sector’.

This foundational work has already expanded access to innovative, life-saving solutions—from infant radiant warmers and phototherapy machines produced by local manufacturers to homegrown digital tools such as locally built electronic medical record (EMR) systems. System innovations are also taking root.

Phase two of the partnership will strengthen the research–innovation–scaling pathway and address bottlenecks identified in phase one. Key areas of focus include:

• Integrating innovation decision-making processes into existing health system governance processes and structures across national, regional, district, and facility levels.
• Developing a comprehensive Innovation & Scaling Financing Strategy to enhance the efficient mobilization and deployment of capital to advance impact, including crafting Innovation Investment Cases to attract domestic and international co-financing.
• Supporting the Ministry’s various technical Executive Offices to establish a range of innovation and scaling collaborations, and mobilizing regional and international partners.
• Building an online portfolio repository and dashboard that track innovations across the health system and links performance to quality-of-care metrics.
• Designing modular, AI-enabled learning tools to enable wider capacity development around innovation and scaling across the health system workforce, and creating a cadre of Innovation Champions to lead and sustain the scaling process.

This new phase aims to strengthen Ethiopia’s innovation ecosystem and the essential scaling infrastructure that can help reduce fragmentation, elevate local solutions, and advance long-term health system transformation.

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About R4D

Results for Development (R4D) is a leading nonprofit global development partner. We collaborate with change agents — government officials, civil society leaders and social innovators — supporting them as they navigate complex change processes to achieve large-scale, lasting outcomes in health, education and nutrition. We work with country leaders to diagnose challenges, co-create, innovate and implement solutions built on evidence and stakeholder input. We also support them to engage in learning to adapt, iterate and improve the efficacy of programs. At the same time, we are working to strengthen global, regional and country ecosystems that support country leaders with expertise, evidence, and innovations. R4D helps country leaders solve their immediate challenges today, while also strengthening systems and institutions to address tomorrow’s challenges. And we share what we learn so others around the world can achieve results for development too. www.R4D.org

About IDIA

IDIA is a coalition of leading development agencies founded in 2015 that has since grown under R4D’s management to become a global hub for over 400 actors from government, civil society and academia working together to advance innovation for sustainable development.

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