EIS Virtual webinars provide free access to global conversations in evidence-informed practice and implementation science.
Scaling what works to improve childhood outcomes
Joe Elias, Global Health and Early Childhood Implementation Specialist, currently Senior Director Program Management, Sesame Workshop
Jimmy McLauchlan, Chief Development Officer, MMS, and Program Lead – ENGAGE
Facilitated by Dr Robyn Mildon, CEO, Centre for Evidence and Implementation
Visiting Associate Professor, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, and Adjunct Associate Professor, Monash University
Across all social service fields, it is a sad fact that effective, evidence-backed ideas and innovations generally fail to reach everyone who could benefit.
While there are many promising small-scale innovations, few ever make the leap to large-scale impact. And lasting systemic change – that might improve population-level outcomes – remains elusive.
This webinar unpacks the nuances of scaling up effective policy innovations in the field of early childhood development. Our global experts will offer insights into how the path to scale can be found – and widened – by the joint work of practitioners, policymakers and leaders.
EIS Virtual webinars provide free access to global conversations in evidence-informed practice and implementation science. More information on EIS Virtual and all past webinar recordings are available HERE.
The next Evidence and Implementation Summit (EIS) is scheduled for 27-29 October 2025.
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Joe Elias is a Programs and Partnerships practitioner in the global public health and early childhood development sectors. He has led strategic operations and learning for large-scale, multi-country, multi-sectoral projects including management of a US$100M philanthropy-funded early childhood development project, a US$200M CDC-funded health and research project, and management of smaller grant projects (US$500k to $20M) including several community investment funds.
Joe has had the privilege of working with communities across the globe, with in-depth experience in sub-Saharan Africa, Melanesia, the Middle East and North Africa, Australasia, Western Europe, and North America. Over more than 20 years, he has specialised in designing, implementing and monitoring programs for children, women, refugees and other vulnerable populations with a focus on evidence-based programming and impact at scale.
Joe is currently closing out his role as Senior Program Director in the International Social Impact division of Sesame Workshop (the non-profit behind Sesame Street) where his focus has been the US$100M MacArthur-funded Ahlan Simsim initiative, aiding communities in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Syria and the broader Middle East.
Jimmy McLauchlan specialises in the implementation of evidence-based approaches at scale, in his work as an intermediary across research, policy, funding and practice in Aotearoa / New Zealand.
Jimmy leads scaling of the ENGAGE self-regulation program (delivered to 2,200 early childhood education centres), and co-leads the Kia Tīmata Pai Study, a large-scale RCT on the effects of oral language and self-regulation interventions in early childhood education. He also co-founded the Aotearoa Lifecourse Fund, a venture philanthropy initiative that applies implementation science approaches to find, fund and scale programs that improve people’s lifecourse skills from pre-birth to early adulthood.
Jimmy is Chief Development Officer at Methodist Mission Southern (MMS), where his portfolio includes initiatives focused on: self-regulation and oral language for pre- and primary-school children, speech language communication for youth and adults, virtual reality education tools for prison-based and community learners, transitional housing models for young people, data-driven capability building initiatives for social service providers, and modified e-therapies for supporting mental health and wellbeing.
Webinar host and moderator: Dr Robyn Mildon
CEO, Centre for Evidence and Implementation
Visiting Professor, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore
Adjunct Associate Professor, Monash University