Knowledge is highly dependent on context. A one-story building built on bedrock, for example, has very different requirements than a skyscraper established on sandy soil. Excellence in design and construction can be achieved in either case, but the solutions are not interchangeable.
Though conditions can vary considerably, principles of construction -- indeed, scientific findings generally -- are consistent. Were this not so, our knowledge is lacking. In fact, knowledge can be defined thus. Where there is knowledge, there is understanding. Where there is understanding, there are dependable solutions. Where there are dependable solutions, we find beneficial natural conditions. In people, we find high levels of health and energy, mobility, and high performance levels. In engineering and commercial endeavors, we find safety and stability, controlled elements including costs, and sustainability.
For these reasons, it is imperative that we establish policies and norms that drive us toward root causes, of understanding them and adapting to them. This involves a myriad of factors, technological and scientific as well as political, social, economic, and educational. Recently, for example, a health care solution, a questionnaire, was presented as being 87% effective in identifying orthopedic problems. Such a success rate in building and construction would be criminal and negligent. Imagine if 13% of buildings were allowed to fall simply from an inability or unwillingness to understand the root causes in question and adapting to them.
Why is mobility lacking? Stability is missing. Why is sustainability lacking? Something has not been accounted for. In each case, we need systematic ways of identifying the people with answers, of supporting their quest for additional knowledge, and of adapting to what they say with regard to the problem at hand.
The 2020 Program for Global Health is organized to support such factors with regard to the health of the people. The program is based on proven approaches to health finance on a national level based on public-private partnerships, on critical links between science and health by connecting people with knowledge sources in each case, and on establishment of knowledge fluidity and immersion generally. These principles and resources can be applied to other sectors as well.