All teach, all learn
Project ECHO® (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is a learning model that uses video conferencing to share specialist knowledge and best practice across health and social care.
What is Project ECHO?
Project ECHO uses a ‘learning loop’ approach. Participants learn from each other by working through real cases together and sharing best practice over video conferencing. We call it ‘all teach, all learn’.
It breaks down hierarchies of specialist knowledge by creating virtual communities of practice, so expertise reaches the people who need it, wherever they work.
Dr Sanjeev Arora on ECHO
Watch Dr Sanjeev Arora, the founder of Project ECHO, explain the essence of ECHO and how it fosters collaborative learning, and how the model empowers professionals by connecting them through knowledge-sharing networks.
How an ECHO session works
Agree the curriculum
Hub members and participants meet at the start to agree the topics together.
Expert teaching
Each session opens with 20–30 minutes of teaching from a topic expert.
Case presentations
One or two participants present a real case from practice, using a set template.
Network discussion
The whole network, experts and peers alike, discusses the cases and shares what works.
- Sessions last 75–120 minutes
- Recorded and stored securely, with a unique login
- Resources kept on Moodle
The ECHO Journey
A short film on how ECHO’s hub-and-spoke networks link specialist teams with professionals across the system to form virtual communities of practice.
Project ECHO began at the University of New Mexico and now runs in countries around the world. Visit the ECHO Institute
The people behind ECHO NI
Every ECHO network is supported by a dedicated ECHO team. An IT technician and an ECHO Co-ordinator support each network, and our Evaluation and Impact Officer evaluates every network.
Prof. Max WatsonProgramme Director
Elaine KaneProject Support Officer
Eamonn HaugheyTechnical Services Engineer
Leanne McAuleyEvaluation and Impact Officer
Dr David RogersProject Educator
Ready to join a network?
If you work in health and social care in Northern Ireland, register on Moodle, the ECHO learning platform, and join the network for your area of work.