Capacity for Health Policy

and Systems Research and

Analysis in seven African

universities

Tolib Mirzoev; Gillian Le; Ricky Kalliecharan; Irene

Agyepong; Ermin Erasmus; Jane Goudge; Peter

Kamuzora; Uta Lehmann; Stephen Okeyo; Don de

Savigny; Goran Tomson; Benjamin Uzochukwu;

Lucy Gilson

Second Global Symposium on Health Systems Research

Beijing, 31 October – 3 November 2012

Presentation outline

1. Introduction

a. Background

b. CHEPSAA project

2. Scope and methods

3. Main findings

4. Key messages

5. Project activities in

strengthening capacities

Introduction • HPSR+A is essential for HS strengthening and achieving universal

health coverage

– BUT… capacity for HPSR+A is limited in lower income countries

• A range of organisations require analytical capacity e.g. MOH, think

tanks, civil society, academia

• Local universities are particularly important, because of teaching

mandate and knowledge production

• HOWEVER…

– Little is known about capacity of universities to teach and research HPSR+A

– No frameworks were found for assessing HPSR+A capacity

CHEPSAA project (2011-2014)

• Consortium for Health Policy and Systems Analysis in Africa

• Innovative EC-funded four-year collaboration between 7 African

and 4 European universities.

• Aims to strengthen capacity of universities in Ghana, Kenya,

Nigeria, Tanzania and South Africa to:

– produce high quality HPSR+A work

– provide HPSR+A training

– engage with networks

– communicate research into policy and practice

Capacity needs assessments • We aimed to:

– inform planning of project activities

– contribute to wider organisational development and building the field of

HPSR+A nationally and internationally

• Phased 3 level approach (context, organisational, individual)

• Focus on capacity assets and capacity needs

– Self-assessments by each institution using a common framework

– Data collection methods: document reviews, interviews and surveys

– Comparative analysis drawing on study country reports

Wider context including demand for HPSR+A

Thematic areas for capacity assessments

Resources (staff numbers and skills, funding, infrastructure)

Leadership and Governance

Nature of organisations

Quality assurance for Research & Teaching

Research Teaching

Networking and GRIPP

Scope of HPSR+A activities

Capacity needs within each assessment area

CAPACITY

TO...

...take account of wider context

...lead and govern

...communicate and network

...maintain demand for HPSR+A work

...ensure quality of HPSR+A work

(research and teaching)

...generate and use resources

Key Findings

Nature of organisations

• All partners are

units/departments within

wider universities

• All partners are recognised

HPSR+A groups nationally

and internationally

• With exception of IDS

(Tanzania), all are health-

specific

University of Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania) Institute of Development Studies

University of Ghana (Ghana) School of Public Health Department of Health Policy, Planning and Management

University of Nigeria Enugu (Nigeria) Health Policy Research Group Department of Health Administration and Management

Great Lakes University of Kisumu (Kenya) Tropical Institute of Community Health and Development

University of Cape Town (South Africa) Health Policy and Systems Programme Health Economics Unit

University of the Western Cape (South Africa) School of Public Health

University of Witwatersrand (South Africa) Centre for Health Policy

Nature of organisations

Leadership and governance

• Vision for HPSR+A mostly exists and relates to wider

institutional purpose

• Structures and processes to support HPSR+A exist

• HPSR+A „champions‟ exist but succession challenges

Resources

• Staff shortages especially senior

• Different income patterns including unpredictable external

funding

• Infrastructural constraints in East/West Africa but not South

Africa.

Scope of HPSR+A activities HPSR+A work

• All partners actively engaged in HPSR+A research and teaching

• Lack of clarity on identity of HPSR+A compared with clinical sciences

Quality Assurance for HPSR+A

• QA exists for both research and teaching

– research – most attention on proposal and output and less on process

– teaching – clear links with institutional guidelines where exist

Communication, Networking, GRIPP

• Different GRIPP mechanisms are used in partner institutions

• All involved in research networks BUT no HPSR+A teaching networks

were found

Wider context

Demand for HPSR+A Research & Teaching

• Growing (but still limited) demand for HPSR+A research and

teaching

– organisational funding for teaching is primarily from government

– limited domestic funding for research

– research priorities may be skewed by reliance on international funding

• Few systematic opportunities for researcher-practitioner

engagement

– lack of coordinated HPSR+A research priorities

– limited uptake of evidence by decision-makers

Key messages

1. Local universities are central to strengthening

HPSR+A capacity

2. CHEPSAA African partners already have

capacity „assets‟ to build upon

3. HPSR+A is an international priority and existing

activity in Africa

– HOWEVER still an emerging field that needs support

CHEPSAA capacity strengthening activities

• Clarifying / refining vision for HPSR+A

• Aligning HPSR+A capacity strengthening within organisational development

- strengthening skills for curriculum design and teaching

- developing „Young Leaders' programme for Africa

• Mainstreaming HPSR+A into undergraduate and postgraduate teaching

- open access course on „Intro to Health Policy and Systems‟

- advanced course on „Health Policy Analysis‟

• Developing a model HPSR+A training curricula with Africa-relevant training content

• ...

For more information please visit : http://www.hpsa-africa.org/

Creative Commons

license

“Capacity for Health Policy and Systems Research and Analysis in seven African

universities”

By: Tolib Mirzoev; Gillian Le; Ricky Kalliecharan; Irene Agyepong; Ermin Erasmus; Jane

Goudge; Peter Kamuzora; Uta Lehmann; Stephen Okeyo; Don de Savigny; Goran

Tomson; Benjamin Uzochukwu; Lucy Gilson

is licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5

South Africa License. Please see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/za/

for terms and conditions.

Thank you ! University of Dar Es Salaam Institute of Development Studies

University of Witwatersrand Centre for Health Policy

University of Ghana School of Public Health Department of Health Policy, Planning and Management

University of Leeds Nuffield Centre for International Health and Development

University of Nigeria Enugu Health Policy Research Group & the Department of Health Administration and Management

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Health Economics and Systems Analysis Group, Depart of Global Health & Dev.

Great Lakes University of Kisumu Tropical Institute of Community Health and Development

Karolinska Institutet Health Systems and Policy Group, Department of Public Health Sciences

University of Cape Town Health Policy and Systems Programme, Health Economics Unit

Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute Health Systems Research Group

University of the Western Cape School of Public Health

http://www.hpsa-africa.org/