We ask for your ideas on this question, to encourage discussion about the Society in the run up to more formal discussions in the Beijing Symposium.
You can find the background materials and other questions here.
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We ask for your ideas on this question, to encourage discussion about the Society in the run up to more formal discussions in the Beijing Symposium.
You can find the background materials and other questions here.
• Form regional or national subgroups
• Collaborate with governments, universities e.t.c to support ‘ailing’ health systems
• Provide and/or support hands-on training for workers in the health system
• Train leaders and managers in the health system
• Design a formal structure for PhD in Health Systems Studies
• Usual workshops and conferences
Activities to include the following:
(i) Conducting Annual Meeting.
(ii) Establishing a program to build the capacity of people working in health systems in developing countries to conduct more robust HSR.
(iii) Creating and coordinating an online “”HSR-Community of Practice Forum”” for sharing results, skills, best-practices, and fostering collaboration.
In my opinion, the first thing the society has to do is 1.membership from around the world and formation of regional or country level societies.
2. Annual meetings of society members and a regular monitoring on the activities of the members
3. Quality research works
4. Conferences in different countries
5. Publications
Advocacy and participation is necessary and it should be sustainable
Core group can formed to workout strategies.
Questions can be split up with sub headings
Dr.Murali- CHRI- Tamilnadu -India
The society can as well come up with a Journal. Such a journal can focus on health systems work
I think one of the function among others, we should engage advocacy for more funding. Reason being that despite Health system being central in the health sector, less resources have been devoted to it and as a consequence making less progress in the global health outcomes.
The only thing I am missing and want to add to the many excellent suggestions of those who have commented before me is activities to strengthen the skills /ability of researchers and analysts to prepare and provide information in formats that will be read with interest and inform people who are not researchers or specialists but nevertheless critical in knowledge translation. Many decision makers and practitioners pay attention to what they read /hear /see through the media. Presenting information and evidence that we think could positively influence decision making and practice through this media is a skill set that the society could look at ways of further developing among health policy and systems researchers. To my observation they are not skill sets that are taught as part of research training. Related to this will also be incentives for writing up and presenting information this way. Could a really good newspaper article that translates research evidence into more general audience consumable presentations also count towards the promotion credits of those who work in “publish or perish” type institutions?
I think it would be important to find ways to extend collaborations for developing innovations – particularly in development of research methods to measure health systems performance. We could think about ways to set up Open Innovations (http://www.openinnovation.net/), that may also contribute to capacity building as well as testing of innovations in multiple sites simultaneously but in ways that extend beyond traditional multi-site studies. In this same vein, it will be important to encourage and promote connections between members from different disciplines as this seems to be key not only to understanding health systems but also inspiring innovation.
You might disagree with my categories, but here goes…(a long shopping list, not prioritised)
The usual: Conferences and training courses; Website; Dissemination of research materials, approaches, case studies, training materials, notice of events; perhaps act as a repository or clearing house for the above; An e-newsletter that is useful, or a sub-section to an already useful e-newsletter; capacity building in all forms – training, internships, prizes, mentorship; promoting collaborative research…
The not-particularly usual: Support to developing networks and associations in the South – for example, the Association of Schools of Public Health in Africa will be hosting a meeting with a focus on Health Systems in November. An international society that helps to support the development of networks in the South to run with health systems approaches will be of great value. There are many other such opportunities, no doubt.
The unusual: Finding ways to support exchanges between scholars and practitioners engaged in health systems work – particularly, but not restricted, amongst the south; Virtual conferences entirely organised through video conferencing and other technologies (climate change is real and we have to do something about it!)
I am in two minds about suggesting a discussion list – I think my inbox will explode with yet another discussion list – so perhaps there are ways of smartening e-list discussion groups (that I haven’t yet realised but am happy to be instructed).
I think that AcademyHealth http://www.academyhealth.org/index.cfm?navItemNumber=506 could be a good model (although obviously the society would have a more developing country focus). Membership based, AcademyHealth seems to promote a community of practice through online training and webinars; an annual conference; facilitating information flow. (eg. job postings) and interest groups.
Three critical activities that reflect my views on the mission are a) catalysing through networking, the existing related initiatives; b) strengthening the training of those who will do and use the knowledge generated through research and analysis; c) deepening and extending the understandings and methods that underpin research and analysis in this field
Possible multiple events/activities for the society:
1. Capacity building in research on health system with specific courses with practical relevance to developing countries
2. Exchange, dialogues and collaboration through workshop and/or conference
The society should additionally function as a platform for networking between individuals, institutions, countries, regions etc.
The comparative study of a specific domain of health system between countries which have some common characteristics in terms of social value, economics, demography, governance, finance and degree of complexity of the health system.
I find the discussions on capacity building quite interesting. Many stakeholders in the field already do that,starting with major academic institutions. Would be interesting to know what additional capacity building expectations we have from the society and refine our understanding of content and target audience.
Support to conferences, seminars, networking, policy sensitization, training, scholarships and research.
Could the society function more as a Community of Practice, such as the ‘CoP Financial Access to Health Services’? It seems there are already too many old-technology, business-as-usual types of meetings and workshops. Rather than trying to come up with yet another globally-defined research agenda, the new society could add value by keeping a light and lean structure, and seek to build upon and complement on-going health system research events and actions in countries and regions. Building ties between existing efforts, to reduce fragmentation and accelerate disseminating and sharing, would be a wonderful way to avoid duplicative and siloed efforts. There are many wonderful persons already engaged in work, in countries, that need more support.
Functions
– Provide information to researchers on funding availability
– Set up a Needs Directory where policy makers and managers can state their research needs to attract national and international collaborators.
– Set up an Expert Directory that will help researchers find collaborators
– Disseminate new knowledge through a rapid-publishing online journal.
– Provide a job-board such as that provided by the Academy of Management
– Provide the opportunity for researchers to publish peer-reviewed monographs/books that are downloadable for free from the HSG website
Events
– Annual Researcher Conference for dissemination of best-practice, evidence-based research and networking
– Set up physical and virtual forums where researchers can present their work to policy makers and where policy makers can communicate their needs to researchers.
Activities
Keep on involving the society community in online discussions and debates to keep the intellectual and practical juices flowing.
Maintain a website with following content (some of these can be combined):
Contacts
News
Introduction
Aims
History
Publications
Scientific Meetings
Professional Pathways
Research Support
Historical Collection
Awards and Honours
Other Membership Benefits
Membership Categories
Branches, Special interest groups
Membership Year
Code of Ethics
Organisation of the Society
Have a members only section with access to:
– member information
– regional database
– expertise listings
– special interest groups
– forum
– allow members to post a meeting or conference
Set up an ‘attractive’ membership structure (up to Fellow level) to encourage subscriptions. Give generous discounts to developing countries.
From my perspective, these are some of the functions:
• experts for specified expertise in health system;
• Register agencies willing to support health system & policy research and reforms;
• Provide platforms for the exchange ideas and debate about contemporary health system concerns, reforms and relationships;
• Advocate for the generation of rigorous evidence using appropriate ontology;
• Advance competence in methodological pluralisms required to address complex health systems and policy questions;
• Provide a network of support to young scientists to take and grow their careers in health systems and policy research;
• Identify seminal texts, outstanding publications and opportunities for continuous professional development for the members;
1. Conferences
2. Capacities building and strengthening workshops permanent technical support for countries
3. Workshops (video conferences)
4. Website
Meetings that might focus on methodological issues as well as ones focusing on applications and challenges in applying HS research findings. Social media would be important with a website that gives opportunities to share resources and and dialogue.
Society members faciltated to assist national HS researchers and governements to develop and implement local workable and sustainable interventions to adress challenges facing heakth systems particularly in developing countries, based on other society members’ experiences from their countries.
1. Virtual community of practice
The society should support the establishment of interest groups, development of research tools for researchers and policy makers (database), dissemination of results, creation of national and regional chapters, capacity building workshops and trainings, taskforces and Technical working groups, student and scholarships on health systems strengthening, mentoring and coaching etc. The list is long depending on needs in the future and capacity of the society.
1. scientific activities (symposiums, Journal, training sessions) +++++
2. Political activities (advocacy, …)
3.Humanitarian activities (ponctual assistance to a cause…)
4.social activities (social networking, country touring…)
To promote better understanding of the political economy of health systems in developing countries
Advocacy: to interface with politicians and other policy makers on the use of HSR results to advocate for greater funding of health systems in developing countries.
Promote greater understanding of the politics of health systems in developing countries
Advocacy: Interfacing with the political class and policy makers to use research findings for policy
Given the wide dispersion of intersted people, let’s look to a society that makes greater use of webinars and other electronic means of meeting, learning and sharing.
Even if there is a physical meeting (as in Beijing) it would be useful to have the option to attend (some) sessions electronically.
This fits in with less money being available for conference attendance and competing time demands.
And the carbon footprint is better.
1. Conference
2. Capacity building and strengthening workshops and short courses on leadership, policy, and governance related areas
3. Publications
1.Founding Regional Offices as WHO
2. Capacities building and strengthening workshops or permanent technical support for countries
3. Multi-countries operational researchs
4. Webinars (video conferences)
5.Conference
6. Website
a. Capacity development workshops: Share skills and experiences among members; build research capacity in HSR and creat a critical mass of researchers and end-users of HSR methodologies and outputs; develop and standardize appropriate HSR methodologies.
b. Research: Embark on multi-country and multi-regional collaborative research projects
c. Conferences
d. Journal publication