The Partnership

Future Health Systems is a partnership of seven organisations. This set of partners was assembled because of the strategic importance of the countries involved, the strength and complementarily nature of the skills of its members. The countries are critical to the success of the millennium development goal targets, and reflect an important variety of national realities. The RPC provides an unprecedented opportunity to bring together ideas, tools, and change agents to tackle common concerns in key countries.

The consortium partners are:

ICDDR,B, Dhaka, Bangladesh, is a distinguished research, training and service institution and is the only international health research centre based in a developing country (Bangladesh). Its reputation has largely been established in biomedical and population research, and has recently broadened its mandate to examine health systems and poverty issues. It has recently established a Health and Poverty Programme, which it intends to strengthen through participation in the RPC. ICDDR,B has worked extensively with JHSPH in numerous research endeavours over the past 40 years in child health and demographic surveillance.

Chinese Health Economics Institute (CHEI), Beijing, China is a centre of national excellence in health policy systems research, a major source of policy advice to government, and the coordinator of the Health Economics Network of research institutions, working closely with IDS on these issues. It has been recently assigned responsibility for supporting implementation of a new national rural health financing scheme, and will use the RPC to develop its capacity to fulfil its new role. It has substantial strength in working with policy-makers.

Indian Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR), Jaipur, India is India's premier institution dedicated to improving standards in health through better management of health programs. IIHMR is engaged in health policy, programme planning, management and capacity building, and undertakes research, training, and consulting. The JHSPH was a partner in the founding of the IIHMR over 20 years ago, has trained key personnel and collaborates on research projects, including a major project in Afghanistan.

Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Brighton, UK is an international centre of excellence in multi-disciplinary analysis, teaching, and practice of development. Its areas of expertise include poverty dynamics, social policy analysis, processes for involving stakeholders, strategies for making health services more accountable to their community; and research methods that combine quantitative and qualitative evaluation of performance of health systems. The organisation has experience working on health and social protection in China, Uganda, and other Asian and African countries, innovative strategies to improve provider performance in China and Bangladesh, and developing analytic frameworks to bring together development and public health approaches to understanding health systems.

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH), Baltimore, USA is the largest institution of public health research, education, and professional practice in the world. It is part of the Johns Hopkins University, the first research-based university in the United States. The JHSPH has a commitment to excellence in research that has demonstrated impact on the performance of health systems and on national and international policy. Its Health Systems Programme (HSP) is widely recognised as a centre of international excellence in health policy, health systems analysis, health economics, epidemiology, public health, health education, and research and evaluation methodologies. JHSPH has a number of longstanding partnerships with institutions in Africa and Asia and a commitment to multi-disciplinary research on health system development.

The Institute of Public Health (IPH), Makerere University

University of Ibadan, College of Medicine, Faculty of Public Health, Ibadan, Nigeria is one of the leading research and teaching health institutions in Western Africa, and is actively involved in programmes and research in health sector reform. The college works closely with state and federal governments in Nigeria, and with NGOs and international agencies. The faculty have collaborated closely with faculties in JHSPH and IDS on a number of projects in health education and reproductive health. It brings to the consortium important expertise in understanding knowledge and attitudes.