Vision, mission and values

The Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (the Alliance) envisions a world where health policy and systems research is generated and used to contribute to significant progress in reducing health inequities and achieving major global health targets, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

In this vision, health policy and systems research plays a crucial role in:

• health-related systems delivering universal health coverage through a primary health care approach;
• protecting populations from health emergencies; and
• improving social, economic and environmental conditions to enable all people to live healthier lives.

Our vision centers the health goals and priorities of individual countries, while aligning with global priorities such as the SDGs and WHO’s Fourteenth General Programme of Work. Despite the increasing challenges posed by interconnected global crises, the need for locally driven, evidence-informed, and politically feasible solutions has never been greater.

By focusing on systems, networks, and interrelationships, health policy and systems research can offer substantial contributions to addressing these complex global and national challenges. It can also enable a better understanding of how to move from evidence to policies to implementation, effecting change and improving health outcomes.

The Alliance’s core mission is to support the generation and use of health policy and systems research through building capacity to do so and through supporting approaches to maximize its impact.

This mission enables research and learning grounded in key methodologies and approaches including:

• systems thinking
• policy analysis
• embedded implementation research and
• delivery science

These methodologies help implement solutions that overcome systemic barriers to effective policy development, implementation, and service delivery, resulting in improved health and health equity.

As the only United Nations-based institution focused on health policy and systems research, the Alliance works with policy-makers, civil society and communities alongside academic and research institutions in countries to improve health systems, policies and outcomes.

Leveraging WHO and its regional and country presence, the Alliance strengthens institutional capacity to generate health policy and systems research. Convening dialogue is also integral to the Alliance’s mission – bringing together researchers across different disciplines, policy-makers, programme implementers, health workers, and community and civil society representatives at the national and subnational levels. Hosted within the WHO Science Division, the Alliance influences WHO’s research and learning agenda and also complements efforts and activities across WHO’s work at the global, regional and country levels.

With its focus on supporting the local generation and co-production of policy- and practice-oriented research and learning, the Alliance powers system improvements to accelerate progress on health and health equity. It also collaborates with multilateral and bilateral agencies, global health initiatives and private foundations to design and fund innovative approaches. Working with partners around the world, it refines and develops new methodologies. With civil society, governments and international actors it advocates for support and investment in health policy and systems research to improve health and health equity.

The Alliance recognizes health as a human right and is committed to:

• Equity: addressing health equity as an outcome and a matter of social justice; considering equity across the research and policy and implementation cycles; and supporting research that is informed by and contributes to overcoming the systematic denial of rights, opportunities and resources to certain individuals and groups resulting in their intersectional marginalization, discrimination or unequal treatment.
• Gender equality: bringing diverse perspectives to research, revealing intersectional discrimination and inequalities, and promoting gender-balanced research teams and institutional capacity.
• Participation: ensuring research relevance, implementation and ownership by incorporating diverse perspectives and actively involving marginalized groups through co-production and co-creation practices.
• Solidarity: committing to long-term, sustained partnerships with flexibility and responsiveness, accompanying partners and often acting as a bridge with other global and country partners.

These values shape the Alliance’s work, ensuring accountability and impact.