Established over twenty-five years ago, the Alliance has been dedicated to advancing the field of health policy and systems research (HPSR). It was established in response to the WHO AdHoc Committee on Health Research finding that there was inadequate global investment and lack of coordination in health systems and health policies research to improve health.
Today, the field boasts widespread recognition, accepted methods, a global society and a critical mass of researchers and institutions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). As the field has continued to mature, articulate impact and seek sustainability, recent global events have raised important questions:
- Where is the field going?
- What are its new borders?
- Are the methods and theories being used sufficient?
- Are there new topics health policy and systems research should address?
- How to best strengthen and support capacities and capabilities for health policy and systems research across people and institutions, at all levels of the health system, and in all global regions?
To discuss these questions and to celebrate the recognition bestowed on the field by the awarding of the 2024 Virchow Prize to Professor Lucy Gilson, the Alliance convened a small group of emerging and established experts from 10–11 March 2025, in Geneva, Switzerland.
Recalibrating to the current contexts
The two-day workshop explored what the field has achieved and what it continues to need. Through an exchange between two cohorts of the Health Policy Analysis fellows, participants highlighted the need to improve the explanatory power of existing public policy theories by adapting them to diverse LMIC settings. They particularly emphasized the need to look at lusophone and francophone regions that have typically benefitted less from HPSR investments, and striking balances between research and analysis, engagement with private sector and new actors, and policy and research actors. Dr Keith Cloete, Head of Department of Health, Western Cape Province, South Africa, emphasised these tensions: “As a policy-maker, I live in a world that is immediate and chaotic. Where does that chaos come from? Not from a world framed by HPSR.” However, he emphasized that HPSR has an important sensemaking role to play.
Key outcomes from the workshop
Health policy and systems research remains very much about understanding how diverse groups of actors bring collective action to improve health. Over the course of the two days, some of the field’s new borders started to emerge: nurturing governance within complex systems, strengthening political and service delivery responses, moving from how to do to how to institutionalize HPSR, being inclusive of new modes of knowledge and finding differential measures of impact. Discussions suggested that this could be achieved through practice and academic networks and coalitions, within new institutional forms and sites for action. Vitally, participants agreed that values like social justice, equity and population health remain at the field’s core.
Celebration, and a path forward
As a capstone to the two-day workshop, the Alliance held a public webinar featuring a range of experts. Professor Lucy Gilson provided a keynote that offered personal reflections on how health policy and systems research has evolved over the last twenty years.
She suggested three areas where health policy and systems research needs a renewed focus: the politics of health and health systems development, creating and sustaining local-level learning systems, and more concerted efforts towards health equity and social justice. Despite highlighting the role of research in health policy and systems, she cautioned that “as researchers, we need to express allyship rather than drivership”, noting that there are many communities who have sought to do this over the years who can offer lessons and insights.
Professor Fadi El Jardali from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon stressed the importance of multisectoral collaboration for health policy and systems research, and to ensure that the field is viewed as one that can help solve problems, not just identify them. Dr Rachidatou Compaore from the Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé in Burkina Faso emphasized the need for new and continuing mentorship models, especially within francophone Africa. Keith Cloete echoed Lucy’s sentiment, noting that “the way that we address what we need to do is through coalitions… through taking everyone along.”
Professor Göran Tomson, from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden closed with a call to action: “There is no time for pessimism. What is happening in the world now makes health policy and systems research top relevant. Top relevant. This means that there are lots of opportunities to engage.”
What is next for health policy and systems research?
The future of health policy and systems research lies in its ability to adapt and respond to evolving global contexts and challenges. The field will continue to innovate, embrace diverse perspectives and foster collaboration across actors, sectors and regions. By focusing on equity, social justice and practical solutions, HPSR can play a pivotal role in shaping resilient and effective health systems. The Alliance is committed to continuing to support this evolution.