Response of the Alliance Board to the 2014 External Review
The 2014 External Review of the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research was carried out at the request of its Board and core donors: the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and Swedish International Cooperation Agency (Sida). External reviews are normally carried out every four years; the last one covered the period 2005-2009.
The Alliance Board considered the report of the External Review carried out by HEART (Health & Education Advice & Resource Team), United Kingdom at its meeting in December 2014 and also at the Strategic Planning Review, held in April 2015. Key recommendations will be carried forward into the forthcoming Strategic Plan for the Alliance.
Members of the Board welcome the findings of the 2014 External Review. Overall, these can be seen as very positive and they concur with our own – and others’ – impressions of progress and achievements. In particular, the Alliance is recognized as playing a unique role in the development of health policy and systems research.
The review identified a number of strategic recommendations, which were supported by tactical recommendations where it is felt that relatively minor actions could have significant impact. In developing our new strategic plan for 2016-2020, we shall certainly take these recommendations into account, weighing them in the context of other preparatory work including mapping exercises, expert consultations and an internal review. It is important to learn from past experience and to consider personal opinion and perceptions alongside scientific evidence. Output is demonstrable but impact is evidently harder to measure.
The landscape of health policy and systems research has changed considerably since 1999 and even since 2010 when the last external review was conducted. There are more players, interacting in complex relationships, and expectations of behaviour are different. For example, the 2014 review noted a certain lack of transparency of some Alliance processes which we take very seriously. We are reviewing our processes and have, for example, already made explicit calls in early 2015 for nominations to the Board on our website and through other communication channels. The Alliance will continue to make greater use of its website as the hub of information-sharing.
Greater visibility for Alliance results – and for the Alliance itself – will be of concern in developing the next strategic plan. The good reputation of an organization will encourage additional partnerships, research proposals, interest from decision-makers and, one hopes, funding. The Alliance has been a pioneer in providing seed money to leverage larger amounts, accepting considered risk in exploring new approaches. We will continue to build on existing strengths and skills and, at the same time, identify areas of need in health policy and systems research where such attributes can best be used.