Partners’ health policy and systems research report – 2021

Overview

The Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (the Alliance) has forged strong partnerships for more than 20 years, working closely with more than 350 research, policy and teaching organizations to support knowledge generation, capacity strengthening and research uptake. Partnerships are at the foundation of the Alliance and lie at the very heart of HPSR. Each partnership brings its own unique insights, approaches and histories to the field.

In January 2021, the Alliance embarked on a collaborative and collective process with some of its partners to collectively develop an annual account of national-level HPSR production in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)*. Partners recognized as experienced leaders and experts in HPSR – and particularly those with a track record of capacity strengthening to generate policy-relevant research and/or engagement in evidence-informed decision-making – joined to co-author the Report.

In all, 16 country teams across all six WHO regions (Africa, Eastern Mediterranean, South-East Asia, Western Pacific, Americas and Europe), and two global HPSR entities were involved in the development of this work. The result – this 2021 Partners’ HPSR Report – gives insights into the development and evolution of HPSR in various LMICs, and advocates for far greater investments in HPSR, particularly at country-level. The Report reflects the complex and varied nature of HPSR across a diversity of countries, highlighting the different ways that HPSR is organized around the world.