R4D is working to strengthen the entire ecosystem of actors involved in generating, translating and using evidence to inform health policy in Asia. And we are working to elevate the role local research institutions play in the evidence to action cycle.
The Challenge
As country leaders work to strengthen their health systems, decision-makers need access to high-quality and actionable research. Health policy and systems research institutions (HPSRIs) provide such evidence and play a critical role in diagnosing health system challenges and informing policy decisions.
Across the Asia Pacific region, there are many HPSRIs with the potential to respond to country and regional demand for evidence. But this potential is often underutilized. Multiple challenges, including limited capacity of these institutions to translate evidence and weak connections between researchers and decision-makers, have made it difficult to get this research into practice. There has also been limited understanding of the capacity strengthening needs of these HPSRIs, or how they could be better positioned to respond to emerging demand.
The Opportunity
HPSRIs are eager to connect with other research institutions, training and learning platforms, and policymakers. They see this as essential to their continued growth and ability to support policymaking. They are also interested in a broad range of capacity-strengthening opportunities, from thematic areas like primary health care and health equity to technical skills such as engaging with policymakers and translating evidence.
Creating opportunities for these diverse actors to share knowledge, tools and resources strengthens the entire health policy and research ecosystem. It increases HPSRI capacity and fosters relationship-building and improved research collaboration to drive health systems change.
A robust health policy and research ecosystem, made up of researchers, institutions and networks from within Asia, can provide the evidence and expertise country leaders are seeking – and from experts deeply familiar with their local context. Collaboration across the ecosystem helps leaders access the data they need to make decisions and helps HPSRIs gain experience and knowledge to provide ongoing support.
Our Work
Over six years, the R4D-led Health Systems Strengthening Accelerator (Accelerator), in partnership with the WHO Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, and the USAID Asia Bureau, has supported HPSRIs, learning platforms, training programs, and other stakeholders. This effort began with a highly collaborative co-creation process to establish a shared vision of a stronger health policy and research ecosystem, and action plans to carry out that vision, and execute them.
- Conducting a landscaping analysis of HPSRIs across Asia to understand their roles in evidence generation and the challenges they face. The study also examined training programs and learning platforms that have contributed to strengthening capacity in the region. The analysis identified 97 HPSRIs across 27 Asian countries with significant capacity to respond to demand for country and regional learning on health systems strengthening. It also revealed that this potential had not been fully realized, and there was limited understanding of the capacity strengthening needs of HPSRIs or how they could be better positioned to meet emerging demand.
- Convening a six-part co-creation series that brought together stakeholders with diverse perspectives and priorities to jointly define a vision and innovative solutions for a more robust health policy and research ecosystem. The co-creation approach centered stakeholders’ experiences and expertise to define challenges, encouraged participants to design locally responsive solutions, increased stakeholder ownership in testing approaches, and collaboratively developing pathways to achieve the shared vision.
- Launching action groups, co-led by local HPSRIs, to further explore which of the actions that emerged from workshop series could be created and piloted. Action groups developed tools and products and co-developed plans to advance the shared vision. The outcomes became the basis for innovative pilot models that were implemented later. The action groups aligned to the shared vision and priorities that emerged from the workshop series, and were co-led by local HPSRIs (some of whom later went on to pilot models).
- Supporting HPSRIs from six countries to pilot four models for strengthening health policy support and research. These included a framework to assess domestic funding opportunities for health policy support and research, a framework to assess and map HPSRIs’ capacity, a database of HPSRIs in the Asia region to help them connect with each other and other ecosystem actors, and improvements to a training program for HPSRIs and policymakers. The Accelerator actively supported these pilot efforts to document and share the resulting tools and lessons learned. The Accelerator also convened the leaders of the HPSRI pilots and other regional stakeholders to reflect on the outcomes.
- Continuing to assess the evolving health policy and research landscape in Asia through scoping activities, the Accelerator worked closely with leaders of Badan Kebijakan Pembangunan Kesehatan (BKPK) in Indonesia to facilitate cross-country learning exchanges. A regional convening including representatives from 18 countries in the Asia-Pacific region in 2024 deepened learnings across activities and identified priorities for building on progress and carrying the momentum forward.
Over five years, these activities strengthened connections between HPSRIs, deepened engagement with policymakers, created spaces for sharing and learning, developed tools and resources, and provided more opportunities for assessing and strengthening HPSRIs’ capacities.
