Technology for Health Systems Strengthening (THeSyS)

Technology for Health Systems Strengthening (THeSyS)

Linking Health Systems and Health Innovation

Summary
Having discussed and reflected upon a range of interconnected issues relating to genomics and disease classification in the earlier seminars; the application of genomic medicine in heterogeneous and homogenous subpopulations; and the challenges and prospects for health technology assessment in the era of genomic medicine; this fourth and final seminar in the EGN health workstream will focus on the broader technological and institutional infrastructure and capacities required to exploit the potential of new genomic and life science technologies. The proposed one-day workshop will have two main sessions covering the following issues (1) Innovation capabilities, financing and regulation and (2) Translation and stakeholder engagement
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We were delighted to host close to 50 participants all with keen and varied interests in the areas of User and User Driven Innovation. This workshop went a long way in confirming the increasing role that users are playing in shaping innovation trajectories in different sectors, be it in transport, science communication, agriculture, health, education, administrative systems and many many other areas. This raises, among others, the stakes on how to measure and regulate such innovations. The workshop grappled with these issues. Meanwhile, the presentations made at the workshop and the workshop report can be downloaded from the links on the right.

Please feel welcome to contact us if you need some information on the outcomes of the workshop. The Open University, through the ESRC Innogen Centre and the Development Policy and Practice Group in the Department of Design, Development, Environment and Materials are co-organising the above workshop with the United Nations University – Maastricht Economic and social Research and training centre on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT). The 2-day event takes place at the Open University, in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, and seeks to provide an opportunity for discussion and further thinking about the drivers behind increased interest in user and user driven innovation in various sectors and contexts, as well as what the implications of increased focus on, and prevalence of, user driven and user innovation will be for developing countries. A number of leading global academics and practitioners in the area of innovation will be at the workshop. For more details, please contact Dr Julius Mugwagwa (j.t.mugwagwa@open.ac.uk), Prof Joanna Chataway (j.c.chataway@open.ac.uk), Prof Fred Gault (gault@merit.unu.edu), or Marlene Gordon (m.gordon@open.ac.uk) Phone: + 44 (0) 1908 654 782NEW
Short Course on Sustainable Health Innovation

The Open University is interested to hear from those wanting to gain new knowledge and alternative strategies for sustainably promoting innovation for health. The idea is to offer this through a 12-week distance learning continuous professional development course.

Areas of study being considered include:
- Making pharmaceutical innovation work for the poor
- Overcoming the challenges of access to medicines
- Effective regulation and policy environments
- Organisational change to strengthen production and health delivery systems

To express your interest and to know more, please contact:
Dr Becky Hanlin (r.e.hanlin@open.ac.uk)
or Carolyn Baxter (c.a.baxter@open.ac.uk)

Inaugural THeSyS Seminar Held
See details under Seminar Series and report under Related Links on the right
THeSyS Workshop Held
The two day workshop was successfully held on 6 & 7 April 2009, at the Open University, Milton Keynes, where leading practitioners, academics and related others converged to discuss these and other questions, with the aim of stimulating further debate and research in these areas. The workshop report is now available here

Meanwhile, video footage of the event is now available online at http://blip.tv/search?q=innogen/

Overview

Product Development Partnerships (PDPs) involved in the development of drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for the health challenges of the world’s poorest populations are currently confronted with difficult issues and increased funding challenges. The credit crunch and wider alternative choice of financing mechanisms are likely to put further pressure on the partnerships. In addition, while PDPs are designed to promote fast product development, there has been criticism from some quarters about their lack of integration with existing health and research systems in developing countries. On top of this a number of PDPs are also up against immense scientific challenges.

Some PDPs are having to ask themselves challenging strategic questions. Should they increasingly become funders of basic science or should they build on synergies between product development activities on the ground in developing countries and health systems strengthening? Our work explores this latter perspective asking fundamental questions about the link between health systems and the activities of PDPs. From this starting point, it aims to critically assess PDPs by asking the following main questions:

- Do PDPs deliver new organisational arrangements and creative funding mechanisms that are useful not only to PDPs but also health systems strengthening? Do or can PDPs and health systems strengthening actually go hand in hand?

- Is it possible to define and measure success of PDPs in novel ways looking at them as ‘social technology’ experiments and assessing their contributions as technological and social innovators and brokers?

This work is being led by the Open University and University of Edinburgh’s ESRC Innogen Centre. To stimulate discussion on these issues, an electronic forum will be held prior to the workshop. Some key stakeholders in global health issues have provided thought-provoking statements via audio files and are available to answer questions posted on the forum or sent in by email.

We acknowledge financial support for these events from Innogen, IKD and the OU Research Office.