The document summarizes the work of CHEPSAA, a consortium focused on health policy and systems analysis in Africa. It describes CHEPSAA's key activities which include: 1) assessing capacity needs through interviews and surveys, 2) developing core competencies for health policy research, 3) implementing an Emerging Leaders Program to build skills in 26 participants, 4) developing curricula for health policy courses, 5) facilitating networking, and 6) maintaining a website and using social media. The overall goal is to strengthen health policy research capacity in Africa.

1. Consortium for Health Policy
and Systems Analysis in
Africa
CHEPSAA African networking meeting
Johannesburg, South Africa
27th– 29th January 2015
www.hpsa-africa.org
@hpsa_africa
www.slideshare.net/hpsa_africa

2. Introduction to CHEPSAA:
• Broad overview of CHEPSAA activities
and outputs
• Some first timers + awareness beyond
your own institution
• To provide a summary and to help you
select your thematic area of interest

3. Key dimensions of
CHEPSAA’s work
1. Asset and needs
assessment
2. Core competencies
3. Emerging Leaders
Programme
4. Curriculum development
5. Networking and capacity
for getting research into
policy and practice
6. Website and social
media

4. Assessment of African HPSR+A
capacity assets and needs
Assess capacity
assets and
needs of
CHEPSAA &
partners
Assess at the individual,
organisational and system
level
Develop
methodology
Initial
context
mapping
Full assessment
through interviews,
surveys etc.

5. …. many outputs, including…
• Reports: partner-specific HPSR+A
asset and needs assessments
• Reports: methodological approach &
comparative analysis findings
• Articles and chapters
• Assessment handbook and templates

6. Key dimensions of
CHEPSAA’s work
1. Asset and needs
assessment
2. Core competencies
3. Emerging Leaders
Programme
4. Curriculum development
5. Networking and capacity
for getting research into
policy and practice
6. Website and social
media

7. Developing key competencies for all-
round HPSR+A success…
• For emerging researchers & educators to
reflect on the skills they need to develop
• To stimulate wider thinking about capacity
development in HPSR+A
• Developed collectively in CHEPSAA

8. These key competencies were identified…
Category Examples
Personal skills Ability to tolerate complexity
Writing skills Articles, other publications
Project mx skills Design a study
Networking skills Build & maintain networks
HPSR+A knowledge Working with different disciplines
Understanding
health systems
Working in the system, being
connected to daily realities
Teaching skills Course development, mentoring
Research skills Tool development, data analysis

9. These key
competencies then
influenced the design
and structure of
CHEPSAA’s flagship
capacity-building
activity…
CHEPSAA
Emerging
Leaders
Programme
(ELP)

10. 26 participants - Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya,
Tanzania and South Africa
Building a critical mass of future leaders who are committed
to working in HPSR+A in Africa and equipped with the
necessary skills and capabilities

11. The ELP is structured as
follows…
Workshop 1: July 2013
Focus on leadership,
interpersonal and
communication skills
July 2013 – July 2014
Working on own projects
& question; peer support
and mentoring
Workshop 2: July 2014
Focus on teaching and
subject skills: complex
health systems & research
October 2014
Participating in Global
Symposium on Health
Systems Research

12. Intangible outputs so far:
Support &
inspire
others
Improve
teamwork
and
leadership
Network
to solve
problems

13. EL tangible outputs
• Hosted an organised session at the 3rd
Global Symposium
• Improved teaching practice
• Improved facilitation skills
• Improved ability to facilitate communication
appreciatively
• In the future:
• Reporting on the EL evaluation

14. Key dimensions of
CHEPSAA’s work
1. Asset and needs
assessment
2. Core competencies
3. Emerging Leaders
Programme
4. Curriculum
development
5. Networking and capacity
for getting research into
policy and practice
6. Website and social
media

15. Curriculum development
• 2 CD workshops held (curriculum
development specialist included)
• Courses developed and then piloted to test
and build skills
• Report on Principles of good curriculum
• Step-down workshops (spread)
• Institutionalizing courses: CHP teaching
intro. to CAS

16. Key dimensions of
CHEPSAA’s work
1. Asset and needs
assessment
2. Core competencies
3. Emerging Leaders
Programme
4. Curriculum development
5. Networking and
capacity for getting
research into policy
and practice
6. Website and social
media

17. A variety of networking types..
CHEPSAA internal
networking:
• Curriculum
w/shops
• management
meetings
Networking with
other networks:
• African Schools
of Public health
• Health Systems
Global
General HPSR+A
community
Conference
presentations, link
through web &
social media
In-country
meetings
dissemination, meet
with like-minded
colleagues (e.g. NG
& TZ)

18. Key dimensions of
CHEPSAA’s work
1. Asset and needs
assessment
2. Core competencies
3. Emerging Leaders
Programme
4. Curriculum development
5. Networking and capacity
for getting research into
policy and practice
6. Website and social
media

19. CHEPSAA uses its website and social
media to network and spread useful
HPSR+A information…

20. Website: news, events and so
much more
• Teaching materials
- CHEPSAA courses
- Links to Readers
- Case materials
• Knowledge resources:
- Classic texts in HPSR+A
- CHEPSAA outputs
- Other free teaching and research resources
- 260 unique views each month (since 2011)

21. Assessment to action
• Structure of the entire programme of work…
– Asset and needs assessment = CHEPSAA
foundation
• …also visible in more specific activities /
day-to-day processes
– Assessment of HPSR-relevant courses prior to
developing courses
– Monitoring of annual work plans & various
activities to adjust and reprioritise
• Participants develop common picture of key issues
• Stimulates thinking about possible priorities & activities
• Facilitates flexibility and adaptability over time

22. Collective and partner level
• Key objectives consistently pursued at
collective and partner-levels:
– Asset & needs assessment: collective and
country analysis / publications
– Curriculum development: collective
workshops, but also partner workshops
and review of courses
• Push forward on key activities and common interests
• Allows creativity, adaptation and unique activities in local settings

23. Allowing for emergence
• Broad boundary: CHEPSAA goal, objectives, protocol
– Fluid, open and flexible
• But:
– The work is affected by many contextual realities
– Impossible to predict, pre-plan and pre-determine all
• So:
– Allow for the emergence of new interests and activities
relevant to goals and objectives of project
• Example: Emerging Leaders Programme
• Good ideas bubble to the surface
• Keeps participants interested and engaged – space to develop
• Facilitates flexibility and adaptability over time

24. “Open access”
• All outputs licensed open access
– Easy to distribute, use and adapt
• Very transparent about our activities and
processes
– Not just presented the most polished outputs to
the world…
– …also wrote about annual meetings, curriculum
processes, in-country workshops
• Supports maximum distribution and usefulness to end-users
• Various areas of learning and inspiration for others who do similar
work

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This document is an output from a project funded by the European Commission (EC) FP7-Africa (Grant no.
265482). The views expressed are not necessarily those of the EC.