Call for Proposals: Systems Thinking for Strengthening District Health Systems (Timor-Leste, Pakistan, and Botswana)

Deadline: 18 March 2020

The Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research invites proposals from research institutions in Timor-Leste, Pakistan and Botswana to work with district health management teams on the application of systems thinking tools and methods to routine district health management.

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District health manager decision-making is an important input into district health system performance. District health managers translate national health policies and strategies into actionable plans to provide health services and meet overall goals and targets. District health managers are responsible for the operationalization of health policies and for the integration of different disease-specific programs.

The Systems Thinking for Strengthening District Health Systems (STDHS) initiative takes a unique approach by supporting district health management teams to apply systems thinking tools and methods to understand and intervene in their local health systems. Country activities will be supported by a Technical Support Centre (TSC) with expertise in systems thinking and district-level health systems strengthening. The TSC is based at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, in Basel, Switzerland.

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Objectives

The objectives of the ST-DHS initiative are to:

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strengthen district health systems by strengthening the capacities of district health managers to apply systems thinking tools and approaches to their routine practice; and
adapt systems thinking tools, methods and approaches to district health manager needs.
ST-DHS will work initially in three countries: Timor-Leste, Pakistan and Botswana. These three countries have been identified in collaboration with WHO regional offices as priority countries for district health systems strengthening and are focus of this call.

Scope and Activities

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Research institutions in the selected countries will provide research support to district health management teams in two districts (one urban and one rural) as they apply systems thinking tools and methods to their routine management practice.

Proposals should clearly outline how the research institution will:

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Act as liaison between the TSC and district teams to adapt relevant systems thinking tools and methods and reflective practice to district-identified areas of work.
Provide research oversight and guidance to district teams in data collection, including identification of data sources, instrument development and ethics submission where necessary.
Participate in regular district meetings for data analysis, sense making, tool troubleshooting and manuscript writing.
Organize national-level workshops and facilitate discussions with policy-makers through policy dialogues and other fora.
Develop dissemination products such as policy briefs, toolkits, guides and manuals, brochures and reports.
Manage overall communications and coordination of the STDHS in-country.
Funding and Period

It is anticipated that up to three awards (one in each eligible country: Botswana, Pakistan and Timor-Leste) will be made. No further funding beyond the scope of the bids will be provided by the Alliance within or beyond the project period. The actual number and size of awards under this call will depend of the proposals received and the availability of funds from the Alliance. The period of performance for each award is estimated at 18 months.

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Eligibility Criteria

For eligibility for this award, research institutions must be located in Timor-Leste, Pakistan or Botswana and the proposal should focus on the country in which they are located only.
Applicant teams should be gender-balanced, with women comprising at least 50% of the team. Teams led by women are encouraged but not required.
Furthermore, applicant teams must demonstrate the following:
Firm knowledge of the public health systems at national and district levels.
Cognizance of current health system challenges and potential areas of work to be addressed by a systems thinking approach.
Experience and/or interest in systems thinking methods or health systems research.
Ability to support implementation research.
Ability to support policy dialogue processes and research uptake.
Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated by a panel of external reviewers based on criteria that will include:
High quality research-support methods.
Qualifications and experience of the team.
Value for money
For more information, visit https://www.who.int/alliance-hpsr/callsforproposals/en/