TY - JOUR T1 - Health Policy and Systems Research Capacities in Ethiopia and Ghana: Findings From a Self-Assessment JF - Global Health: Science and Practice JO - GLOB HEALTH SCI PRACT DO - 10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00715 VL - 10 IS - Supplement 1 SP - e2100715 AU - Viroj Tangcharoensathien AU - Morankar Sudhakar AU - Zewdie Birhanu AU - Gelila Abraham AU - Ayaga Bawah AU - Pearl Kyei AU - Adriana Biney AU - Zubin Cyrus Shroff AU - Woranan Witthayapipopsakul AU - Warisa Panichkriangkrai Y1 - 2022/09/15 UR - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/10/Supplement_1/e2100715.abstract N2 - Key FindingsGiven the health systems-development challenges in Ethiopia and Ghana, the current level of government investment in health policy and systems research (HPSR) is inadequate to support evidence-informed policies.Reliance on donor funding for health policy and systems research is not sustainable, nor does it encourage researchers to be responsive to a country’s health priorities.Despite limited HPSR capacity, research portfolios have responded to country priorities in relation to communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases—as well as expansion of health service coverage—as part of moving toward universal health coverage.Key ImplicationsStrengthening and sustaining the capacity of all relevant HPSR institutes are equally important aims that can both be achieved through adequate and sustained investment, opportunities for capacity building among young researchers, favorable incentive schemes, and retention of competent researchers.Evidence-informed policy decisions can be enhanced when policy makers are engaged in articulating policy and research questions.Researchers’ understanding of the policy process, policy actors, policy entrepreneurs who are key drivers in the policy circle, and current up-to-date discourses in the policy circle facilitates the generation of policy-relevant evidence.Introduction:Health systems are complex. Policies targeted at health system development may be informed by health policy and systems research (HPSR). This study assesses HPSR capacity to generate evidence and inform policy in Ethiopia and Ghana.Methods:We used a mixed-methods approach including a self-administered survey at selected HPSR institutes and in-depth interviews of policy makers.Results:Both countries have limited capacity to generate HPSR evidence, especially in terms of mobilizing adequate funding and retaining a critical number of competent researchers who understand complex policy processes, have the skills to influence policy, and know policy makers’ demands for evidence. Common challenges are limited government research funding, rigidity in executing the research budget, and reliance on donor funding that might not respond to national health priorities. There are no large research programs in either country. The annual number of HPSR projects per research institute in Ethiopia (10 projects) was higher than in Ghana (2.5 projects), Ethiopia has a significantly smaller annual budget for health research. Policy makers in the 2 countries increasingly recognize the importance of evidence-informed policy making, but various challenges remain in building effective interactions with HPSR institutes.Conclusion:We propose 3 synergistic recommendations to strengthen HPSR capacity in Ethiopia and Ghana. First, strengthen researchers’ capacity and enhance their opportunities to know policy actors; engage with the policy community; and identify and work with policy entrepreneurs, who have attributes, skills, and strategies to achieve a successful policy. Second, deliver policy-relevant research findings in a timely way and embed research into key health programs to guide effective implementation. Third, mobilize local and international funding to strengthen HPSR capacities as well as address challenges with recruiting and retaining a critical number of talented researchers. These recommendations may be applied to other low- and middle-income countries to strengthen HPSR capacities. ER -