NEEDS FOR RESEARCH CAPACITY AND EXPERIENCES SO FAR FROM VIETNAM Tran Thi Mai Oanh Health Strategy and Policy Institute

About HSPI… Leading institution in Vietnam in health policy and system research Autonomous institution under the overall MoH umbrella Receive funds from both MoH and international partners to conduct studies 60 full-time staff

About HSPI… HSPI’s Function -Conducting research to provide evidence to MoH and related stakeholders for policy making in Vietnam -Participation in policy development process -Providing consultations and playing a crucial role on the issues of health policies and strategies to MoH

4 From Research to Policy: Vietnam Situation

Research... Policy Demand in having evidence, use more but still limited  Why?  How to improve?

Research... 1.Information provided do not meet information needs 2.Quality of information/evidence (reliability, representative...) 3.Inappropriate messages (so academic...) 4.Inappropriate dissemination techniques 5.Lack of communication between researchers and policy makers 6.Researcher: “very technical and specific”; policy makers: “synthesized” 7.Limited writing skills

Policy makers... 1.Using various information channels (traditional way…) (traditional way…) 1.Consider much about political context of policy 2.Accessibility to evidence limited 3.Need simple messages, not so academic 4.Capacity in translating results

How to improve? 1.Research topics in line with policy agenda or policy makers’ concerns 2.Identify policy and program problems which require solutions  thinking of policy questions 3.Policy aware researchers: invite policy makers involve in the research activities 4.Be able to produce quality evidence (country evidence and international experiences) 5.Be able to use different communication techniques with appropriate messages to transfer research findings to policy makers 6.Need to have good skills for policy advocacy  The needs for research capacity building

Experience of capacity building projects within HSPI Three project so far The differences between projects in capacity building

Experience of capacity building projects within HSPI (1) Health System Research project – funded by Sida/SAREC (within HSPI) More focus on individual capacity building (MPH, PhD…) Contributions from individuals were not effective Not much contribute to policy development

Experience of capacity building projects within HSPI (2) Providing Evidence on Mortality and Burden of Diseases for Policy Making in Vietnam – funded by AP Focus both on individual and institution capacity building Be able to provide evidence to MoH for policy development The use of evidence in policy making is still limited (research uptake is not well identified from the beginning, awareness/capacity of policy makers)

Experience of capacity building projects within HSPI (3) Evidence-informed Policy Making in Vietnam – funded by AsuAID Focus on individual and institution capacity building (not only for research institution but also for the organizations who use evidence – still only within MoH…) Provide appropriate evidence to MoH for policy development The use of evidence in policy making is improved (research uptake is well identified from the beginning, involving policy makers in the process of research, activities to improve awareness of policy makers)

Experience of capacity building projects within HSPI (3) Evidence-informed Policy Making in Vietnam – funded by AsuAID Capacity Building Activity Training: in-country and oversea training (applying practical approach) - Research methodology in the area of HPSR - Communication techniques - Writing skills: policy briefs, papers for publications Collaborative research: Technical supports from Australian experts

Experience of capacity building projects within HSPI (3) Evidence-informed Policy Making in Vietnam – funded by AsuAID Capacity Building Activity Attending workshops (both in VN and other countries) Writing papers with supports from Australian experts

Experience of capacity building projects within HSPI (3) Evidence-informed Policy Making in Vietnam – funded by AsuAID Capacity Building Activity For health policy makers: - Organizing forums/workshops to invite policy makers to attend to present building blocks for evidence-informed policy and discuss the importance of using evidence in policy making and the needs of having evidence for policy development - Involving them in research activities

Experience of capacity building projects within HSPI Lesson learnt from 3 projects for research capacity building: –Should not only focus on individual capacity building –It must be institutional capacity building: both research institutions and policy makers to make the better use of evidence in policy development

Thank you!