Key areas of work

Policy dialogue

Facilitating enhanced policy dialogue between the funders of research for health to align voices for strong advocacy. This is very critical among its members and partners, and since its inception, ESSENCE has achieved remarkable progress in facilitating dialogue among all partners.

Policy dialogue between participating organizations is very important as it allows:

  • participating organizations to gain an understanding of each other’s policies, activities and goals;
  • the development of new or enhanced policies and joint working;
  • joint responses to pressing requests from country/grantee needs;
  • funders of health for research to align voices for advocacy;
  • the development of innovative approaches to harmonization and optimization of resources, including the development of good practice publications; and
  • good practice exchange on how to keep global health research on the agenda of respective agencies.

This dialogue is facilitated by ESSENCE and occurs mainly via meetings and through information sharing (e.g. of the World RePORT database).

Harmonization

Piloting a number of innovative approaches to achieve harmonization and optimization of resources, including the development of best practice guidance documents.

ESSENCE members and partners are also working together to provide better mechanisms and innovative platforms for alignment of funders with the aim of coordinating, harmonizing and aligning funding and activities with countries’ agendas including:

  • investigating the potential for harmonization of policies and practices in specific areas, such as monitoring and evaluation (M&E), research costing etc.;
  • developing joint methodologies such as M&E indicators, or ways to track the impact of investment in research capacity (input, process, outcome);
  • experimenting with different modalities of collaboration (e.g. North-South, South-South), and with cofunding options of different funders (Medical Education Partnership Initiative [MEPI], Wellcome–DFID joint programme);
  • identifying emerging areas that require consensus (such as implementation research, operational research and health systems research), data sharing, new research councils, etc.;
  • documentation of successes and failures in strategies, approaches and support for capacity development.

Country pilots

Promoting the development and implementation of national strategies for research and related country-based pilot models of collaboration between programmes.

ESSENCE aims to supports country level mechanisms for coordination, harmonization and alignment of funding and activities with countries’ agendas and is currently carrying out pilot studies to see how this can best be tackled:

  • Countries approach ESSENCE (through their own governance) when they are ready to explore mechanisms for harmonization.
  • The ESSENCE Secretariat investigates this and sets up agreements as needed.
  • A survey of ESSENCE member activity in the country is carried out and analysed.
  • High-level meetings are carried out between governments and lead agencies in the country, with new agencies being established if necessary.
  • Agreements are made on commonalities and future approaches.

The first of several proposed country-based meetings to pilot potential mechanisms of how ESSENCE can work at country level was launched with a start-up meeting held between Tanzanian research for health capacity strengthening proponents and ESSENCE in Arusha, Tanzania in March 2009; the pilot was completed in 2013.

These country-based pilot models of collaboration between programmes review and analyse multiple input and approaches to selected recipient countries and lead to common plans being drafted (in discussions between developing countries, institutions and investigators).

The Tanzania pilot brought together the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research/Science for Global Development (NWO/WOTRO), the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) at an opportune time in Tanzania. The pilot has since led to the development of a joint programme of funding – TASENE. This programme was launched in 2013 to enhance scientific excellence and strengthen research collaboration between the three countries (Sweden, Tanzania and the Netherlands), based on equality in research support and research management.

Zambia is the second country to have made a request for a country-based pilot model of collaboration, in light of the development of the Zambian National Health Research Authority (ZNHRA). The Authority is planned to be a major coordinating and funding body in Zambia when it comes to health research. Discussions are underway.