Evaluating Knowledge -Translation Platforms in Low and Middle Income Countries

Brief summary

The health status of many countries’ citizens suffers when poorly considered policies weaken or fail to strengthen health systems and when health systems fail to ensure the safe, efficient and equitable delivery of effective services and technologies. The World Health Organization and its partners such as the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research and the International Development Research Centre have responded to such shortcomings by supporting the development of units and networks to address the challenges of linking research evidence to policy about health systems. These units and networks have been called ‘knowledge-translation platforms’ because they seek to convert the knowledge arising from research into the types of action on the ground that can mean the difference between life and death or the difference between good health and bad health. The KT platforms include Evidence-Informed Policy Networks (EVIPNet) in Africa, Asia, and the Americas and the Regional East African Community Health (REACH) Policy initiative in East Africa.

A research team (please, below list of members) has been asked to lead the evaluation of Knowledge Translation platforms. The team plans to describe regularly what these Knowledge Translation platforms are doing, which of their efforts can be improved, and which of their efforts are having the desired impacts on health systems so that other countries can learn from their experiences. Please click on the following links for more detailed information:

• Overview of the research project
• Progress to date
• Funding obtained to date