Well functioning health systems are at the heart of achieving good national health outcomes. Although there are many countries that have well functioning health systems in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Region, there are many more for which improving health care policies has been a challenge.
In recognition of this challenge, the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies was established in 1998 as a network to support regional policy-makers through analysis and dissemination of information, evidence, and best practice in health policy. It brings together key European organizations and bilateral partners with an interest in health systems and policies to understand what works in different health systems and how to generate and disseminate high quality evidence. Members of this partnership are: the World Bank, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the WHO-Euro, Open Society Institute (OSI), the London School of Economics (LSE), the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), as well as the governments of Belgium, Finland, Greece, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the Veneto Region of Italy, and Luxembourg (the European Commission has observer status and is preparing for full legal membership).
Through its unique characteristics as a network and partnership, and through the support of its wide affiliation of experts and policy makers, the Observatory has fulfilled its mission to meet its partners’and clients’ expectations over a sustained period of a decade. It has filled an important niche in the European health policy arena and is bridging the gaps between theory and policy in practice; between Western Europe, the CEE and NIS; and between evidence and action.
Country monitoring and benchmarking allows for a systematic overview of each of the national health systems in the ECA region and beyond in the form of Health in Transition (‘HiT’) profiles. These ‘HiTs’ support a standardized analytical review of the strengths and weaknesses of each health system and comparisons across borders. Analysis of international evidence allows core issues to be explored in-depth by a network of institutions and teams of key experts. The European Observatory is a platform that brings them together different institutions, countries, and disciplines to produce research that addresses the themes that most affect practitioners and policy makers in European health systems. In addition to staff time to the Observatory, partners contribute an average of €200,000 per year, resulting in a €5 million annual operating budget for the network. The Observatory is governed by a steering committee representing the partner institutions, and is administered through a secretariat in Brussels, in addition to research hubs in London and Berlin.
Dissemination of knowledge and best practice involves an extensive range of publications, face to face policy dialogues and technical workshops, as well as electronic outputs such as web coverage and Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) events.
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