The grants form part of the Health Partnership Scheme (HPS) which is a four-year programme that funds health partnerships to carry out training and capacity-building projects in low-income countries.  The Scheme is funded by the UK Department for International Development.  It is managed by THET in a consortium with HLSP to deliver the programme.

What are Health Partnerships?

Health Partnerships (or “Health Links”) are formalised voluntary partnerships between health institutions in developing countries and their counterparts in the UK. They can support a wide variety of activities to help strengthen the training of health staff and enhance the capacity of health systems in developing countries. Partnerships also benefit the UK partners, developing skills and increasing understanding of global health issues.

Start-up Grants

The Start-up Grants will help to facilitate the development of new and effective health partnerships between UK institutions and their counterparts overseas. They are designed to meet the costs of the activities necessary to establish and formalise a successful partnership and are up to the value of £5,000. Applications can be submitted at any point during the HPS.

Eligibility for Start-up grants

• Grant recipients are eligible institutions as stated in the Eligibility Criteria section of the grant overview
• Grant recipients are based in eligible countries (see overview)
• Applicants must show demonstrable commitment to forming a long-term Partnership
• The partnership must be less than 2 years old
• It will be expected that the start-up grant will fund a needs assessment. The results of this needs assessment will form part of the final report and should inform whether the partnership will be formalised with a Memorandum of Understanding.

How to Apply

Download the Start-up Grant Overview and the Application Form. Applications can be submitted at any time during the Health Partnership Scheme.

If you have any questions, please contact the HPS team on 020 7290 3895 or hps@thet.org

THET, through the Health Partnership Scheme, is hosting a workshop on Wednesday, 12^th October to bring together various stakeholders to explore this question.  Participants will review best practice guidance for organisations and individuals engaging in medical equipment partnerships, and discuss different models for supporting hospitals in low- income countries to maintain their equipment.

Who should attend?

• Health ‘Link’/ Partnership coordinators, medical physics staff and other medical professionals interested in being involved with medical equipment partnerships
• Representatives of professional engineering associations who work with medical equipment and are interested in supporting international volunteering
• Representatives of charities that donate medical equipment or provide medical equipment training to low-income countries
• Faculty members of educational institutions involved with medical equipment training and/or engineering and technology student volunteering programs
• Experts in the field of health technology management in low-income countries

How to attend

The workshop will be held from 10am-4pm on Wednesday 12^th October 2011 at Directory of Social Change, near Euston Station, London. The Directory of Social Change is located at 24 Stephenson Way, London NW1 2DP. For a map, please click here.

If you would like to attend the workshop, please register here.

If you have any questions about logistics, please contact Louise at LouiseLeak@thet.org / +44 (0)20 7290 3894. If you have any questions about the medical equipment partnerships programme, please contact Shauna at shauna@thet.org / +44 02(0) 7290 3892 or +44 (0)79 83 999 814.

Workshop Materials For Download

• CASE STUDY: SCENARIO AND GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
• MEDICAL EQUIPMENT PARTNERSHIPS: PRESENTATION SLIDES
• MEDICAL EQUIPMENT WORKSHOP MINUTES

The Health Partnership Scheme (HPS) aims to improve health outcomes for poor people in DFID priority and other low income countries. The Scheme will harness UK health institutions and professionals in partnerships with developing country counterparts, and strengthen health systems through health service skills transfer and capacity development.

HPS Volunteering Grants aim to leverage the knowledge and expertise of UK health professionals by funding efficient, high quality long-term volunteering programmes linked to development projects. HPS Volunteering Grants should contribute towards Millennium Development Goals 4, 5, 6 helping to strengthen health systems through building the capacity of human resources for health.

The five core objectives of HPS Volunteering Grants are:

1. To design and promote an innovative long-term volunteering programme to enable UK health professionals to work in developing countries

2. To place volunteers in development projects supportive of national health strategies in developing countries, encouraging skills development and exchange between UK volunteers and developing country counterparts

3. To source a consistent supply of long-term volunteers through partnerships between UK and developing country institutions or through other activities clearly aligned with HPS’s overall aim

4. To train and manage volunteers, ensuring their safety at all times

5. To contribute towards tackling the barriers to volunteering, helping to ensure that long-term volunteering is an integral part of a UK health professional’s career valued by employers and employees alike

Demonstration of results and the sharing of good practice will be expected at all stages of implementation of an HPS Volunteering Grant.

Eligibility for funding for an HPS Volunteering Grant is contingent on meeting the following eligibility criteria:

1. All partners are eligible organisations/institutions  (See full eligibility statement)

2. A track record of safe, appropriate and professional health volunteer sending and the ability to manage volunteers throughout their journey

3. Ability to deliver an HPS Volunteering Grant over a 34 month period

4. Ability to effectively disburse a budget of between £200,000 and £1,500,000 over the lifetime of an HPS Volunteering Grant

Organisations and institutions that meet these eligibility criteria may submit a concept paper, using the application form  below.

Concepts must be submitted using the application form on or before the 17^th October 2011.

For questions about HPS Volunteering Grants please email hps@thet.org.

Organisations and institutions should be aware that their proposed programmes should meet specific requirements. (Please see guidelines below)

Following the submission deadline concept papers will be reviewed and shortlisted by THET. All applicants will be contacted regarding the outcome of their submission within 2 weeks of the submission deadline. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit full applications.

The deadline for full applications is 19^th December 2011.

Documents for Download

• Full eligibility statement
• Guidelines
• Application Form

Annual Health Links Conference: This year’s annual Health Links Conference, which took place on Monday 5th September 2011 at Imperial College, London, explored whether Links are reaching the poorest. The conference involved a combination of plenary discussions and practical break-out sessions for health links practitioners. Thanks to everyone who attended and for helping to make it such an energising and constructive day.

There was also the opportunity to gather the experiences of Link partners and view Links’ journeys through THET’s first Link poster competition. Prizes were awarded by Jan Sobieraj, Director General of NHS Workforce.

1^st Place – Botswana – Addenbrookes

From left: Samira Abu Helil, Professor Sir Eldryd Parry, Evelyn Brealey, Ali Blake

2^nd Place – Leicester – Gondar

From left: Samira Abu Helil, Professor Sir Eldryd Parry, Dr Julia Kestelman

3^rd Place – Kintampo Project

From left: Dr Emmanuel Adjase, Samira Abu Helil, Dr Mark Roberts, Professor Sir Eldryd Parry

Resources for Download

Download Conference Agenda.

Presentations

• Monitoring,Evaluation & Learning in Health Links: Dan Ritman, THET Evaluation & Learning Manager. Chris Smith, GP and MSc student (LSHTM)

• How to reach the poorest in the community. Mr Biku Ghosh, Southern Ethiopia-Gwent Health Link

• Health Partnerships Scheme – Intro. Jane Cockrell, Director of Programmes, THET

• The ReBas Project: Reduction of Burn & Scald Mortality and Morbidity in Children in Malawi – Emily Broadis

• Health Links: Are we reaching the poorest? – Dr Richard Horton

The Health Partnership Scheme aims to strengthen Human Resources for Health to deliver demonstrable results in health outcomes for poor people in poor and DFID priority countries. The Multi Country Partnership grants aim to use health partnerships to effectively leverage the knowledge and expertise of UK health workers to strengthen health systems through projects that will contribute towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals 4, 5, 6 targets through projects with transformational impact, particularly in poor and rural areas.

The four core objectives of the Multi-Country Partnership grant scheme are to:

• Leverage UK health worker skills to build the capacity of health workers and health systems in less developed countries
• Contribute towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals 4, 5, 6 targets
• Improve health outcomes for people living in poverty
• Foster long term partnerships between health institutions

Eligibility for project funding from the HPS Multi-Country Partnership grants is contingent on meeting the following 5 core eligibility criteria:

1. All lead and sub partner institutions are eligible institutions (Please see full eligibility statement)
2. Project spans three or more eligible countries
3. Partners exhibit a track record of implementing  projects in developing countries
4. Up to 36 month implementation timeline
5. Maximum budget of £600,000 per year for up to 36 months

Partnerships that meet these eligibility criteria may submit a concept paper, using the concept paper template and guidelines. Concept papers must be submitted using the concept paper template on or before the 29^th August 2011. For questions about the Multi-Country Partnership grants please see the FAQs or email hps@thet.org.

Partnerships should be aware that their proposed projects should meet the following project requirements:

• Single, time-bound project deliverable within the budget and timeframe of the HPS Multi-Country Partnership grant
• The project contributes to the overall purpose of the HPS Multi-Country Partnership programme.
• The project contributes towards achieving Millennium Development Goals 4,5 and 6
• The project is aligned with country health policies and plans
• The project delivers appropriate and innovative solutions [the term innovation speaks to not just the development or implementation of new ideas but new ways of applying/adapting/developing an existing techniques or initiatives]
• The project plans are clear and logical with a focus on outcomes
• The projects demonstrate value of money

Following the submission deadline concept papers will be reviewed and shortlisted by THET. Partnerships will be informed as to the outcomes of their submission by the end of September 2011.

• The THET Community of Practice is for you. You should use it to communicate with other partnerships or individuals, ask questions, seek advice, offer opinions, announce events and make friends.
• You should not hesitate to share your experiences and knowledge – even if they relate to things which have gone wrong! One of our main objectives is to learn from one another.
• The THET Community of Practice is open to anyone who has an interest in improving healthcare in developing countries through Health Partnerships (Links).
• We currently have over 200 members in the group including doctors, nurses, students, midwives and many others…..and they come from many parts of the world (including Rwanda, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, the UK and elsewhere).
• THET has several Honorary Advisors who will be members of the group and provide advice to Links, when asked to do so. They include Tom Lissauer (paediatrics), Bob Lane (surgery), Jean Bailey and Pamela Walter (nursing) and John MacDermot (medicine)

If you would like to preview some of the introductions currently being made via the Community please click here

How to join the group

• An email should be sent to the Health Partnerships team [hps@thet.org] with a request for the new name to be added to the group.

• Please forward this information to any friends or colleagues in the UK or overseas, whom you think might like to join.

Disclaimer

• Please remember that THET is not responsible for the quality or accuracy of the communications distributed through the Community of Practice.

• As mentioned above, the content of emails sent to the group will be moderated by the HPS team (in the first instance), in an effort to ensure that our communications relate to the purpose of the Community of Practice. This is not a forum to sell your old bicycle!

If you have any questions, please send them to hps@thet.org).