PLATFORM ON HUMAN HEALTH (PHH) Steering Committee Meeting

Transcription

1 PLATFORM ON HUMAN HEALTH (PHH) Steering Committee Meeting 10. december 2012, 13:30 15:30 Unit for International Health, Øster Farimagsgade 5, Building 9 Minutes Present: Lisa Richey, Roskilde University (RUC), Per Kallestrup, stand in, Aarhus University (AU), Flemming Bager, Danish Technical University (DTU), Pernille Berthelsen, deputy member, Aalborg University (AAU), Flemming Konradsen, Chairperson PHH, University of Copenhagen (UCPH), Bjørg Elvekjær, Coordinator PHH Regrets: Vibeke Rasch, University of Southern Denmark Ad. 1: Approval of agenda The proposed agenda were approved. Lisa Richey requested a clarification of PHH and BSU s principles in relation to co-financing of PhDs and double degrees. The point was added to the agenda after 3) Brief status reports. Ad. 2: Discussion of the function of and expectations towards the PHH Steering Committee (SC) The meeting was introduced with a brief round of presentations: Lisa Richey represents RUC in the PHH SC. Lisa is a professor at International Development Studies, Department of Society and Globalisation. Lisa is also a PHH assignment holder, presently involved in course development in the fields of sexual and reproductive health and research methodology at KCMC. She is also the focal point for the Governance and Communication Perspectives on Global Health working group and an active member of the Sexual and Reproductive Health working group. Per Kallestrup, represents Aarhus University at this meeting in the absence of Søren Kjærgaard (who is also PHH deputy chairperson in the SC and AU). Per is an MD and a lecturer at AU and co-founder of Centre for Global Health at Department of Public Health. He is also a member of the newly established Global Health working group and the affiliated Global Health Minders network. Flemming Bager represents the Danish Technical University in the PHH SC. Flemming is newly appointed Head of Division, National Food Institute, Division for Epidemiology and Microbial Genomics, and takes over the seat from Arne Büchert. Flemming Konradsen, representing University of Copenhagen, is the SC chairperson. Flemming is also the chairperson of U-landsgruppen, University Denmark s advisory board to BSU. Flemming is professor in the International Health Unit under the Department of International Health, Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health Sciences.

2 Bjørg Elvekjær is the coordinator of PHH in the Secretariat hosted by the International Health Unit at University of Copenhagen Pernille Bertelsen is the deputy Steering Committee member of AAU, stand in for Knud Erik Skouby. Pernille is an Associate Professor at the Department of Development and Planning, Faculties of Engineering, Science and Medicine. Pernille is also the focal point of the thematic working group on e-health in Africa SC main functions: One of the primary functions of the Steering Committee members is to ensure exchange of information and establishment of relevant ties between respective universites and PHH. It is encouraged that all partner universities represented in PHH appoint a deputy for each Steering Committee member. This will provide PHH with two internal ambassadors at each member university and increase and expand the possibilities for PHH to be present and represented in various forums and at meetings and other events relevant to BSU. Also the Steering Committee guides the overall division of management responsibilities within PHH and comments on and approves the final platform activity plans and budgets. Notes from previous discussions and agreements concerning the Steering Committee s tasks and responsibilities have been registered in previous Steering Committee Meeting minutes: The general experience is that BSU is a complex construction and that the role of the Steering Committee is not always clear. In the pilot phase Flemming and Bjørg toured the Danish Universities to introduce the BSU initiative and in particular to discuss the visions with and set up of PHH. Since then many new faces have come on board, and the overall initiative and the four platforms have taken a much firmer shape and direction. Perhaps it is a good time to repeat the tour? And/or include a more thorough introduction and discussion of selected aspects of the collaboration at the SC meetings? The SC members are asked to express their specific wants and needs on these matters. Ad. 3: Brief status reports on Progress in Tanzania, Zanzibar, Ghana In overall Phase 1 activities are progressing timely and according to plans apart from the PhDs that are all delayed. Status is that all 5 students are now registered at University of Ghana, so are both 2 at KNUST, both 2 at KCMC, while the identified PhD student from ZCHS to be registered at KCMC is still working on her proposal. There are similar delays across the other BSU platforms in general due to a too optimistic timeline in comparison to how long it actually takes to announce the PhD fellowships, then for qualified candidates to produce and present relevant proposals, then to be formally approved and finally registered. In response to this situation the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has agreed to extend PhD related budgets in BSU Phase 1 as required.

3 The process in relation to the planning of phase 2 Meetings are being planned and are already taking place all across PHH to discuss the progress and lessons learnt from Phase I and to initiate planning of Phase II activities and budgets: Core members of the Danish PHH Tanzania team, Thor Theander and Dorte Holler Johansen, met with PHH representatives at KCMC late November to initiate the process; a video conference with UG and KNUST is scheduled for December 12; and Henrik Bregnhøj the Danish Implementing Committee leader and Bjørg Elvekjær will visit Zanzibar Phase ll is considered a consolidation of phase 1, i.e. no new partners will be introduced, and it is not foreseen that there will be any major deviations in the thematic priorities. Initial plans will be developed at partnership level reflecting the needs and priorities to be elaborated on, compiled and fed into a joint Building Stronger Universities (BSU) Phase II proposal covering the period August 2013 to July The proposal must be submitted to the Danish Rectors Conference and subsequently to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for approval in April and May. A review of BSU will be conducted January-February 2013 by a team of a north and a south consultant supported by a resource person from the MoFA and the BSU Project Manager. Due to the young age of BSU it is premature to conclude anything substantial on performance and impact. Instead the review will focus on the quality of the partnerships and governance structures. The review will start mid-january with meetings in Denmark followed up by joint meetings with representatives from all four platform s partner institutions in Ghana and Tanzania. A draft report will be finalized by mid February. The Terms of Reference will be circulated to the SC as soon as they are approved. Co-financing agreement with BSU Please refer to the note Orientering om opgørelse af medfinansiering under Building Stronger Universities in Developing Countries (BSU) projektet circulated prior to the SC meeting. DKK 19 mill. additional joint BSU grant for Capacity Building within Research Communication, Dissemination and Networking Approval from MoFA is expected shortly. Planning will proceed according to instructions from the donor. This grant will be implemented parallel to/as an integrated part of phase l and ll. (*On December 17, 2012, MoFA approved this grant with no further conditions.) Ad. 4: clarifying BSU principles re. co-financing of PhDs and double degrees Any PhD co- or fully financed under the BSUgrant, must be registered at a South partner institution. Funds for co-financed PhD between BSU and Danish institutions needs to be presented in the planning phase and be reflected in the budget The Danish universities and the Danish Ministries support double degrees. However, only relatively few candidates have been included in a double degree program at Danish Universities at this point. Some

4 members of the SC argue (however this is not formally agreed on in BSU) that the double degree approach strides against BSU s objectives to strengthen the South partner universities. The concept of a double degree in itself maintains that there is a difference in value and brand between a single south degree and a double south/north degree. In addition it creates an extra workload to administrate a double degree and especially because every north partner university will typically has its own individual (and cumbersome and/or cryptic) guidelines that must be followed. Other members of the SC argue that joint degrees provide an opportunity for bringing additional Danish university resources into supporting PhD education of Southbased partners and enrich the researcher learning environment in the North through diversity. Under all circumstances it is not the Platforms assignment to clarify or clear the overall way for double degrees. This assignment rests with Universities Denmark and relevant staff at the individual Danish universities. And in the event that a PhD, and his/her supervisor team agrees to pursue a double degree, and neither of the host universities have any objections, it is the responsibility of this specific entity to clarify and follow up as required Ad. 4: Status re. PHHs thematic working groups incl. proposal to request the Global Health Working Group to host an annual research/education/communication for health networking seminar for the Danish resource base There was a consensus in the Steering Committee to maintain the Phase l amount of funds for thematic working groups in the phase 2 PHH proposal in support of networking and innovation. With the same arguments there was also an agreement to encourage and provide support to the Global Health Working Group to host a (regular) meeting/workshop for the wide resource base of global health researchers in Denmark, incl. PHH representatives as one out of several stakeholders. Ad. 5: Pilot stipend programme: Tentative plan in brief: Årligt ca. 30 studerende fra BSUs partnerinstitutioner i Ghana, Kenya, Nepal, Tanzania og Uganda. De studerende følger 1-2 årige i forvejen eksisterende og kendte engelsksprogede kandidat/ masteruddannelser ved danske universiteter på uddannelser med relevans for udviklingslandene og under de fire temaer: Miljø og Klima, Vækst og Beskæftigelse, Sundhed samt Stabilitet, Demokrati og Rettigheder. Integreret i forløbet er også introduktionsforløb af ca. 2 ugers varighed, hvor de studerende forberedes fagligt, kulturelt og socialt i forhold til et studium på et dansk universitet. De studerende skal have som mål at vende tilbage til hjemlandet. I pilotordningen begrænser ordningen sig til i alt 5-10 uddannelser. Stipendier annonceres via partneruniversiteterne. Studerende søger direkte til de lokale universiteter, der forestår den første screening af ansøgerne i henhold til de kriterier, der skal gælde for udvælgelsen. Kontaktpersonen på partneruniversitetet i syd vedlægger støtteerklæring til udvalgte ansøgninger, der anbefales til de danske universiteter. Der vil blive lagt vægt på studievalg,

5 anbefalinger fra universitetet i hjemlandet og vurderingen af, om den studerende kan udnytte tilbuddet fra det danske universitet De enkelte uddannelser i Danmark gennemgår efterfølgende ansøgningerne og udpeger de 30 studerende, der kan optages på baggrund af de sædvanlige krav til optagelse, herunder engelskkundskaber, afsluttet bacheloruddannelse, mv. Danske studerende kan ikke indgå i programmet, da det ikke er muligt at finansiere dem over udviklingsbistanden. De administrative aspekter af stipendieordningen, herunder udbetaling af stipendier, rejser, visum og ophold, foreslås administreret gennem Danida Fellowship Centre (DFC), der har stor erfaring og kapacitet på området i forvejen med administration af fellowshipprogrammet. DFC påtager sig således samme rolle, som de har i forbindelse med deres sædvanlige opgaver vis-a-vis kurser i Danmark. Pilotstipendieprogrammet forudses reviewet efter to år med henblik på justeringer. (* The programme needs final formal approval. A note on final decisions will be circulated as soon as it is released.) Ad. 6: Meeting calendar 2013 The SC members expressed an interest in becoming more closely informed about and involved in the details of the Phase 2 planning. It was agreed to hold the next SC meeting preferably already in January and to invite north Implementing Committee leaders and Work Package leaders to share and develop plans. Bjørg will forward Doodle. Ad. 7: Any other Business: No other issues were brought forward.