Governance

Source	The Global Health Network Terms of Reference – V1.3
Valid from	March 2023

The Global Health Network regional programme aims to foster a health research and data science environment in the Global South through a franchise networked organizational approach. This TOR will be regularly reviewed and updated as necessary throughout the programme to ensure that all activities align with the programme's objectives and are delivered in a timely and effective manner.

The Regional Steering Committees (RSCs) for Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean are responsible for guiding the overall mission of their respective continent and overseeing the work carried out by different working groups. The RSCs provide advisory guidance and do not have the authority to make binding decisions. Their primary role is to review activities, outcomes, and plans related to the regional and country centres' core aims and guide The Global Health Network in creating maximum impact by fostering more and better health research in low-resource settings. Additionally, they may identify gaps in activities, suggest new areas of focus, and help ensure activities are responsibly and effectively meeting project or grant goals. The RSCs will also encourage collaboration among the regional and country centres and guide the identification of regional stakeholders and their engagement, including raising awareness of The Global Health Network activities at relevant events and meetings.

Each RSC is composed of voluntary member representatives from each of the regional and country centres in the region that have signed a collaborative agreement to be a Global Health Network Regional or Country Centre, as well as representation from The Global Health Network regional operations team. Members are asked to serve on the RSC for two years, during which they elect a Chair who rotates annually and sits on the core GSAB.

Meetings are held bi-annually, either online or in-person if funds are available, at a time when a quorum of at least 50% of countries are present. The Chair, with support from The Global Health Network operational team, convenes meetings, sets agendas, and summarizes discussions in minutes. Discussions may also continue between meetings through emails or virtual calls to exchange useful relevant information. Every year, the RSC will formally review its own remit and operations, with recommendations for changes, although pertinent points may be raised at any time.

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The Global Health Network Country Centres play a critical role in coordinating and supporting global health research capacity and training initiatives at the national level. These Centres act as hubs within The Network, connecting researchers, healthcare workers, health research institutions, and policymakers in their respective countries. By fostering knowledge and expertise exchange, facilitating training initiatives, and supporting resource dissemination, Country Centres enable the development of robust health research systems.

Being a Country Centre brings numerous benefits and value to partner organizations hosting these centres, including:

Providing a different, neutral, and highly regarded affiliation in addition to their host organization (such as a university or a research institution) which enables effective operation, delivery, and engagement in capacity building and knowledge-sharing activities.
Offering an immediate and powerful global presence and connectivity.
Being part of a globally recognized, neutral, and effective network for capacity building and knowledge translation, which is highly regarded by funders and has a proven facility for dissemination, engagement, and learning-by-doing capacity building.
Facilitating global partnerships and collaborations within a working facility for projects to thrive.

The Country Centres are responsible for executing the strategic vision and objectives of The Global Health Network. This includes promoting The Network's resources and training programmes to national audiences, cultivating partnerships with other organizations and institutions, and advancing global health topics and health research. To be effective, the Country Centres should have a deep understanding of the needs and challenges of health research within their country and a commitment to collaborating with global partners to create an environment that enables the implementation of health research.

Key objectives of The Global Health Network Country Centres include:

To establish a locally led centre for The Global Health Network.
To contribute to The Global Health Network’s online platform, while maintaining The Network’s quality standards.
To promote The Global Health Network in the country and region; engaging wider groups and communities in the related activities.
To build and engage a Community of Practice for the country in all disease areas.
Establish and advance knowledge mobilisation, through the active sharing of resources (e.g., study documentation and learning tools), and the dissemination of research activities (e.g., through open-access webinars).
To contribute to the understanding of the research landscape, existing capacity and challenges faced with research in the country and conduct research skills needs assessments where necessary.
To undertake key mapping exercises to determine research groups, centers and institutions across the country and region.
To facilitate training initiatives to support and strengthen the research environment.
To facilitate the recruitment of staff as per requirements and availability of funds to carry out specific deliverables.
To seek and collaborate on joint research grant proposals, building on local and regional partnerships.
To design and implement programmes for skills sharing and research capacity building, some of which are seminars, workshops, webinars, research clubs, data clinics, mentorship and twinning activities.

The Country Centre will work closely with the corresponding The Global Health Network Regional manager and The Global Health Network Regional Centre for their corresponding region, as part of an open global alliance within a federal structure. An MoU will be set up between the Country Centre and the University of Oxford.

The country coordinator will meet the The Global Health Network Regional Manager monthly for guidance, to track progress, challenges, and connect with other country initiatives where needed. Also, the coordinator will assist the general regional meeting every semester.