Health and Development Information at IDSAn introduction to HDI

April 2008

Outline

IDS Information Department

IDS Health & Development Information Team

What do we do?

Our niche

id21 Health

Health Resource Guides on Eldis

Future direction

DFID Health Resource Centre (Matt)

IDS Info Services

BLDS - British Library for Development Studies

id21 - development research reporting service

ELDIS - online gateway to development

Broad-based services:

BRIDGE - development & gender briefing service

Livelihoods Connect – sustainable livelihoods

Specialist services:

Health Resource CentreDFID HEALTH RESOURCE CENTRE

Governance & Social Development Resource Centre

www.ids.ac.uk

IDS Health & Development Information TeamHDI provides high-quality, accessible information drawn from a diversity of sources, in order to support informed decision-making by policy makers, practitioners and other key stakeholders.

Our approach:

Focuses on poverty and equity – the social, economic and political aspects of health and HIV and AIDS.

Brings together the expertise of information and communications professionals and specialists in health, HIV and AIDS and other development disciplines.

Provides broad and in-depth coverage through online and print resources which draw on a diversity of sources, including a strong research element.

What do we do?

id21 Health: the latest and best UK-funded research, online and in print.

Health, Health Systems, and HIV and AIDS Resource Guides on Eldis: comprehensive coverage of the key issues in health and development.

DFID Health Resource Centre information services: tailored information services for DFID staff and dissemination of knowledge generated through consultancies.

Innovative communication of IDS and collaborators’ health research.

Support to partners’ information, knowledge management and communications activities.

Our niche

Audience of policy makers and practitioners in developing countries.Focus on poverty and the socioeconomic aspects of health and HIV and AIDS (strong cross-cutting approach).Research emphasis but an increasing diversity of sources. Strong links with researchers and other subject specialists.Collaboration with partner organisations.Selection of resources for quality and relevance.Focus on making knowledge and information accessible through selection, summarising, organising, and contextualising.

id21 HealthDFID funded programme.

Supports the dissemination and use of development research and knowledge between researchers and practitioners.

Online resource and extensive print production.

Focuses primarily on peer-reviewed research.

Selection of material based on strong selection criteria.

24,000 printed copies of id21 Insights Health distributed.

55% of subscribers are in low and middle income countries.

Recent topics include: substance abuse, household and community responses to malaria in Africa and maternal health

Upcoming topics include: primary health care, sexuality, child nutrition and budget support.

Health Resource Guides on EldisThe guides provide comprehensive coverage of high quality information on the key issues in health and development.Broad topic coverage with in-depth resources on specific issues.Primarily online resources, but occasional print and CDRom.Diverse sources and types of material including research, grey literature, reports and toolkits.Collaboration with partner organisations and subject experts to select and write content.Over 12,000 visitors per month and 20,000 email subscribers.Over 60% of visitors are based in in low and middle income countries.Popular topics include: human resources for health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, AIDS and vulnerability.Recent and upcoming topics include: aid architecture, non-communicable diseases, men and masculinities, primary health care, climate change and health, non-state providers.

Activities with FHS and RR RPCS, POVILL etc.

Health key issues guide on universal access to SRH services. (RR RPC)

id21 focus on unsafe abortion. (RR RPC)

Health systems dossier on meeting the health-related needs of the very poor. (POVILL)