A conceptual framework for analysing partnership and synergy in a global health alliance: case of the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team

Abstract

Partnerships have become increasingly important in addressing complex global health challenges, a reality exemplified by the COVID-19 pandemic and previous infectious disease epidemics. Partnerships offer opportunities to create synergistic outcomes by capitalising on complimentary skills, knowledge and resources. Despite the importance of understanding partnership functioning, research on collaboration is sparse and fragmented, with few conceptual frameworks applied to evaluate real-life partnerships in global health. In this study, we aimed to adapt and apply the Bergan Model of Collaborative Functioning (BMCF) to analyse partnership functioning in the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST), a government-academic partnership, dedicated to outbreak response and research in low- and middle-income countries. We conducted a literature review identifying important elements to adapt the framework, followed by a qualitative case study to characterise how each element, and the dynamics between them, influenced functioning in the UK-PHRST, exploring emerging themes to further refine the framework. Elements of the BMCF that our study reinforced as important included the partnership’s mission, partner resources (skills, expertise, networks), leadership, the external environment, management systems, and communication. Additional elements identified in the literature and critical to partnership functioning of the UK-PHRST included governance and financial structures adopted, trust and power balance, organisational culture, strategy, and evaluation and knowledge management. Because of the way the UK-PHRST was structured, fostering team cohesion was an important indicator of synergy, alongside collaborative advantage. Dividing the funding and governance equally between organisations was considered crucial for maintaining institutional balance, however, diverse organisational cultures, weak communication practices and perceived power imbalances compromised team cohesion. Our analysis allowed us to make recommendations to improve partnership functioning at a critical time in the evolution of the UK-PHRST. The analysis approach and framework presented here can be used to evaluate and strengthen the management of global health partnerships to realise synergy.

Gap analysis of strategies for promoting interprofessional teams in healthcare units

“…The external environment/ Immersive work spaces [20,33,42,45,47,59] To ensure privacy and security of health data [36,53] Climate/ enjoyment [37,45] Enable to speak freely without fear [44] Finding…”

Gap analysis of strategies for promoting interprofessional teams in healthcare units

“…The external environment/ Immersive work spaces [20,33,42,45,47,59] To ensure privacy and security of health data [36,53] Climate/ enjoyment [37,45] Enable to speak freely without fear [44] Finding…”

Impact of international deployments on epidemic response in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs): A mixed-methods systematic review protocol

“…As a result, evidence of the impact of these deployments on strengthening national outbreak preparedness and response capacities is limited, including systematic evidence (12). Whilst outcomes of a deployment are routinely documented mainly through post-deployment debriefs and reports, conducting systematic evaluations of the impacts of deployments in the context of an epidemic or pandemic present distinct methodological, logistical, and nancial challenges (6, 10,13,14). Systematic evaluations are critical to improving initiatives to strengthen outbreak preparedness and response capacities, as well as accountability and value for money (15).…”