The European Commission grant flowed through our U.S. entity and enabled Harvard Chan School researchers to develop training for young researchers in low- and middle-income countries and educate decision-makers on social determinants of health.

Building Capacity for Health Research in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

A 2008 World Health Organization commission on social determinants of health found that the dramatic differences in the health status between and within countries are linked to degrees in social disadvantage. As a result, the WHO established INDEPTH Training and Research Centres of Excellence (INTREC) and partnered with Harvard Chan School and five other universities across the globe to address these differences and work toward reducing them.

This project was led by Lisa Berkman, the Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy and of Epidemiology. Its two primary goals were to develop online and in-person evidence-based training for researchers and to connect researchers and decision-makers and ensure that the findings were shared in an actionable and policy-driven manner. The initial activities focused on Tanzania, South Africa, Ghana, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, and Vietnam with training centers located in Ghana and Indonesia.

Harvard Global Services in the U.S.

This grant flowed through our U.S. entity, Harvard Global Research and Support Services, Inc., which enables us to act as the direct awardee for certain grants in the U.S.

For Harvard Chan School, we provided our standard suite of services for grant administration and accepted and reported on the funding from the European Commission while the School directed the researchers and resources for work on the grant.