The Health Systems Unit currently focuses on the following research lines:

Strategic management of local health systems

• Research on innovative stewardship and governance arrangements to ensure public accountability. Projects include Participation for local action, with Sheshadri and Prashanth NS (Vivekananda Tribal Health Centre, BR Hills, Karnataka, India)
• Leadership and decision-making (including complex and distributed leadership), with PhD research in Morocco, Benin and South Africa
• Public service motivation in low- and middle-income countries (PhD research in Morocco)

Evaluation and research methodologies for complex health (system) problems

• Complexity and the challenges for research, policymaking and management
• Methodological development of theory driven inquiry in health policy and systems research, with a specific focus on realist evaluation. Projects include a partnership with the International Federation of the Red Cross (Geneva). 

 Innovative platforms for care for life-long conditions 

• The focus is on strategies to enhance a shift from biomedical and patient-centred care models to person-centred care approaches that contribute to patient autonomy and self support. Projects include the EU Horizon 2020 project Smart2D in Uganda, South Africa and Sweden.