World Health Organization - Summer school
European Observatory Summer School on "Human Resources" in collaboration with the Veneto Region

The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, in collaboration with the Veneto Region, is resuming its Summer School programme and building on the Observatory tradition established in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The course theme is "Human Resources", one of the most critical challenges for successful health services.

The first "new" summer school will be held as follows:

Venue: The island of San Servolo, Venice
Dates: 5 - 10 August 2007 (participants should arrive by 15.00 Sunday 5 August)
Course fee: 1.650 euros (which includes all accommodation and teaching materials)
Travel: Participants are expected to make their own travel arrangements
Applications: Applications are invited until 20 April 2007 using the  application form
Acceptance: Successful applicants will be notified by 11 May 2007
Late applicants: Late applications can only be dealt with if space allows
Bursaries:
• The Observatory will provide a very limited number of bursaries.
• The World Bank may be able to support applicants from countries where they are active and candidates are encouraged to approach their local Bank contacts for guidance.
• Applicants in countries with formal WHO collaborating agreements in place may also wish to approach their local country office to explore the possibility of support.
Working language: English
Working hours: 09.00-17.00
Social programme: Schedule of events to be announced

Objectives:
The Summer School will bring together a mix of policy-makers, planners and health professionals to review evidence and share their own knowledge of human resources. The course will:
• Raise key issues
• Utilise experience from across Europe to provide technical insights for policy development
• Share participants' insights (whether they are practitioners or analysts)
• Develop a greater understanding of how evidence and context interact, and
• Build networks.
The emphasis will be on participative approaches, complemented by some formal teaching.

Course content:
Europe's health care workface is both ageing and increasingly more mobile, thus human resource planning can extend beyond national borders. The Summer School will address the context that makes workface issues so important, including the changing disease spectrum, new technologies, globalization and the reconfiguration of health services. It will explore the changing environment for health professionals and its implications for education, skill mix and work place organization. It will also touch on what policy-makers can do in response to labour market dynamics and push-pull factors that promote mobility, and in terms of regulating and educating the work force, enhancing working conditions, and measuring and rewarding health professionals' performance.

The course will include:
• Topic 1 Challenges to European health care
• Topic 2 The changing environment for human resources
• Topic 3 Reconfiguring services and implications for skills mix
• Topic 4 Regulating and educating the work force
• Topic 5 Labour market dynamics and migration
• Topic 6 Ensuring and enhancing working conditions
• Topic 7 Measuring and awarding performance of health professionals
In addition, there will be group work, participant presentations and extensive discussion.

Course approach:
The Summer School will take place on the island of San Servolo in Venice and will consist of a mixture of lectures and group work. All students will be asked to:
• Review materials circulated in advance in preparation for the course
• Take part in workshops, group discussions and plenary sessions
• Take part in a project that will run throughout the course, bringing together the different issues and methods covered in the programme
• Produce their own presentations.

Facilitation and teaching will involve leading international experts and decision-makers. They will assume that participants are fully prepared and have done any necessary reading and will therefore only highlight and summarize background issues. The emphasis will be on developing ideas and discussing evidence with participants.

A certificate will be awarded to all participants who successfully complete the School and participate fully in all seminars.

Target audience:
The Summer School's target groups are (i) mid-level to senior policy-makers and (ii) more junior professionals who are making careers in policy and management at a regional, national or European level. All participants should be currently employed in a government or nongovernmental institution with decision-making powers ( e.g. ministries, national health institutes, federal committees) or relevant provider or payer association (such as, national insurance boards, hospital federations, and physicians' chambers). Applicants should be working in the European Region or in an international organization working in Europe.
The Observatory will tailor the programme to reflect the mix of participants, and their experience.

Applying to the Summer School:
Applicants from the target groups are invited to apply by completing the application form and sending it by email to summerschool2007@ obs.euro. who.int

The closing date for applications is 20 April 2007 and applicants are advised to apply early as places are limited. The selection criteria are given in full below and should help potential participants judge their eligibility.
Successful applicants will be notified by 11 May 2007. Late applications can only be dealt with if space allows.

Fees and bursaries:
The School fee is 1.650€ and includes all accommodation, meals, tuition, a resource pack including key readings, airport transfers, social activities and coffee breaks.
Please note: travel should be arranged independently, although airport transfers will be handled by the Summer School.
There are limited bursaries available from the Observatory (details on applying are included in the application form) and the World Bank and WHO are hoping to support applicants from countries where they are active. Candidates are encouraged to approach their local Bank and WHO contacts for guidance.

Selection criteria:
Language skills
Essential
• English language (listening, speaking) sufficient to participate actively in technical discussions on health and health care issues
• English language (reading) sufficient to prepare for the course and manage technical background materials.

Employment experience (at a regional, national or European level)
Essential
• Minimum 3 years experience in a health systems or health system-related institution
• Currently employed in institution with decision-making powers in the health sector (government or non-governmental or relevant provider or payer association)
• Working in a Member State of the WHO European Region (the World Bank's Europe and Central Asia Region) or in an international organization working in Europe.

Desirable
• At least 1 year's experience of explicit responsibilities for:
• planning human resources
• organizing pay and performance management systems
• developing human resources policy
• other strategic role in human resources.

Knowledge and academic qualifications
Desirable
Knowledge of
• tools for analysing employment trends
• training and professional development issues
• incentives and performance management
• the impact of transition in eastern Europe on human resources
• the impact of EU legislation on migration and human resources

Desirable
• Post graduate (Masters) qualification in planning, management or other human resources related area

The Observatory:
The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies carries out international health policy and systems research and disseminates its findings for public benefit and in order to foster evidence-based decision-making. The Observatory is committed to the highest standards in research and in ethics, and to:
• Working in partnership with policy-makers, practitioners and academics;
• Utilising experience from across Europe and beyond to illuminate policy issues;
• Communicating effectively and encouraging debate.
Its values are that health systems and policies should strive to promote health gain and achieve equitable, efficient and high quality health systems whilst the Observatory itself is committed to genuinely shared ownership; sharing information about its work; and the pursuit of excellence, integrity and accountability.

The Observatory partnership reflects the dynamic nature of policy-making. It includes national governments (Belgium, Finland, Greece, Norway, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden); regional governments (the Veneto Region) international organizations (the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, World Bank, European Investment Bank and Open Society Institute); and academia (London School of Economics and Political Science and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine). All of the Observatory' s Partners support the Summer School and WHO and the World Bank are making special arrangements to encourage participation.

If you would like to find more about the Observatory please visit our website at http://www.euro. who.int/observat ory

The Veneto Region:
The Veneto Region is an autonomous territorial organization with legislative powers which, together with the other eighteen Regions, the State and two Autonomous Provinces, make up the Italian Republic. It is situated in the north-east of Italy and has a population of almost 4.7 million or 7.7% of the total Italian population. The Veneto Region is rich, industrialised and highly developed. The regional capital is Venice and its major cities are Verona, Vicenza, Padua, Treviso, Rovigo and Belluno. Veneto is currently the Region which coordinates social matters for all twenty Italian Regions.

With the decentralization of the national health system, Regional authorities in Italy have the responsibility to improve the health status of the population within the framework of the national health plan. Veneto is at the forefront of efforts to ensure the regional perspective is taken into account in national and European policy-making and that empirical evidence and analysis reaches both national and sub-national stakeholders and policy-makers.

It is involved in the area of hospital reform; with purchasing, payment systems and contracting as tools for restructuring; and in comparing health care systems across European Member States as a way of improving the health of their citizens.

Veneto is also one of Europe's most active Regions in the area of health. It plays a leading role in the EU and in research and policy development; is at the heart of the WHO Regions for Health network; and supports other Regional networks across Europe. It has been particularly active in addressing the challenges for Regions in an enlarged Europe, with its greater freedom of movement of patients and health workers and the theme of collaboration. Jointly with Friuli Venezia Gilulia Region and the land Carinzia it is in the process of developing a Euro-Region. Together with the Italian Ministry of Health, Veneto hosts in Venice the WHO European Office on Investment for Health and Development.

Veneto has been a member of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies since 2004. It is the first 'sub-national' member of the Observatory, a symbol of the ever growing importance of Regions within the European context. It is hosting the Summer School both in recognition of the importance of human resources for policy-makers and because it is committed to providing a European platform for political debate on health matters.

The Summer School Board:
The Summer School is supported by a Board made up of Luigi Bertinato (Veneto Region), James Buchan (Queen Margaret University College) Reinhard Busse (Observatory) , Nick Fahy (DG SANCO European Commission), Armin Fidler (World Bank), Josep Figueras (Observatory) , Galina Perfilieva (WHO), Ninon Latzitis (Observatory) , Suszy Lessof (Observatory) , Martin McKee (Observatory) , Elias Mossialos (Observatory) .