Strategies and experiences in building research collaboration

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Strategies and experiences in building research
collaboration partnerships
Demographic Public Health Research in China

• Sabu PADMADAS, PhD
• Division of Social Statistics Southampton
  Statistical Sciences Research Institute
• University of Southampton, UK
• ssp_at_soton.ac.uk

AREA of RESEARCH Demography of health
(reproductive health, family planning) Public
health and life course epidemiology Population
projections Demographic and Health Surveys
Co-Reach Conference 4-5 June, 2007, The UK Royal
Society
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Southampton-Beijing research partnership
Project Evaluation of the UNFPA Reproductive
Health (RH) Family Planning (FP) Programme in
30 counties representing all 30 provinces of
China Goals To implement informed
reproductive and contraceptive choices and
client-oriented RH/FP services to women and men
other target groups) without any form of
discrimination or coercion Collaborating
Institutions
China Population Development Research
Centre, National Population Family Planning
Commission, PR China
National Centre for Women Childrens
Health, Chinese Centre for Disease Control,
Ministry of Health, PR China
United Nations Population Fund
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Southampton-Beijing research partnership

• Period of involvement / Project
• Final phase of fourth country programme
  (1998-2002)
• Fifth country programme (2003-2005)
• Sixth country programme (2006-2010)
• Southampton Role Main Outputs
• Provide technical assistance to UNFPA, NPFPC
  MoH
• Design of surveys (endline/baseline) and
  questionnaires
• Preparation of joint scientific reports and
  fact sheets (completed five reports)
• Capacity building research training workshops
• Joint academic research joint publications in
  peer-reviewed
• international journals
• International conference presentations
• For details, please see http//www.s3ri.soton.a
  c.uk/projects/proj-unfpa.php

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Southampton-Nanjing research partnership

• University of Southampton (UoS) Nanjing
  University (NJU) explored potential
• research collaboration during 2006, with
  the coordination of the Centre for
• Contemporary China (UoS)
• President of NJU visited UoS in May 2006
• Established three joint NJU-UoS research
  centres, Nov 2006 to promote
• interdisciplinary research
• First international joint research workshop
  launched on 22-23 May 2007 (on
• Public Health and Infectious Diseases)
  together with colleagues from the Centre
• for Public Health Research (NJU)
• Currently developing research proposals for
  funding, bringing together a range of
• expertise from public health, epidemiology,
  medicine and social sciences
• aiming to facilitate post-graduate student
  exchange

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research partnership experiences reflections

• What has worked well?
• personal contact (face-to-face)
• success in research outputs and capacity
  building
• trust, confidence and friendship
• expansion of research networks (bilateral to
  multilateral)
• What could be improved?
• internationalisation of quality research
  outputs
• matching funding opportunities (long-term)
• funding academic time for the UK researchers
• opportunities for Chinese colleagues to visit
  UK institutions
• UK/European commitment and support

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priority themes for joint E-C programmes

• low fertility and its impact on population
  ageing
• reproductive contraceptive intentions among
  young people
• socio-demographic implications of distorted
  sex ratios
• children and well-being
• socio-demographic impact of rural-urban
  migration
• demographic impact of emerging and
  re-emerging infections
• delayed sexual unions and exposure to STIs
• economic migrants and poverty dynamics in
  rural areas
• preventive and social measures to halt the
  spread of HIV
• causes consequences of adult mortality