HIFA Projects leverage the HIFA community to explore your priority global health issue in depth. Projects are proposed and sponsored by any of our 400+ HIFA Supporting Organisations or other appropriate partner. Current sponsors are shown below. See the full list of Projects in the dropdown menu on the HIFA home page: www.hifa.org
HIFA Projects: How you can leverage the HIFA community to achieve your goals in 2025
Each Project convenes a working group of HIFA experts and volunteers who plan and implement an extended exploration of the sponsor's priority topic among HIFA's 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting 24/7 in four languages. The exploration includes deep-dive thematic discussions, each lasting 4-6 weeks, with the option to complement these with dedicated webinars. Outputs include shared understanding and awareness, structured summaries, conference presentations, academic papers and advocacy for your priority topic.
There are three types of Project, each of which can be tailored to the available budget (see below):
- Topic-based Projects (eg Mental health, below)
- Research-based Projects (eg mHealth-Innovate; Support-Systems, below)
- WHO-based Projects.
HIFA has almost 20 years experience in running Topic-based Projects on behalf of sponsors including Elsevier Foundation, Global Health Academy at the University of Edinburgh, Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, The Lancet, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, TDR, and the World Health Organization. In addition, since 2021 we have introduced Research-based Projects, where HIFA provides an extended platform for multidisciplinary discussion to support major research consortia. Building on the success of our first two Research-based Projects (mHealth-Innovate and Support-Systems), two further Research-based Projects are confirmed to start in 2025. From 2025 we are introducing a third type - WHO-based Projects - where sponsors have the opportunity to support activities in the HIFA-WHO Collaboration Plan 2025-2027.
Current Projects (2025, sponsors and testimonials)
1. Mental health: meeting information needs for substance use disorders (NextGenU.org)
“NextGenU.org is honored to collaborate with HIFA to advance global health. Our Addiction Training for Health Professionals Program provides health professionals with free, high-quality education on addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery worldwide. Working with the HIFA team has significantly enhanced our ability to achieve these goals. Through HIFA's unique approach, we can better address misconceptions, reduce stigma, and improve access to reliable healthcare information for substance use disorders. HIFA's ability to convene diverse stakeholders fosters invaluable discussions and innovations, ultimately enhancing the well-being of individuals worldwide. We proudly support HIFA’s efforts and look forward to continued collaboration.” Miriam Chickering, CEO, February 2025
2. Informal use of mobile phones by health workers (mHEALTH-INNOVATE/Research Council of Norway)
“HIFA has been a vital part of the mHealth-Innovate research project as it has given us a unique opportunity to discuss topics with healthcare workers, managers and policy makers from across the world. This has been a great supplement to our more formal research processes as these are often slow, shaped by the researcher and limited to specific settings. The HIFA network, on the other hand, is an open space where people from all levels of the system can discuss topics on their own terms. HIFA has helped us put our questions on the agenda and the HIFA discussions have been a key part of making sure that our research is relevant for people on the ground. This is not the first time we have collaborated with HIFA and hopefully not the last!” Claire Glenton, Principal Investigator, February 2025
3. How can decision-making processes for health systems strengthening and universal health coverage be made more inclusive, responsive and accountable? (SUPPORT-SYSTEMS//Research Council of Norway)
“Involving key users of knowledge in research projects is crucial for ensuring the research is responsive to their needs and has a meaningful impact. However, accessing different groups of users is often challenging. HIFA has been a dynamic platform for building relationships with individuals from diverse professional backgrounds and roles within health systems worldwide, enabling the collection of insights that would have otherwise been difficult to obtain. The HIFA discussion forum has been especially valuable, enabling the research project to explore concepts and assumptions, and to understand how the research questions resonate with on-the-ground realities through the insights of individuals with relevant experiences. I highly recommend partnering with HIFA for research collaborations and will definitely do so again for future research proposals.” Unni Gopinathan, Principal Investigator, February 2025
Confirmed new Projects starting in 2025
- Community health workers and cancer (Research-based Project funded by Research Council of Norway)
- Novel Hybrid Care Approaches for Chronic Conditions (Research-based Project funded by Research Council of Norway)
Proposals for new Projects (not confirmed)
- Cancer
- Oral health
- Open access
- Primary health care
- Rare diseases
- Submit your proposal here
Partner with HIFA to achieve your objectives
Each Project is an opportunity for you, the sponsor, to advance your mission and support the HIFA community at the same time.
HIFA Projects are highly affordable with two levels of support:
| Option | Duration | Number of deep-dive discussions (each 4-6 weeks) | Additional activities* | Cost |
| A | 6 months to 1 year | 1-2 | Optional | £5k |
| B | 2-3 years | 3+ | Included | £10k |
*Additional activities: With each package there is an option to complement the forum discussion with a webinar to present the findings. Many of our discussions have also been presented at international conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals, further raising awareness of your priority global health issue and the visibility of your organisation.
Costs are negotiable and may be covered by your organisation OR shared with one or more of our 400+ HIFA supporting organisations OR we can work with you to secure external funding.
What is your priority global health issue? We look forward to your proposal for a new HIFA Project. Submit your proposal here
(Note: HIFA also has several working groups on standby, ready to implement a wide range of projects as and when funding becomes available - see the dropdown menu under Projects on the HIFA homepage.)