Extract from the Statutes of the European Health Management Association (also available at www.ehma.org).

“The aim of the Association shall be to improve health management and health policies through the development and exchange of both ideas and practices among academics, researchers, managers, clinicians, policy makers and consumers throughout Europe. The aim of the Association is met through pursuit of the following objectives:

2.1 The provision, development and improvement of education and training in health management.

2.2 The development and improvement of health management practice.

2.3 The encouragement and support of research and development among the members of the Association and the exchange of their findings.

2.4 The transfer of research findings into practice through publications and through collaborative activities amongst the membership, and particularly between researchers and managers.

2.5 Collaboration, on behalf of the members, with the European Union and its affiliates and agencies, the World Health Organisation and its agencies, and other international and national organisations which have an influence on health in Europe.”

The overall strategic aim of this work programme is to promote health in Europe through pursuing excellence in health management. The programme will pursue the following objectives:

Building a peer network in Central and Eastern Europe: health systems in CE Europe face challenges to reduce health inequalities and modernise systems. Stakeholders within our membership have identified an international network focusing on building capacity in this area as a significant need.

The CEE Network will be made up of 40 senior health managers and policy makers. It will meet twice a year, for a 24 hour event at which issues of particular importance for health systems of the region, such as informal payments and change management, will be discussed. Each meeting will host a networking dinner to build links between the participants. The network will also be built on a virtual forum, through which participants will be able to exchange ideas and contacts, and peer mentoring will be offered to participants. The network meetings will also include specific sessions for women managers, looking at gender and leadership issues in a CEE context.

Each member of the network will be given free EHMA institutional membership and a subscription to the Journal of Management and Marketing in Healthcare for their institution, in order to spread the impact of the network to a wider audience.

Access to health care - connecting evidence and policy: the recently published HealthQUEST study, led by EHMA, has identified evidence of the link between poor access to health care and health inequalities. A forum is now needed to further explore the policy implications.

Three policy seminars will be held in Brussels to bring together policy makers at both EU and national levels to discuss the implications of HealthQUEST’s findings for each of the disadvantaged groups that it considered: people with mental disorders, migrants and older people with functional limitations. Position and discussion papers will be published as a result of these seminars in order to disseminate the findings to a wider audience.

Connecting European leaders: CEOs within Europe`s health systems face common challenges as they manage complex issues such as cross-border care, workforce planning and cross-sectoral collaboration. This key group currently lacks a dedicated forum for Europe-wide knowledge exchange and capacity building.

The European CEO Taskforce will be a forum for these Chief Executives to meet together and share their experience in meeting the challenges of leadership, as well as to learn and exchange knowledge. The forum will meet twice a year for a 24 hour event in Brussels. The forum will be addressed by leading policy and management experts on key subjects, including financing mechanisms, health inequities, cross-border care and workforce management. Each 24 hour event will also include a networking dinner to build inter-group contacts. The forum will aim to recruit 30 Chief Executives, with balanced geographical coverage.

The taskforce will be heavily subsidised for CEE and Balkan CEOs, but a fee will be charged for EU15 members. Each subsidised member will be given free EHMA membership and a subscription to the Journal of Management and Marketing in healthcare for their institution as part of the taskforce package.

Exchanging good management practice across Europe: EHMA members have identified a specific need for an accessible forum for managers to share good practice.

The Management in Practice database will collect examples of management practice on a number of themes, and in a range of sectors (including primary care, mental health, specialist care and public health), so that managers can learn from the experiences of others across sectoral and national boundaries. The database will be focused on practical, real experience of health management, and will aim to build the capacity at an operational level.

CEE Network

1. A sustainable peer network for senior managers and policy makers with at least 40 members and balanced geographical coverage.
2. Improved capacity within the network members to address key system issues in their national/regional contexts (such as managing change and informal payments).
3. Improved capacity to promote high quality health management within the wider network audience through publication outputs.

CEO Taskforce

1. A developed network of Chief Executive Officers, providing mutual support and facilitating international learning exchange, with 30 members and balanced geographical coverage between EU12 and EU15 Member States.
2. Increased exchange of knowledge between CEOs in different Member States, in order to improve the performance of their own health systems/facilities.


Access to Healthcare Seminars

1. Increased knowledge within the policy and management communities of the access to healthcare evidence collated in the HealthQUEST study, through the attendance of at least 30 attendees at each event.
2. Increased awareness in the wider healthcare research community of the policy and research implications of access for migrants, people with mental disorders and older people, through publications based on the seminars.


Management in Practice Database

1. A substantial collection of examples of management in practice.
2. An increased exchange of knowledge between healthcare managers within the network and outside to improve management practice, with target of 1500 downloads and 100 examples posted in 2009.