Training and Research Support Centre - TARSC

Training and Research Support Centre

Training and Research Support Centre (TARSC) provides training, research and support services to state and civil society organisations at national and international levels. TARSC is a learning and knowledge organization, with a particular focus on skills building, research and technical support and a commitment to long term capacity building in the public sector and in civil society.

Participatory Action Research TARSC with EQUINET, IDRC Canada and Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research has produced a methods reader on participatory action research (PAR) that draws on examples and experiences globally. The reader is available in English and in Spanish. In 2017-2019 TARSC implemented with Maldaba UK and institutions in EQUINETs pra4equity network a programme to build and use a web platform to implement cross country PAR work online. The work was implemented in primary care sites with communities and frontline health workers in six countries in east and southern Africa. Youll find the PARonline report and briefs from the work on the EQUINET website For further information contact us with ‘PAR web platform’ in the subject line at admin@tarsc.org and please provide your name and institution with your query or comment.

Fostering policy support for family and child health and wellbeing- learning from international experience TARSC in association with University of Aberdeen and with support from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Global ideas fund has led cross country research in 2019 to gather and share evidence and learning on what has led to a change in policy norms and produced increased policy recognition of family and child health and wellbeing (FCHW) in high, middle and low-income countries internationally. There are fourteen case study reports that cover diverse policy changes in Australia, Brazil, Chile, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Norway, Peru, Rwanda, South Africa (one on the Childrens Act and one on integrated school health services), Sweden, England and Vietnam. A synthesis of the learning and strategic drivers of policy change is now available online and you will find all case studies and reports on a webpage for the work on the Shaping health site. For further information contact us with ‘Policy analysis’ in the subject line at admin@tarsc.org and please provide your name and institution with your query or comment.

Shaping Health: Social power and participation in health TARSC led cross country research on experiences of building social power and participation in local health systems in different countries globally. A conceptual framework paper and an annotated bibliography prepared in the project are available on this site. Short case studies have been produced from local health systems in Australia, Canada, Ecuador, India, Zambia and Vanuatu, summarised in a volume on these experiences. The Ecuador case study is also available in Spanish. Deeper scan country case studies have been produced from Brazil, Chile, Kenya, New Zealand, Scotland and Slovenia with a further volume summarising these experiences. Exchanges are underway on the findings from the work and a synthesis paper on the findings across the work is available in English and in Spanish. A ‘Shaping health’ website presents all products of the research and the stories of change that reflect the key principles for working on social participation and power in health.

Global Health Diplomacy TARSC has co-ordinated an international programme exploring the role of global health diplomacy (GHD), including south –south diplomacy, in addressing selected key challenges to health and strengthening health systems working with institutions in EQUINET and has since 2016 co-operated with SEATINI in EQUINET and with the ECSA Health Community to discuss the research findings and issues on the World Health Assembly agenda and build regional capacities in GHD. The research has also been published in a special issue of the Journal for Health Diplomacy on Africa.

Latest Activities

POLICY ANALYSIS ON COVID, COMPREHENSIVE PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTHY SOCIETIES TARSC implemented work in 2020 in association with the Alliance for Health Policy and Health Systems Research on the trajectory of different paradigms used to promote healthy societies at global level and in different regions globally. A report on the work Achieving healthy societies – ideas and learning from diverse regions for shared futures is available on this site. TARSC has worked on a range of publications in 2020 on COVID-19 and public health that you will find on the  EQUINET website. Interested persons should contact admin@tarsc.org and give full name and institution and how you would like to link on this work.

Latest TARSC Publications

Haciendo Visible el Cambio Evaluación de los Esfuerzos para Fomentar la Participación Social en la Salud
(January 2023)
Types of work: Participatory Action Research, Community Based Research, General Research, Training resources
Areas of work: Community and Public health
Country: Unknown Country
URL: MCV Resource Spanish 2022 for web.pdf
Read more...

Latest EQUINET Publications

Brief on climate-related migration and health equity in East and Southern Africa
EQUINET; TARSC (2025)
Themes: Equity in health, Values, policies and rights, Health equity in economic and trade policies, Equitable health services, Public-private mix, Governance and participation in health
Country: East and southern Africa region
URL: EQ Brief Climate and migration in ESA Mar2025.pdf
Read more...
Call for case studies: Scaling up promising practice to promote healthy urban people and ecosystems in east and southern Africa
EQUINET (2025)
Themes: Equity in health, Values, policies and rights, Health equity in economic and trade policies, Public-private mix, Governance and participation in health
Country: East and southern Africa region
URL: Call for urban health case studies 2025.pdf
Read more...
Brief on climate, land rights and agroecological links to pandemics in East and Southern Africa
EQUINET, SEATINI, TARSC (2024)
Themes: Equity in health, Health equity in economic and trade policies
Country: East and southern Africa region
URL: EQ Climate, agroecology and health equity brief.pdf
Read more...
Call for applicants for the 2025 online capacity building course on health impact assessment
EQUINET: TARSC; TalkAB[M]R; SATUCC; in association with C Dora; NIGH (2024)
Themes: Equity in health, Values, policies and rights, Health equity in economic and trade policies, Equitable health services, Public-private mix, Resource allocation and health financing, Governance and participation in health, Monitoring equity and research to policy
Country: East and southern Africa region
URL: EQ HIA 2025 course info for web.pdf
Read more...
Call for applicants for the 2025 online capacity building course on health impact assessment
EQUINET: TARSC; TalkAB[M]R; SATUCC; in association with C Dora; NIGH (2024)
Themes: Equity in health, Values, policies and rights, Health equity in economic and trade policies, Equitable health services, Public-private mix, Resource allocation and health financing, Governance and participation in health, Monitoring equity and research to policy
Country: East and southern Africa region
URL: EQ HIA 2025 course info for web.pdf
Read more...
EQUINET Discussion paper 133: Synthesis report: EQUINET online dialogues and reviews on Climate justice and health equity in east and southern Africa
EQUINET SC; TARSC (2024)
Themes: Equity in health, Values, policies and rights, Health equity in economic and trade policies, Equitable health services, Resource allocation and health financing, Governance and participation in health
Country: East and southern Africa region
URL: EQ Diss 133 climate and health equity Sep2024.pdf
Read more...
Scaling up promising practice to promote healthy urban people and ecosystems in east and southern Africa
EQUINET (2024)
Themes: Equity in health, Values, policies and rights, Health equity in economic and trade policies, Public-private mix, Governance and participation in health
Country: East and southern Africa region
URL: UH Recommendations brief2024.pdf
Read more...
Institutionalising health impact assessment in East and Southern Africa
EQUINET: TARSC; TalkAB[M]R; SATUCC; in association with C Dora; NIGH; ECSA Health Community (2024)
Themes: Values, policies and rights, Health equity in economic and trade policies, Public-private mix, Monitoring equity and research to policy
Country: East and southern Africa region
URL: EQ HIA brief 2024.pdf
Read more...
Report of the Online capacity building on Health Impact Assessment in east and southern Africa, February to June 2024
EQUINET, TARSC, SATUCC, TalkAB[M]R, NIGH, ECSA HC (2024)
Themes: Values, policies and rights, Health equity in economic and trade policies, Public-private mix, Monitoring equity and research to policy
Country: East and southern Africa region
URL: EQ HIA Skills training report 2024.pdf
Read more...
Report of the Online skills session on Participatory Action Research in health and well-being, June 2024
EQUINET Steering committee; TARSC (2024)
Themes: PAR work, Governance and participation in health, Monitoring equity and research to policy
Country: East and southern Africa region
URL: EQ PAR Skills session report 2024.pdf
Read more...
LINKS

Links

Occupational health and safety

International Labour Organisation
The International Labour Organization is the UN specialized agency which seeks the promotion of social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights.

HIV and AIDS

Health Economics and HIV/AIDS Research Division
HEARD conducts research on the socio-economic aspects of public health, especially the HIV/AIDS pandemic. It is based in South Africa at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, but its operations are international in scope.

Community and Public Health and Health Equity

Ifakara Health Institute
IFAKRA is a non profit, independent, district based health research and resource centre, generating new knowledge and relevant information regarding priority problems in health systems at district, national and international level through research, training and service support aiming at better health and community development. IHRDC is an independent, non-profit foundation in Tanzania under the leadership of the Ministry of Health. The Centre�s headquarters are based at Ifakara town and it has liason offices in Dar es Salaam, Morogoro town and Rufiji.

HEPS Uganda
HEPS-Uganda is a Health Consumers Organisation advocating for health rights and responsibilities. The organisation is a coalition of health consumers, health advocates, health practitioners, CSOs and CBOs. HEPS is concerned about bottlenecks that hinder access to quality healthcare for the majority of Ugandans. The position of the organisation is that more preventive and curative means are necessary and that they should be designed from a health consumers perspective.

Centre for Health Policy, South Africa
The Centre for Health Policy (CHP) in South Africa is a multi-disciplinary health policy research unit based in the School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. CHP is recognised by the South African Medical Research Council (MRC) as the Research Group in Health Policy. CHP is an independent, multi-disciplinary research organisation that seeks to contribute to excellence in health policy and health economics research, and to be a critical participant in health policy processes.

Centre for Health and Social Science Research (CHESSORE)
CHESSORE is a non-profit, civil society organization formed to undertake applied research to guide and help improve implementation of public health policies in Zambia. Since then, CHESSORE has formed strong links with community structures and parliamentarians with a view to promote equity policies in the Zambian health system.

International Society for Equity in Health
ISEqH promotes equity in health and health services internationally through education, research, publication, communication and charitable support.

The Community Working Group on Health
The Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) was formed in early 1998 to take up health issues of common concern. The approximately twenty-five organizations in the CWGH include national membership organizations that have branches across the country, whilst others have areas specific membership such (as the residents associations). The CWGH began in 1998 a programme of work to disseminate information to and organize civic group members in health. It has carried out various community meetings on health, discussed and prepared policy inputs on health issues and carried out advocacy on these issues

Children, youth and women

Womens Dignity Project
The Women's Dignity Project (WDP) was established to prevent and manage obstetric fistula, enhance the dignity and rights of those living with fistula, and promote gender and health equity. We mobilize action to address fistula and advocate for the health and rights of the poor, within a human rights framework.

Economic policies, food security and nutrition

SEATINI
SEATINI is an African initiative to strengthen Africa's capacity to take a more effective part in the emerging global trading system and to better manage the process of Globalization. SEATINI is based in Zimbabwe and has offices in other countries in east and southern Africa.

Southern African Regional Poverty Network
SARPN provides a facility for raising the level and quality of public debate on poverty across the Southern African Development Community.

Other

Fahamu
Fahamu is committed to serving the needs of organisations and social movements that aspire to progressive social change and that promote and protect human rights. We believe that civil society organisations have a critical role to play in defending human rights, and that information and communications technologies can and should be harnessed for that cause. We are committed to enabling civil society organisations to use the internet to promote social justice.

Training and Research Support Centre - TARSC

Training and Research Support Centre

Training and Research Support Centre (TARSC) provides training, research and support services to state and civil society organisations at national and international levels. TARSC is a learning and knowledge organization, with a particular focus on skills building, research and technical support and a commitment to long term capacity building in the public sector and in civil society.

Participatory Action Research TARSC with EQUINET, IDRC Canada and Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research has produced a methods reader on participatory action research (PAR) that draws on examples and experiences globally. The reader is available in English and in Spanish. In 2017-2019 TARSC implemented with Maldaba UK and institutions in EQUINETs pra4equity network a programme to build and use a web platform to implement cross country PAR work online. The work was implemented in primary care sites with communities and frontline health workers in six countries in east and southern Africa. Youll find the PARonline report and briefs from the work on the EQUINET website For further information contact us with ‘PAR web platform’ in the subject line at admin@tarsc.org and please provide your name and institution with your query or comment.

Fostering policy support for family and child health and wellbeing- learning from international experience TARSC in association with University of Aberdeen and with support from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Global ideas fund has led cross country research in 2019 to gather and share evidence and learning on what has led to a change in policy norms and produced increased policy recognition of family and child health and wellbeing (FCHW) in high, middle and low-income countries internationally. There are fourteen case study reports that cover diverse policy changes in Australia, Brazil, Chile, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Norway, Peru, Rwanda, South Africa (one on the Childrens Act and one on integrated school health services), Sweden, England and Vietnam. A synthesis of the learning and strategic drivers of policy change is now available online and you will find all case studies and reports on a webpage for the work on the Shaping health site. For further information contact us with ‘Policy analysis’ in the subject line at admin@tarsc.org and please provide your name and institution with your query or comment.

Shaping Health: Social power and participation in health TARSC led cross country research on experiences of building social power and participation in local health systems in different countries globally. A conceptual framework paper and an annotated bibliography prepared in the project are available on this site. Short case studies have been produced from local health systems in Australia, Canada, Ecuador, India, Zambia and Vanuatu, summarised in a volume on these experiences. The Ecuador case study is also available in Spanish. Deeper scan country case studies have been produced from Brazil, Chile, Kenya, New Zealand, Scotland and Slovenia with a further volume summarising these experiences. Exchanges are underway on the findings from the work and a synthesis paper on the findings across the work is available in English and in Spanish. A ‘Shaping health’ website presents all products of the research and the stories of change that reflect the key principles for working on social participation and power in health.

Global Health Diplomacy TARSC has co-ordinated an international programme exploring the role of global health diplomacy (GHD), including south –south diplomacy, in addressing selected key challenges to health and strengthening health systems working with institutions in EQUINET and has since 2016 co-operated with SEATINI in EQUINET and with the ECSA Health Community to discuss the research findings and issues on the World Health Assembly agenda and build regional capacities in GHD. The research has also been published in a special issue of the Journal for Health Diplomacy on Africa.

Latest Activities

POLICY ANALYSIS ON COVID, COMPREHENSIVE PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTHY SOCIETIES TARSC implemented work in 2020 in association with the Alliance for Health Policy and Health Systems Research on the trajectory of different paradigms used to promote healthy societies at global level and in different regions globally. A report on the work Achieving healthy societies – ideas and learning from diverse regions for shared futures is available on this site. TARSC has worked on a range of publications in 2020 on COVID-19 and public health that you will find on the  EQUINET website. Interested persons should contact admin@tarsc.org and give full name and institution and how you would like to link on this work.

Latest TARSC Publications

Haciendo Visible el Cambio Evaluación de los Esfuerzos para Fomentar la Participación Social en la Salud
(January 2023)
Types of work: Participatory Action Research, Community Based Research, General Research, Training resources
Areas of work: Community and Public health
Country: Unknown Country
URL: MCV Resource Spanish 2022 for web.pdf
Read more...

Latest EQUINET Publications

Brief on climate-related migration and health equity in East and Southern Africa
EQUINET; TARSC (2025)
Themes: Equity in health, Values, policies and rights, Health equity in economic and trade policies, Equitable health services, Public-private mix, Governance and participation in health
Country: East and southern Africa region
URL: EQ Brief Climate and migration in ESA Mar2025.pdf
Read more...
Call for case studies: Scaling up promising practice to promote healthy urban people and ecosystems in east and southern Africa
EQUINET (2025)
Themes: Equity in health, Values, policies and rights, Health equity in economic and trade policies, Public-private mix, Governance and participation in health
Country: East and southern Africa region
URL: Call for urban health case studies 2025.pdf
Read more...
Brief on climate, land rights and agroecological links to pandemics in East and Southern Africa
EQUINET, SEATINI, TARSC (2024)
Themes: Equity in health, Health equity in economic and trade policies
Country: East and southern Africa region
URL: EQ Climate, agroecology and health equity brief.pdf
Read more...
Call for applicants for the 2025 online capacity building course on health impact assessment
EQUINET: TARSC; TalkAB[M]R; SATUCC; in association with C Dora; NIGH (2024)
Themes: Equity in health, Values, policies and rights, Health equity in economic and trade policies, Equitable health services, Public-private mix, Resource allocation and health financing, Governance and participation in health, Monitoring equity and research to policy
Country: East and southern Africa region
URL: EQ HIA 2025 course info for web.pdf
Read more...
Call for applicants for the 2025 online capacity building course on health impact assessment
EQUINET: TARSC; TalkAB[M]R; SATUCC; in association with C Dora; NIGH (2024)
Themes: Equity in health, Values, policies and rights, Health equity in economic and trade policies, Equitable health services, Public-private mix, Resource allocation and health financing, Governance and participation in health, Monitoring equity and research to policy
Country: East and southern Africa region
URL: EQ HIA 2025 course info for web.pdf
Read more...
EQUINET Discussion paper 133: Synthesis report: EQUINET online dialogues and reviews on Climate justice and health equity in east and southern Africa
EQUINET SC; TARSC (2024)
Themes: Equity in health, Values, policies and rights, Health equity in economic and trade policies, Equitable health services, Resource allocation and health financing, Governance and participation in health
Country: East and southern Africa region
URL: EQ Diss 133 climate and health equity Sep2024.pdf
Read more...
Scaling up promising practice to promote healthy urban people and ecosystems in east and southern Africa
EQUINET (2024)
Themes: Equity in health, Values, policies and rights, Health equity in economic and trade policies, Public-private mix, Governance and participation in health
Country: East and southern Africa region
URL: UH Recommendations brief2024.pdf
Read more...
Institutionalising health impact assessment in East and Southern Africa
EQUINET: TARSC; TalkAB[M]R; SATUCC; in association with C Dora; NIGH; ECSA Health Community (2024)
Themes: Values, policies and rights, Health equity in economic and trade policies, Public-private mix, Monitoring equity and research to policy
Country: East and southern Africa region
URL: EQ HIA brief 2024.pdf
Read more...
Report of the Online capacity building on Health Impact Assessment in east and southern Africa, February to June 2024
EQUINET, TARSC, SATUCC, TalkAB[M]R, NIGH, ECSA HC (2024)
Themes: Values, policies and rights, Health equity in economic and trade policies, Public-private mix, Monitoring equity and research to policy
Country: East and southern Africa region
URL: EQ HIA Skills training report 2024.pdf
Read more...
Report of the Online skills session on Participatory Action Research in health and well-being, June 2024
EQUINET Steering committee; TARSC (2024)
Themes: PAR work, Governance and participation in health, Monitoring equity and research to policy
Country: East and southern Africa region
URL: EQ PAR Skills session report 2024.pdf
Read more...