Managing Partnerships and Impact on Decision-Making: The Example of Health Technology Assessment in Genetics

• Published in: Community genetics 2006-01, Vol.9 (1), p.27-33
• Main Author: Blancquaert, Ingeborg
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Advisory Committees - organization & administration; Assessment; Biomedical Research - organization & administration; Canada; Cooperative Behavior; Decision making; Decision Making, Organizational; Diffusion of Innovation; Genetics; Government Agencies; Health Policy; Humans; Partnerships; Public health; Public Health Administration; Technology assessment; Technology Assessment, Biomedical - organization & administration
• ISSN: 1422-2795; 1662-4246; 1422-2833; 1662-8063
• DOI: 10.1159/000090690

For an emerging fi eld such as Public Health Genetics, the partnerships that will be developed with stakeholders are of strategic importance, since they may affect longterm impact on policy-making. A concrete example in the fi eld of health technology assessment in genetics was chosen to illustrate how the context in which scientifi c advisory bodies operate and the nature of partnerships developed over time infl uence the impact on decisionmaking at different levels, from the micro (professional) level through the meso (institutional) level to the macro (policy) level. As pointed out in the knowledge transfer literature, impact is not only refl ected by instrumental use of knowledge, but also by problem-framing and strategic use of knowledge. Solid partnerships at the micro level, with researchers and health care professionals, are essential to build credibility and trust, and they lay the groundwork for contextualized and relevant advice and potential impact at the policy level. Even though maintaining the necessary critical distance with respect to all stakeholders is easier for institutions that are at arm’s length from government, achieving the right balance between an institution’s independence and service relationship is a real challenge.