Policymakers face a complex set of health system challenges. The issues—workforce shortages, financial sustainability, the growing burden of chronic diseases, and longstanding access and equity concerns—are clear. The solutions less so. There are competing approaches to fragmented care and prevention, competing demands from non-health sectors for resources, and a constant succession of shocks and crises. Policymakers are expected to respond with strategic choices that fit their specific health system contexts. They need timely and relevant evidence, as well as effective knowledge translation, to make that evidence accessible and actionable. 

This Observatory symposium will address the questions: “What do we need to know to inform policy decisions?” and “How do we use what we know to achieve change?” Speakers will explore the types of evidence policymakers need and the kinds of knowledge-brokering that can help them translate evidence into health system transformation. Along with introductory speeches, there will be ample opportunity for dialogue and exchange of best practices with live and online participants. 

The symposium will also mark a leadership transition at the Observatory, with Ewout van Ginneken succeeding Josep Figueras as Director in January 2025, and taking forward the Observatory’s mission to generate and share evidence that enables policy. 

Speakers: 

Hans Kluge, Regional Director, WHO Regional Office for Europe 
Sandra Gallina, Director-General, Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), European Commission 
Liisa Maria Voipio-Pulkki, Chair, European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, and Senior Adviser of International Affairs, Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health 
Ewout van Ginneken, Incoming Director, European Observatory  
Suszy Lessof, Deputy Director, European Observatory  
Josep Figueras, Director, European Observatory