PHFI has a strong research governance mechanism that has evolved over a decade and outlines the principles of good governance that apply to all research undertaken within the remit of PHFI. The research division under the leadership of President & Vice President (Research and Policy) undertake highly scientific research, following ethical and financial standards and transparent decision-making processes, clear allocation of responsibilities and robust monitoring mechanisms. It seeks to promote improvements in research quality across the organization by providing a context for the encouragement of creative and innovative research ideas and for the effective transfer of knowledge, technology and best practice to improve public health. The Research Advisory Council and Research Management Committee provides strategic directions and advice on broader research agenda as well as based on institutional priorities.
Research Advisory Council (RAC)
The Research Advisory Council chaired by Professor Barry Bloom (Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor) advises on the broader research agenda and sets the standards for high quality and relevant research at PHFI.
List of Members with Profile and photos
Research Management Committee
The Research Management Committee functions as an enabling and coordinating forum for research across PHFI. It oversees, coordinates and enables adoption of research policies, processes, systems and tools to ensure quality, delivery and compliance, foster research collaboration and coordination across PHFI, provide guidance on research to action efforts including avenues for dissemination and translation to policy, advise on technology development activities, issues of scale up, transfer and commercialization. It also guides in developing research talent base and the related mentoring and evaluation processes and building a strong knowledge management system to support the research efforts.
List of Members and Profile and photos
Institutional Ethics Committee
The Institutional Ethics Committee at PHFI (PHFI-IEC) provides guidance and promotes ethical conduct in all research conducted by researchers at PHFI. It helps in building a strong culture of ethics in the organization by reviewing all research proposals and ensuring ethical aspects. As an institution, we strive to build capacity and ensure that our research staff are knowledgeable of advances in their field. In addition, it is our responsibility to ensure that our researchers understand important concepts and principles, procedures and tools that can help resolve ethical dilemmas encountered during their work. These concepts or norms provide a conducive environment for promoting scientific research within any organization, ensure public trust and accountability, and promote collaborative partnerships built on integrity, trust and mutual respect.
Ethics processes are guided by recommendations made by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Apart from the PHFI-IEC, the IIPH-Gandhinagar, IIPH-Hyderabad, IIPH-Bhubaneswar and IIPH-Delhi have their own ethics committees to review the research proposals of their faculty and students. The PHFI-IEC is multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral in composition and the members hail from diverse disciplines such as: public health, social and behavioural sciences, ethics/philosophy, medicine, epidemiology, law and statistics. The PHFI-IEC is characterised by independence, competence, pluralism and transparency. Their selection is expected to ensure adequate representation of age and gender and also ensuring the presence of members aware of local social and cultural norms.