Using evidence to inform decisions is not a new idea or one that is lost on policy-makers. The politicians and civil servants shaping health systems want the changes they make to work so, although they have to juggle multiple considerations (including what they believe in, what the public find acceptable and what is feasible in their context), they want to know what has been shown to work and why. Convincing policy-makers that evidence matters is not the issue. Making authoritative evidence readily available is.

The Observatory’s Reference Series is an attempt to bring together the relevant evidence on each of a set of core health system issues and to organize it so that the key messages and their implications are clear.

The issues or topics (funding, governance, primary health care etc.) are chosen because they underpin so much of health system reform; contributors because they have a track-record of high-quality research and credibility in the field (at European and global levels). Each volume sets out to:

• define terms clearly and explain core concepts;

• address key dimensions of the issue and how they interact with functions like finance, regulation or delivery and with the wider (governmental and sectoral) context;

• explore levers for (and systemic blocks to) change; and

• analyze the lessons of practical experience and why reforms work in practice or do not.

The series is aimed at a broad audience who will use the materials very differently. Each volume is, in effect, a collection of source material. Signposting allows policy-makers to find what they need, whether that is a conceptual framework to help shape policy directions or the granular evidence required to draft the detail of government plans. Every chapter has a set of key points and every volume has an overarching summary. Otherwise, the volumes are tailored to the specifics of the issue.

The series is a work in progress and will grow and change to fit needs over time, but it is built on a clear goal: to collect in one place the information policy-makers should have access to as they think about and develop plans for the future of their health systems.

The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies is an evidence-generator, a knowledge broker and a partnership shaped by policy-makers. It aims to bridge the gap between evidence and policy. The hope is that the Reference Series and the evidence syntheses it offers will help to do this.

The Secretariat and Partners

European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies