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This section contains further detail about the ASPIRE 'Social Accountability' Award. 

Please take the time to go through this content thoroughly to familiarize yourself with the application criteria and the expert panel involved in the process. Understanding these elements is crucial for a successful application. 

At the end of the content, you will need to fill out the web form to generate the invoice. Completing this form is an essential step in your application process, as it will allow you to proceed with the payment for your selected award. Make sure to provide all the required information to ensure a smooth and efficient processing of your request.

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You can also download pdf versions of this guidance and a sample application form for reference.

Introduction

The essence of the social accountability of a school is their engaging, partnering with, and responding to the needs of their communities, regions and nation (noting that some social accountability activities may involve all three levels whereas others may predominately involve the community, or region, or nation)

Expert Panel

• Bob Woollard(Chair), Canada
• Alex Anawati, Canada
• Bipin Batra, India
• Charles Boelen, France
• Debra Klamen, USA
• Emmanuelle Careau, Canada
• James Rourke, Canada
• Kosha Gala (IFMSA representative), Denmark
• Madalena Patricio, Portugal
• Martin Veysey, UK
• Nivritti Patil, Hong Kong
• Robert Carroll, USA
• Rui Amaral Mendes, Portugal
• Shelley Fielden, UK
• Suzanne Pitama
• Tomas Petras (IFMSA representative), Slovakia
• Tomlin Paul, Rwanda

Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the panel chair for an informal discussion before beginning their application. The examples provided by the reviewers are shown below under the respective criteria. These examples are intended to be indicative and not exhaustive. You may have other evidence that would be equally important and which support your case for excellence. 

Application Criteria - 1

CRITERION 1 

ORGANISATION AND FUNCTION 

Social accountability is a prime directive in the school’s purpose and mandate and is integrated in its day-to-day management.    

Assessors would seek evidence that your school provides the following:  

1.  Social accountability is featured in your school’s mission statement, strategic plan (including vision and mission) and promotional material. Example: It is explicitly stated that the school endeavours to act on social determinants of health and steer its resources as effectively as possible to maximise positive and minimise negative impact on society, environment and health, both locally and globally.   Specific descriptions are provided of needs of marginalised people that inspired the planning and actions of the school. 

 2. The strategic plan is designed and implemented in consultation and collaboration with relevant regional and national authorities, policy makers, e professional networks and communities as an important component of the regional and/or national health system.   

3. An ongoing assessment of the school is regularly carried out to assess the impact of 5 forms of scholarship (discovery, integration, application, teaching and implementation) on priority health needs of the population and on health system performance in addressing those needs. Consultation with community, health system and other stakeholders are part of the process. 

4. Evidence of action to evaluate and address environmental impact. The school should demonstrate:  

a) an understanding of and attempt to measure the impact of its activities on local and global ecosystems.  

b) demonstrate ways they are reducing their environmental impact. 

5. The school in its appointment, promotion and other reward systems demonstrates consideration of all five forms of scholarship defined by Boyer: discovery (research), teaching and learning (education), integration, application and engagement. 

Application Criteria - 2

CRITERION 2 

EDUCATION OF DOCTORS, DENTISTS OR VETERINARY PRACTITIONERS. 

Admissions 

School admissions should reflect the demographic mix of the school’s community/region/ nation. 

Assessors would seek evidence that your school provides the following: 

1. Recruits, selects and supports students who reflect the social, cultural, economic and geographic diversity of the community/region/nation it has a mandate to serve. 

2. Effective programmes to prepare, recruit and admit suitable students from disadvantaged and under-represented groups from the community/region/nation it has a mandate to serve. (This may also include under-represented students from developing countries. 

3. Selection criteria for admission that are reflective of the best available evidence about the characteristics of students most likely to commit and respond to the health needs of the school’s community/region/nation. 

4. The selection process pays specific attention to the accessibility, social and environmental impact of the admissions process itself (e.g., rural and socially distanced students are not at a disadvantage by virtue of location and travel requirements). 

 Assessors would seek evidence that: 

1. Relevant unique geographic, social, environmental and cultural context are incorporated into learning. Example: Students gain knowledge and understanding of the epidemiology of disease related to their local environment and the social determinants of health.  

2. Clinical learning and “service learning “occurs in a variety of local, regional and national settings that allow students to experience geographic, social, and cultural diversity. 

3. Programmes exist to ensure early and extensive exposure to community-based learning experiences to understand and act on social and environmental health determinants and gain and understanding of health needs of community. 

4. Programmes exist on professionalism for students, staff and faculty, including ethics, teamwork, cultural competence, working across disciplinary boundaries, leadership role-modelling and communications. 

5. There are inter-professional learning experiences to develop teamwork approach to community needs.  

6. Learning opportunities that introduce and develop the concept of social accountability/health equity will be evident and transparent throughout the curriculum. 

7. Learning opportunities that introduce and develop the concept of environmental accountability, (including but not limited to environmental impacts on health, the impact of health systems on the environment, health co-benefits of sustainable lifestyle choices and opportunities to mitigate future impact for the wider benefit of humanity) will be evident and transparent throughout the curriculum.   

8. Opportunities exist for optional personalized learning by students that focus on social accountability, including structured electives, link programmes and cultural exchanges.  

9. Student assessments include the students’ ability to understand and analyze the value and concepts of social accountability and environmental accountability. 

10. Students are supported to create student-led projects to improve the health/health care of underserved and disadvantaged communities, regional, national and international patients and populations.  

11. Community, regional, national, and international learning experiences with underserved and disadvantaged patients, communities and populations. (Such experiences should be designed to foster the skills of effective response and avoidance of hopelessness and/or cynicism). 

12. Other examples related to social and/or environmental accountability in practitioner's education programmes. 

Faculty development/professional development/continuing health professions education  

Schools should enable life-long learning as healthcare providers and teachers for the clinicians in their community, region and nation by providing continuing health education/professional development/faculty development.  

Assessors would seek evidence that your school provides the following:  

1. Professional development/continuing education that is based on established health needs for practicing clinicians in its community, region and nation, including a demonstrated responsiveness to social and environmental determinants of health. 

2. Involves and supports practicing clinicians in the development and delivery of education in their communities and within the school.  

3. Faculty development includes preparation for teaching and role-modelling social and environmental accountability in practice and in health care systems. 

4. Other examples related to social and environmental accountability in faculty development/ professional development/ continuing education. 

Application Criteria - 3

Criterion 3: Research Activities

Community/regional/national /global health needs inspire the school’s research including knowledge translation. This includes research related to:

• community, regional and national burden of illness;

• community, regional and national prevalent and severe diseases;

• community, regional and national health system improvement research.

This may include a range from biomedical discovery to clinical to population health research

Assessors would seek evidence that your school does:

3.1.1. Research inspired by and responding to the priority health needs of the school’s community, region and nation;

3.1.2. Research conducted by the school gives priority to activities that create beneficial effects upon its community, region and nation;

3.1.3. Research that actively engage the community in research, including developing the agenda, partnering and participating in research and knowledge translation/mobilisation;

3.1.4 Research includes health system effectiveness and the number, mix and distribution of medical doctors and other health workforce needed for the school's community, region and nation;

3.1.5 Research impacts on the healthcare and the health of the school’s community, region and nation;

3.1.6. Research into the impact of health services/systems on the society and the environment and into wider social and environmental determinants of health

3.1.7. Research related to the priority health needs of the school’s community, region and nation is an essential component and a desirable feature for the students within the curriculum and with involvement of faculty;

3.1.8. The research programme and its applications demonstrates consideration of social and environmental factors in its priorities. Community/regional/national health needs inspire the school’s research including knowledge translation. This may include research related to: community/regional/national burden of illness; community/regional/national prevalent and severe diseases; community/regional/national health system improvement research as well as exploration of environmental factors e.g. promoting a positive impact on disadvantaged communities or mitigating negative social or environmental impacts of any proposed research activity or training

3.1.9 Other examples related to research social and environmental accountability.

Application Criteria - 4

Criterion 4: Contribution to health services and health service partnerships for community/region

The school’s graduates and health service partnerships have a positive impact on the health care and the health of its community/region/nation. This is achieved through active community engagement at all levels from the graduates to the school as a whole. 

4.1. Workforce planning  

Producing the quantity and quality of graduates to support the healthcare needs of the community / region / nation.  

Assessors would seek evidence that your school provides the following:  

4.1.1     Actively seeks and develops sustainable partnerships with other stakeholders, including other health professional and governing bodies, to optimize its performance in meeting the requirement for quality and quantity of trained graduates as well as their deployment and impact on health.  

4.1.2   Produces a variety of generalists and specialists, appropriate both in quality and quantity to serve the evolving needs of the school’s community/region/nation.  

4.1.3   Produces graduates equipped with a range of competencies consistent with the development of the communities they serve, local environment in which they work, health system they work in, the expectations of the citizens and heath priorities of its community/region/nation.  

4.1.4  Produces graduates who are educated explicitly to be change leaders active in population health and health-related reforms, with an emphasis on coordinated patient-centered care, health promotion, risk and disease prevention, and rehabilitation. 

4.1.5     Produces graduates who are educated about the personal and regional health benefits of pursuing social and environmentally sustainable health policies; and about the causes and health consequences of environmental degradation and climate change, and with the skills to act as advocates or advisors to identify, mitigate or reverse such consequences.  

4.1.6     Works towards graduates being properly deployed, supported and retained where they are most needed to effectively and efficiently address priority health issues of the community/region/nation the school has a mandate to serve. 

4.1.7     Works with the health care system and other potential employers of graduates to enable them to provide care to underserved and disadvantaged community, regional, national and international patients and populations.  

4.1.8     Follows-up on graduates to assess their distribution and impact on health care and health of its community/region/nation. 

4.1.9     Other examples related to social and environmental accountability. 

1.      Health service partnerships 

For education and research to be most effective in improving the health and health care or veterinary care in the school’s community/region/nation, engagement and partnership with communities, health care organizations, health managers, policy makers, and government is vital. 

Assessors would seek evidence that your school provides the following: 

1.        Partners with local and regional communities to provide accessible health services to local communities. 

2.        Partners with community, professional organizations, and health authorities at all levels on policies and strategies for more environmentally responsive health systems.  

3.        Partners with local health authorities and the community to develop specific plans, strategies, policies and practices to assess and meet the needs for all groups within the community/region with particular attention to groups who are under-resourced, most adversely affected by health threats including environmental pollution or marginalized due to ethnicity, culture, age, location or other factors.  

4.        Partners with health care organizations and communities in projects to improve the health of underserved and disadvantaged communities, regional, national and international patients and populations.  

5.        Partners with local health authorities and the community to help identify and reduce the environmental impact of health programmes, and work with them to provide a more environmentally sustainable future. 

6.        Partners with communities, government and health organizations to demonstrate the school and its students’ involvement with effective local, regional or national initiatives to promote social justice and reduce or mitigate the impacts of environmental degradation and climate change. 

7.        Other examples related to social justice and environmental accountability in health service partnerships and where schools manage their own health systems. 

Ready to apply?

Before deciding to submit an application, we recommend that you spend some time discussing the application criteria and required evidence with your team. If you have any questions, please reach out to us prior to submitting your application.

Download the application criteria as a pdf

Institutions may be helped in the preparation of their submission by reference to the latest literature such as those suggested here:

Dijkstra, J., Galbraith, R., Hodges, B. D., McAvoy, P. A., McCrorie, P., Southgate, L. J., Van Der Vleuten, C. P., Wass, V., & Schuwirth, L. W. (2012). Expert validation of fit-for-purpose guidelines for designing programmes of assessment. BMC Medical Education, 12(1), 20. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-12-20

Norcini, J., Anderson, M. B., Bollela, V., Burch, V., Costa, M. J., Duvivier, R., Hays, R., Palacios Mackay, M. F., Roberts, T., & Swanson, D. (2018). 2018 Consensus framework for good assessment. Medical Teacher, 40(11), 1102–1109. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2018.1500016

Pricing

The standard charge per submission is £2,500 for each Area of Excellence to be assessed. This is reduced to £2,000 per submission for two or more submissions in the same twelve-month period. The charge for institutions from emerging economies is £1,500 per submission, and £1,250 for two or more submissions in the same calendar year. View the list of emerging economies to see if your institution is eligible. Payment must be received before submissions are sent out for review. Resubmissions are accepted within three years of the original application, with a charge of £2,000 for a resubmission.

Ready to apply?

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