Managing Growth

Over the years INDEPTH Resource & Training Centre has built an unusually strong Network of 53 health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS) field sites that are operated by 46 member centres across 20 countries in Africa, Asia and Oceania. Having established ourselves as a functioning research Network with a substantial portfolio of activities, our focus now is not so much on further expansion as on pursuing key activities that address medium-term objectives, respond to regional and global priorities, and help us to work more as one Network. 

In the early days of the Network we looked to achieve broad membership and representation to achieve legitimacy as a global Network. In this next phase of our evolution, we are looking to develop a stronger and more compact community rather than simply encourage a lot of new member centres. This means we will strictly apply the criteria for full INDEPTH membership and accord associate membership to applicants that do not meet ALL of those criteria.

The requirements for full membership includes a review of population, fertility, migration,mortality and cause-of-death data (based on the new INDEPTH Events History Analysis Format) andevidenceofpregnancymonitoring.However,support and incentive structures that encourage newmembercentresto graduate from Associate to Full membership also exist.