Mega-cities pose particular challenges for the financing, organisation and delivery of municipal public services. China, along with other rapidly growing economies, faces a major dilemma in the financing and delivery of municipal health services arising from the coexistence of growing demands for high quality curative healthcare alongside a large rural population and disadvantaged groups with substantial health needs. Because economic conditions, geography and culture are diverse, solutions are most likely to emerge from innovations at the municipal government level.

Using the health sector as an example, OPI is working with the China Executive Leadership Academy, Pudong (CELAP) to investigate the incentives required for municipal governments to innovate. As CELAP is one of China’s two national civil service colleges, the results will feed directly into CELAP’s training programmes: a natural `practitioner-research community’ (PRC).

CELAP has established a dedicated research team with strong support from both the central and local governments in China. It will work closely with relevant officials in the Ministry of Heath, Beijing and other government agencies. OPI’s support for CELAP will draw on its collaborators in UK universities and Australasia.

The main research outputs will be proposals for changes required at the municipal level to accelerate public health service innovation in China. CELAP will prepare and publish a series of working papers and articles for international peer-reviewed journals. The research results will be turned into training materials to support courses for Chinese and international participants and possibly be used as the basis for a film for CCTV.