Leading a socially accountable institution

Social accountability is the obligation of health professions institutions to direct their education, research and service toward the priority health concerns of the communities they serve. Turning that principle into practice is leadership work. It reaches into admissions, curriculum, faculty development, governance, partnerships and where graduates end up practicing.

TUFH supports institutional leaders in three connected ways, alongside an archive of talks from leaders who have done it.

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  Assess where your institution standsISAT, the Indicators for Social Accountability Tool, is a self-assessment framework developed through PAHO/WHO and available in four languages Explore the ISAT
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  Join a leadership cohortThe Social Accountability Fellowship, run with NOSM University, brings institutional teams together over eight months About the Fellowship
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  Anchor the work nationallyTUFH National Centers of Excellence give social accountability a permanent home in a country or region About Centers of Excellence
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  Learn from the archiveExpert lectures on systems thinking, policy influence and lateral leadership Go to the library

ISAT: the Indicators for Social Accountability Tool

ISAT, now in its 2.0 version, helps institutions become more socially accountable to the public, the community and the people they serve. It was developed by an expert group convened by PAHO/WHO as a mechanism for schools to assess their own progress, and it is used by institutions educating health professionals internationally.

The framework covers student recruitment, selection and support; faculty recruitment and development; what, how and where students learn; research activities; governance and community engagement; school outcomes; and societal impact. Each component is set out across four developmental phases, with milestones, standards and indicators, so an institution can see where it currently sits and what the next step looks like.

It is a self-assessment, and it works best as a structured conversation. Institutions bring stakeholders together to reflect honestly on current capacity, agree where they want to improve, and verify progress over time. The developers note that contexts vary, and that not every indicator will apply to every country or institution.

ISAT is available in four languages. Each is a complete version of the tool.

The Social Accountability Fellowship

A collaboration between TUFH and NOSM University to advance impact, accreditation and leadership. Institutional leadership teams work together across eight months toward establishing a TUFH National Center of Excellence in their own country or region.

It is open to leaders and teams from universities and health organizations, with priority given to Latin America, the Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, the Western Pacific, South-East Asia and Africa. Each application names a fellow, supported by a team of at least two institutional leaders and a letter of endorsement from the institution.

What fellows work on

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  Leadership skillsStrengthening the capacity to lead change inside an institution
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  Advocacy and policy leadershipInfluencing health and education policy at a national level
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  Guidelines and trainingAdopting approaches that serve marginalized and underserved communities
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  An action planEvery team commits to producing one, and it is what establishes the Center of Excellence

The 2025–2026 cohort

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  December 2025 to July 2026Meeting monthly on the second Tuesday, 14:00–16:00 UTC
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  Sixteen fellowsFrom Pakistan, Tunisia, Australia, Morocco, Ethiopia, Somalia, the United Kingdom, the USA, Egypt, Sudan, Nigeria, Indonesia, Haiti and Canada · Meet the fellows
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  Applications for this cohort have closedThey closed on 31 October 2025. Register your interest to hear when the next call opens

There is no application fee. On completion, and subject to the attendance requirement, successful teams receive $1,000 USD toward one year of TUFH Institutional Membership.

Full fellowship details

TUFH National Centers of Excellence

A Center of Excellence is a TUFH-designated institution or partnership that anchors social accountability work in its country or region. Centers promote social accountability and responsiveness to community need, interprofessional education and collaborative practice, and work to improve the competencies of the health workers serving vulnerable populations.

The Social Accountability Fellowship is the route most institutions take. Fellowship teams spend the program building the action plan that establishes their Center, which is why the two run together.

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  Apply to the Fellowship with an institutional teamA designated fellow, at least two leaders, and a letter of endorsement
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  Build the action plan across the programEight months of monthly sessions on leadership, advocacy and guidelines
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  Establish the CenterThe institution becomes the national or regional anchor for this work

See the Centers of Excellence

Resource Library

Expert lectures and talks from the TUFH archive on systems thinking, policy influence and institutional leadership.

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  Hope is Not a Strategy: Using Human Systems Dynamics to close the gap between local action and global policyStewart Mennin · Watch
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  Incorporating Complex System Thinking into Project and Policy DesignAkiko Maeda · Watch
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  Policy and System Change Influence: A RoadmapNick Torres · Watch
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  Appreciative inquiry and participatory decision-making: essential tools for lateral leadershipSubodh S Gupta · part of the full TUFH Talks 2019 recording · Watch
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  Social AccountabilityThe companion page, with case studies from institutions putting this into practice · View the page