Special Interest Groups

Our Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are a key platform for professional interaction between IHEA members with a common interest. There are currently 14 approved SIGs, most of which focus on a specific research area, as well as one focusing on health economics teaching and another on supporting early career researchers.

Interested in joining a SIG? SIG membership is open to all active IHEA members. Simply login and navigate to the Special Interest Groups section of the member center and click “join group”.

SIGs approved by the IHEA Board are offered:

A page on the IHEA website to advertise SIG activities to all
A blog or discussion list for IHEA members who join the SIG
Support in communicating via the IHEA mailing lists and social media channels
Support for webinars for IHEA members
Opportunities for engagement between SIG members at the biennial IHEA congresses

Proposals for new SIGs

  • Proposed name of the SIG
  • Background and motivation:
    • Explain the focus of the proposed SIG, why the area of focus is of particular importance and why it is likely to be of interest to IHEA members
    • Indicate how the SIG will be distinct from existing IHEA SIGs, whether there will be any overlap with existing SIGs and if so, how this could be managed
  • Aim and objectives of the proposed SIG
  • Proposed activities of the SIG:
    • Please provide some information on each the proposed activities (rather than just a list of activities)
    • These activities should include those related to IHEA congresses (e.g. explain how the SIG will facilitate the submission of more organized session abstracts) as well as how regular, active engagement among SIG members will be promoted between congresses
    • Explicitly indicate how these activities will contribute to IHEA’s mission
    • As IHEA is an international association, indicate how these activities will promote engagement across countries and regions
  • List of IHEA members willing to contribute to SIG activities: A basic requirement for consideration of an SIG proposal is at least 10 IHEA members expressing a willingness to participate in the SIG. Geographic diversity should be demonstrated with at least some members from high-income countries and some from low- and middle-income countries.
  • Names and brief biographies of proposed convenor(s) of SIG who would take responsibility for developing the program of work and its implementation – we encourage geographic and gender diversity in the convenor group.

Proposals to establish a new SIG can be submitted at any stage for consideration by the Board. Proposals should be sent to ihea@healtheconomics.org.