Institute of Health Systems (IHS) is a civil society institution. It was established in 1990 and registered under the Societies Registration Act¹. A group of concerned citizens, each specialising in a different field having linkages with health care, realised that the health services, in India, had been viewed as a technological affair. There are a lot of areas in the health care delivery system which cannot be handled well with medical technical skills that our health staff are usually equipped with. They recognised the need for development of skills in interdisciplinary areas like health management, health economics, health informatics, medical sociology, health policy studies, etc. The need for operations research to arrive at solutions appropriate to local needs was recognised. The Institute was set up to fill in this gap and to realise the vision of an equitable and cost-effective health care delivery system in India. IHS objectives include health systems research, development of interdisciplinary skills to improve efficacy of health care delivery system, health policy analysis, application of information technology in health sector.

The Institute is governed by a system of authorities consisting of an executive committee, a general body and the board of governors. Programs and activities of the Institute are carried out by a team of faculty and staff lead by the Director, who is the chief academic and executive officer of the Institute. IHS is registered as a charitable scientific institution under section 12A of the Income Tax Act². Contributions to IHS are eligible for exemption under section 80G of the Income Tax Act³. The Institute has been granted permanent registration by the Government of India Ministry of Home Affairs under the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act⁴. Starting with the first meeting held in July 1994, annual general body meetings are conducted every year, around December - January. IHS files its audited accounts with the Income Tax department every year. Annual reports are filed with the registrar of societies and are accessible to public through the registrar of documents. In addition the annual reports, and audited accounts of the Institute are made available, along with other publications of the Institute, to interested persons for a small charge. Membership of the Institute is open to any person who has consistently evinced interest and demonstrated commitment towards objectives of the institute and to Institutions with complementary objectives.

The Institute is largely supported by project based funding and income from services provided by it. IHS services, activities and projects broadly fall into research, training and consultancy assignments. The Institute strives to maintain a balance between these three modes of learning and application to provide an environment for intellectual development, knowledge based work and at the same time keep the skill set of its faculty well grounded to realities of social services delivery in India and other developing countries. The Institute fosters a team of faculty from multiple disciplines, provides modern office facilities, knowledge based resources, and an enriched work environment.

³First granted by Commissioner IT AP-II, Hyderabad letter no. H.Qrs. No.II/12A & 80G/64/90-91 dated December 31, 1990. Latest renewal granted for the period 01-04-2002 to 31-03-2005 by Commissioner IT, AP Proceedings number Fno DIT(E)/77/80G/2002-03 on Ltr dated 05-12-02.

⁴IHS permanent FCRA registration number is 010230292 vide Govt. of India, Ministry of Home Affairs letter no. II/21022/61(4)/93-FCRA-III.