The University of California, Berkeley and Charles University, Prague, propose to continue their joint program for advanced, multidisciplinary research training of outstanding post-doctoral economists, public policy experts, sociologists, clinicians and mental health professionals from the Czech and Slovak Republics in the latest research methods and issues regarding the financing and delivery of mental health services. Further, we propose to continue to expand this program, which in its first five years has already expanded from the Czech Republic to Slovakia, into other countries in the Central European region that have both a) developing, middle income economies, and b) significant challenges in their systems of delivering mental health services. Charles University will continue to serve as the hub of the program in Europe, attracting and screening candidates, and fostering their subsequent career development. Berkeley will continue to be the primary training site, providing senior faculty to mentor the trainees as they take classes, participate in seminars, and engage in research projects. The goals of the program for 2006 - 2011 are: a. Continue to add to the numbers of highly trained individuals who are available to carry out the mental health services research agendas of the Czech and Slovak Republics to improve the quality of mental care, improve the status of mental health care systems, and improve access to mental health care services. b. Continue to help develop this highly trained workforce to be available to assume leadership roles related to the mental health finance and system research in their countries by continuing to provide academic career advice and mentoring, continuing to advise them regarding research topics and conducting research, and continuing to foster development of strong regional and global networks of academic contacts and working relationships. c. Expand geographically to neighboring countries in the region. Examples of other countries being considered for program expansion are Hungary, Croatia, Romania, and Bulgaria. d. Expand the promotion of policy-related cooperation between non-academic institutions in the region and in the United States.
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